Chapter Forty-six Westward

  Zhao Bei glanced at those Anqing envoys, and two of them looked very familiar. They were officers from the Anqing Uprising Army's General Staff Department. Upon opening the letter again, it was indeed written by Xiong Chengji.

  After reading the letter, Zhao Bei finally understood why he had not received any news from Zhang Yunkun and others who were in contact with the 33rd Division of Jiangsu New Army. It turned out that after they successfully instigated the uprising of the division, they did not advance westward as planned, but instead turned east to join forces with the Anqing uprising army. This was not because Zhang Yunkun and others disobeyed Zhao Bei's military orders, but because they could not control their soldiers. Those soldiers were mostly from Jiangsu Province and had been recruited by force, so they were eager to return home and took the uprising leaders with them to Anqing, planning to cross the river and attack Nanjing. Even Xu Shaobing, the commander of the 9th Division of Jiangsu Province, could not restrain his troops. As for Wang Shizhen, a Beiyang general who was originally stationed in the 33rd Division, he escaped on a Qing army gunboat soon after the uprising began and fled to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, without showing any of his "Beiyang Dragon" strength.

  After the uprising of the thirty-three battalions, they marched eastward and encountered a detachment of the Republican Army returning to Anqing with artillery at the mouth of the Luoma River. The two armies merged, abandoned their ships, and landed ashore, returning to Anqing from the north through Jixian Pass. Zhao Bei's handwritten letter to Xiong Chengji was also delivered smoothly to the Grand Commanding Headquarters. From this letter, Xiong Chengji learned of Zhao Bei's military direction and hastily sent someone with a handwritten letter to rush to Xiaochikou overnight.

  In the letter, Xiong Chengji did not criticize Zhao Bei's unauthorized westward advance, but rather praised his bold strategy and encouraged him to continue expanding his gains, advancing towards Hubei and Hunan in order to coordinate with the Anqing front. At the same time, he also informed Zhao Bei that due to the Qing army's warships bombarding the city walls for days, Anqing was no longer defendable, and he would soon lead his troops to launch a surprise attack to the north, abandoning Anqing and occupying northern Anhui, because the Revive China Society was about to launch a large-scale uprising in the Jiangnan region. Xiong Chengji planned to establish a barrier for the southern uprising, drawing the main force of the Qing army to Anhui.

  As Xiong Chengji was still unclear whether Zhao Bei had led the army to occupy Jiujiang when writing the letter, he also pointed out in the letter and emphasized the importance of Jinjipu fortress.

  "Are you Xue Zixiang?" Zhao Bei asked one of the messengers.

  "The commander has a good memory." The man nodded. "I didn't expect you to occupy Jiujiang so quickly, and before we came, we were worried that we wouldn't be able to find you. Originally, since you hadn't led the Autumn Maneuver troops back in rebellion for a long time, everyone thought your rebellion had failed, but it turns out you took the troops west instead. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief then, and Commander-in-Chief Xiong said that with you providing support from the west, we could give up Anqing and head north without worries."

  "Huang Baitao wants to give up Anqing, this is the correct decision. Please inform Huang Baitao that our army will definitely attack westward as soon as possible to coordinate with the Anhui uprising army."

  "This message we can't bring. Commander Xiong said so, he asked us to stay by your side and make plans for you." Xue Zixiang said.

  "Since it's Commander Bear's intention, you can stay in my staff room." Zhao Bei nodded calmly, but became vigilant at the same time. This was clearly a mole sent to his side, and he couldn't be too careful. However, for now, he was still weak and the "Revival Society" banner still had some use, so it was better to be cautious.

  "Wu Zhenhan!" Zhao Bei shouted.

  "Arrived!"

  "In response to the Anhui uprising army, our troop's reorganization plan can only be delayed. We must quickly launch a western campaign and capture Wuhan." Zhao let out a sigh, now time was pressing, no matter what they had to quickly capture the Hanyang Arsenal, otherwise the rebel troops' ammunition would not be able to support long-term combat, and since Xiong Chengji had already decided to abandon Anqing, then the Qing army's gunboats could be freed up to attack Jinjipo together, leaving him with little time.

  The insurgent troops have been resting here for two days, with high morale and abundant energy, and have also replenished a large number of new soldiers with high morale. If they can take advantage of the emptiness to directly attack Wuhan, Zhao Bei's strategic intentions will be achieved.

  "We can't delay any longer, we must set out on the western expedition immediately. Bai Shan, I'm leaving the defense of Jiujiang City to you, and I'll leave some extra cannons for you. Also, in case the telegraph lines are destroyed by the enemy, I'm leaving a wireless telegraph machine with you, so we can stay in contact at all times. No matter what, you must hold onto Jiujiang City and the Jinji Pass fortress for at least one month! If we occupy this place, we'll be able to block the Qing army's gunboats from advancing westward, and ensure the safety of our western expeditionary forces." Zhao Bei patted Wu Zhanhan on the shoulder.

  "Please rest assured, Commander-in-Chief! With me here, Jiujiang and Jinfengpo will never be lost!" Wu Zhenhan said solemnly.

  "Don't talk so big, the main force is going to conquer the west. Your strength is not enough, I didn't expect you to hold on to Jiujiang for long. I just hope you can drag it out for a few more days until we take down Wuhan, then we can give up Jiujiang. Our strength is insufficient now and we cannot take care of too many places at the same time. The key to defending Jiujiang is Jinjifeng, and some troops must be deployed on the opposite side of Xiaopu Port." Zhao Bei said.

  "What if the Qing naval ships follow behind the Western warships and accidentally fire on them, wouldn't that cause trouble?" Blue Sky Wei reminded him.

  "Fire at will!" Zhao Bei thought for a moment and made his position clear. "Now that the Yangtze River is in its dry season, even the warships of the powers cannot enter. Even if they want to retaliate, they'll have to wait until after the spring floods. By then, we'll have already taken Wuhan. However, try not to provoke the warships of the powers. This requires you to train your artillery well and find some people to make some simple naval mines using iron buckets and electric wires. These can be used for visual firing and laid out under the surface of the river to block their way. What I'm most worried about is a pincer movement by the Qing army on both land and water. In that case, it's hard to say how many days Jiujiang can hold out."

  "Local party armed forces are coming from southern Jiangxi and western Jiangxi, they will arrive in a few days, the military strength should not be a big problem, the key is the weapon." Wu Zhenhan said.

  Zhao Bei nodded and looked back: "General Lan!"

  "Arrived!" Blue Sky replied.

  "Pass on my orders: the first echelon, left wing and second echelon, all officers and men of the Revolutionary Guard's special task force, pack up and prepare to depart. The logistics team must rush to produce dry rations and continue to collect winter clothing, recruit laborers, and ensure that all supplies are loaded onto ships by tonight. Sailors, boatmen, and logistics personnel will await orders on board. All troops departing tomorrow should rest early tonight and set out at dawn.

  Also, inform Zhu Daniu to lead the special warfare battalion to board those two gunboats first, and then select some Hubei soldiers to join them. The best staff officers from the command center will be selected to go with them. The special warfare battalion will await my orders on the gunboats. Elite troops are not trained, but forged in battle. The special warfare battalion must be trained as a spearhead unit.

  Zhu Daniu is brave enough, but lacks strategic thinking, so the staff officers sent with him must be the most excellent, bold and meticulous, preferably having studied at foreign military academies."

  ……

  On November 28, 1908, the main force of the Republican Army took an oath to march westward at Gantang Lake in the west of Jiujiang City. More than 50,000 regular troops and revolutionary guards marched westward along both banks of the Yangtze River under the escort of two gunboats.

  There were also more than 2,000 large and small sailboats accompanying them.

  A cannon shot rang out, and the sailors lifted the anchor and hung up the oars. A thousand sails competed to cross the river, and a hundred boats rushed forward in a torrent.

  Behind the insurgent troops, there was a fleet of various gunboats, all flying flags of different countries, giving a temporary feeling of an international fleet. After Jiujiang changed its flag, the powers sent their gunboats to the waters near Jiujiang, ostensibly to protect their interests in China, but actually to monitor the actions of the insurgent army. The British gunboat was the most unfriendly to the insurgent army, and the two British "Turtle" class gunboats would often dash back and forth in the fleet, with their guns pointing here and there, being extremely arrogant.

  As for these "tail-followers", the insurgent army is not weak, and all kinds of large cannons on the ship have removed their cannon clothes. Machine guns are also equipped with sharp-headed heavy bullets. Some small boats are filled with fire medicine as fire attack ships. In case the other side opens fire, the Republican Army will counterattack without hesitation.

  Far away, on the Yangtze River, sails and masts stand in a forest, red flags fluttering.

  Zhao Bei stood at the bow of the "Chu Guan" gunboat, personally directing the aiming of the ship's cannons at the British warship. His guards clustered around him, and his face was as resolute as a rock in the biting wind, facing the cutting wind, gazing out at the vast fleet, with waves of emotion rising and falling in his heart.

  "History will be written by me! Wuhan, I'm coming!"

  ……

  The British did not fire a shot.

  The Republican army advanced triumphantly, going upstream from Jiangxi to enter Hubei Province, with an unstoppable momentum, successively recovering the strategic towns along the river, including Qichun and Huangzhou, and directly attacking Wuchang.

  The whole country was shocked for a time, the Qing court was terrified, and the revolutionary situation became very prosperous.

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