Volume 1: Turbulent Times Chapter 35: Head South, Head South!

  In Fang Zidao's office, the telegram sent by Zhang Huchen was placed on the desk, with a cigar burning green smoke in his hand and the tea water beside him had cooled down. His eyes glanced at the content of the telegram again, let out a light sigh, Fang Zidao knew that what was supposed to come had finally arrived.

  Li Liejun, the former governor of Jiangxi, had secretly returned to Jiangxi for some time. He originally planned to wait for Lin Hu's troops to join him before launching a rebellion. However, Lin Hu was suddenly executed by Fang Zidao before he could leave Nanjing, and the entire Independent Regiment was quickly disbanded and reorganized. Fang Zidao did a decent job of keeping the news under wraps, using the pretext of reorganizing the 8th Division to delay the spread of the information for some time. However, such a major event would eventually become known. Although the 8th Division gave a different explanation for Lin Hu's death, this kind of nonsense could only deceive ordinary people, and it was absolutely impossible to fool Li Liejun and others.

  Li Liejun was shocked to learn of Lin Hu's incident and immediately made his final decision. Last night, he gathered his old troops, mainly the 10th Regiment led by Li Mingyang, the 9th Regiment led by Zhou Biji, the machine gun battalion led by Zhuo Renji, and the newly formed brigade led by Fang Shengtao, to occupy the Hukou Battery. A few hours ago, he also issued a telegram to establish the Jiangxi Anti-Yuan Army and published a proclamation declaring Jiangxi's independence.

  Li Liejun's uprising was expected by Fang Zidao, but he did not expect that Li Liejun would dare to start an uprising so quickly with such insufficient military strength without the support of Lin Hu's independent regiment. It was somewhat unexpected. With Li Liejun's sudden attack, it is estimated that the governors of other provinces will also be unable to sit still. Except for Jiangsu's capital Nanjing, which has already fallen into the hands of the Eighth Division, and Jiangsu Governor Cheng Dequan being powerless, Anhui, Shanghai, Hunan, and Guangdong may one after another declare independence. Fang Zidao couldn't help but worry about this.

  Zhao Hengyu, Wang Xiaozhen and Huang Kaiyuan had just left. They were invited to discuss this matter, but the result of the discussion was a great disappointment for Fang Zida. First, let's not mention that Huang Kaiyuan is not a good candidate for leading troops. As a brigade commander, he is simply a figurehead who only knows how to flatter and follow the wind. He can't come up with any ideas except for bragging and flattering. Wang Xiaozhen did express some opinions, but Fang Zida understood the hesitation in his words. It's okay to let Wang Xiaozhen play a supporting role in the 8th Division, but it's difficult to expect him to take charge alone. How can a military leader be so indecisive? It's well-known that one incompetent general can bring disaster to the entire army. Relying on Wang Xiaozhen for help is absolutely unreliable.

  As for his superior, Zhao Hengyu, Fang Zidao was becoming increasingly unable to see through this person. No matter what Fang Zidao wanted to do or achieve, Zhao Hengyu would always fully support him, and in daily life, he would put on a low-key posture, as if he were not concerned with the matters at hand, giving the impression that Fang Zidao was the real master of the Eighth Division. At first, Fang Zidao was very pleased, and even felt some gratitude towards Zhao Hengyu, for without his cooperation, it would not have been possible to grasp control of the Eighth Division so quickly. However, after calming down and thinking carefully, Fang Zidao felt that something was not quite right. If one were to say that Zhao Hengyu's moral character was lofty and his integrity was high, Fang Zidao would not believe it at all. People all have personal desires, this is human nature; people like Lei Feng who are selfless only exist in fantasies or political propaganda. Fang Zidao had been struggling in the business world for many years, and had seen all sorts of people, with their various faces and behaviors; on the surface they would be friendly, but behind one's back they would stab you in the back, this was a common occurrence, and Fang Zidao could not help but be on guard.

  The situation suddenly changed, and Fang Zidao was not worried about the Beiyang Army, but rather the "comrades" behind him. Nanjing is south of Shanghai, west of Anhui, and southwest of Jiangxi. Now that Li Liejun in Jiangxi has declared independence, the government will inevitably take decisive action. Yuan Shikai, who had long been preparing for military action, would not sit idly by. Moreover, Song Jiaoren, who took over as Premier, was also opposed to this "second revolution". In Fang Zidao's judgment, it wouldn't be long before the central government issued a counter-revolutionary order, and the Eighth Division, which was at the forefront of the storm, would have to bear pressure from all sides.

  "Sir, Premier Song's latest telegram!"

  Zhang Huchen hastily came in and handed a telegram he had just received to Fang Zida. After reading the telegram, Fang Zida suddenly stood up and walked slowly around the office, frowning and thinking for a moment before deciding to call Tao Deming over.

  "Deputy Regimental Commander Fang, Commander of the 31st Regiment Tao Deyao has arrived to report!"

  "Director Tao, please sit down." Seeing Tao De Yao come in to report, Fang Zi Da raised his hand and returned a military salute, pointing to the chair for him to take a seat.

  "Deputy Commander Fang, you're looking for me...?" Tao De Yao asked directly, sitting up straight.

  Tao De Yao is Zhao Heng Yu's beloved general, and his team is also the main force of several teams, second only to Lin Hu's team in combat effectiveness. Although it has been reorganized, its strength has not weakened, but rather because of Zhao Heng Yu's relationship with Fang Zi Da, it has received some care and its equipment has become even stronger than before.

  "Bo Qing, I want you to lead the 31st Division to Shanghai overnight, what do you think?" Fang Zida asked.

  "Are we going to Shanghai?" Tao Deyao was taken aback, and then his heart suddenly filled with great joy. Shanghai was a land of gold, and the 31st Regiment going to Shanghai was not only harmless but also a welcome opportunity. But as soon as he thought about it, why would Fang Ziduo suddenly send his regiment to defend Shanghai? Was there some other reason behind this? Tao Deyao had just opened his mouth to respond when he couldn't help but hesitate again.

  "Haha, take a look at these telegrams first." Fang Zida saw through his thoughts at a glance, handed over several telegrams to Tao Deyao, and after he finished reading, directly said: "Now you understand the situation. Shanghai is not far from Nanjing. Li Liejun has rebelled in Jiangxi, so Shanghai will definitely take action. To stabilize the situation, your 31st regiment should hurry to Shanghai for garrison as soon as possible. You must suppress Chen Qimei and others, and make them dare not act rashly."

  "Does... Master know?" Tao De Yao's eyes flashed with excitement as she hastily asked.

  "Commander Zhao and the two traveling commanders, Huang and Wang, have just discussed this together. Commander Zhao will fully support the 31st Regiment's affairs, so the situation in Shanghai depends on your regiment, Bai Qing. Can you accomplish this task?"

  "No problem! Vice-Commander Fang, you can rest assured that I, Lao Tao, will complete the task!" Upon hearing this, Tao De Yao immediately stood up and loudly replied. Seeing him like this, Fang Zi Da was very pleased, nodded to let him go back and gather his troops, and set off southward at once.

  Xuzhou, located at the intersection of Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui provinces, has always been a place where armies have clashed since ancient times. Since the fall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China, the past few years have seen peaceful weather, and the people of Xuzhou have rarely had such good days. Who would have thought that on this day, the citizens of Xuzhou city suddenly discovered a group of soldiers with queues in their hair marching towards the city from afar? At first glance, they thought the fallen Qing dynasty had returned, until they saw the flags and realized it was actually Zhang Xun's troops from the Shandong Wuguan Front Army.

  "The city gate is approaching, Xuzhou City is almost here." The vanguard battalion commander Wei Debin rushed over on horseback, reined in the reins and reported to Zhang Yun with excitement.

  The Qing dynasty had long since perished, but Zhang Xun was a man who stood out on his own. Not only did he order his soldiers to cut off their queues to show that they still remained loyal to the Qing in their hearts, but also had his subordinates address him as "Junmen" or "Dashuai" according to Manchu custom, all for the sake of commemorating his days as a provincial military commander in Jiangnan.

  "Pass on my orders! The vanguard troops will directly enter Xuzhou City. If there is any resistance, I'll have them beheaded without exception!" Zhang Xun, sitting on his tall horse, raised his binoculars and gazed at the distant Xuzhou City, which was already vaguely visible, and gave the order with a flash of sharpness in his eyes.

  "Hush!" Wei Debin responded and rode off, a horseman galloping forward shouting orders.

  "General, isn't this going too far? The President and the Ministry of War didn't order our troops to directly enter Xuzhou City." Beside Zhang Xun, Tang Yiming, the second battalion commander who accompanied him on the campaign and guarded him, hesitated.

  "Haha, the President didn't stop me from entering Xuzhou City either." Zhang Yun's fingers stroked his beautiful mustache as he laughed loudly: "As the saying goes, 'the general is outside, and the king's orders are not to be obeyed!' Now that there are rebels causing chaos in the south, if we hesitate for a moment, the opportunity will be lost. I, Zhang Yun, have been on the battlefield for a long time, how can I miss this opportunity? Hehe, Xuzhou City is not the only one I want to enter, I also want to enter Nanjing City! Hmph! Those few rebel parties, let's see how they can withstand my mighty army?"

  Tang Yiming's heart skipped a beat as he listened. Zhang Xun's troops marching south was an order from the Ministry of War, but there was no instruction for Zhang Xun to enter Jiangsu from Shandong. Instead, the order required Zhang Xun's troops to bypass Xuzhou and head straight into Anhui, first suppressing Anhui military governor Bertram Simpson, in case he joined Li Liejun's rebellion, preventing Anhui from following suit. After suppressing Bertram Simpson, Zhang Xun's troops would then work with Duan Qirui's First Army to attack Jiujiang, forcing Li Liejun's troops to surrender.

  But who would have thought that after receiving the order, Zhang Xun led his troops on a night march, and after entering Jiangsu, instead of detouring, he headed straight to Anhui, and even planned to enter Xuzhou City, with the intention of leading his army to Nanjing. Tang Yiming knew clearly in his heart that Zhang Xun was not reconciled! After the revolutionaries' uprising, Zhang Xun, who was then the Qing dynasty's Jiangnan governor, led troops to fight against the revolutionaries in Nanjing, but was defeated and fled in disarray, losing the entire province of Jiangsu. Now, with Li Liejun's declaration of independence in Jiangxi, Zhang Xun, who had been harboring a grudge over this matter, became excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood, and as soon as the order from the Ministry of War arrived, he hastily assembled three battalions of troops and rushed south, determined to avenge his defeat.

  Not only that, but also not respecting the superior's order, Zhang Xun intended to take this opportunity to re-control Jiangsu's power. In his eyes, no position was comparable to that of the Governor of Jiangsu. At that time, he would gallop to Nanjing, with great power and authority, which had always been his dream.

  Tang Yi Ming, who knew Zhang Xun's mind well, considered it again and again before speaking up: "General, this Xu Zhou city we can enter, but Nanjing is still not going, right? The Beijing Army Department has sent a telegram, now the Eighth Division of Nanjing has been controlled by the Central Government, now Nanjing is a friendly military place, if our troops go to Nanjing, I'm afraid it will..."

  "What's wrong?" Zhang Heng hummed, raising his eyebrows: "Who is the commander of the 8th Division? What friendly army? All nonsense! It's clearly a trick played by the revolutionary rebels! Li Liejun is rebelling in Jiangxi. If we don't take control of Nanjing now, what if something happens in Jiangsu and our army becomes trapped like a turtle in a jar? At that time, with rebel troops in front and no retreat route behind, what can be done?"

  "But... Premier Song's side..." Tang Yiming hesitated, wanting to persuade further, but Zhang Xun waved his hand and said: "Pshaw! I, old Zhang, used to only know the Qing dynasty, now I only recognize President Yuan. What Premier Song? Can a scholar who eats by talking big still control me, old Zhang? Come on! Tell the vanguard troops to speed up their journey, in one hour I will water my horse in Xuzhou city!"