Chapter 26: This Lord Xiong Bingkun

  As the 20th century dawned, the brutal and corrupt Qing dynasty's control over China had reached an all-time low due to years of selling out sovereignty and suppressing popular uprisings. With the pioneering efforts of reform-minded officials such as He Ziyuan and Qiu Fengjia, who broke with traditionalist forces and successfully established modern schools, the Qing government was forced to implement a series of educational reforms under pressure from the situation. First, in late 1905, it promulgated a new education system, abolishing the imperial examination system, and then promoted modern schools nationwide, making Western learning the main content of school education. It was thanks to this that many aspiring scholars who hoped to change China's poor and backward appearance through studying foreign advanced systems made continuous efforts to strengthen the military and enrich the country.

  However, the corrupt Manchu nobility was unwilling to give up their corrupt rule over the country. After fully exposing its weakness and incompetence in 1906, the Qing court threw out a "pre-constitutional" system to strengthen imperial power, which further dissatisfied the constitutionalists. In 1908, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu of the Qing dynasty, who had been in charge of this already leaky ship, died one after another. The three-year-old Emperor Puyi succeeded to the throne, and his father Zaifeng took over as regent shortly afterwards. First, he dismissed Yuan Shikai, the head of the Beiyang warlords, and a year later, Zhang Zhidong, the former governor of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Jiangsu provinces, passed away. After losing two more pillars, the young regent king, who lacked political experience, gradually lost control over this empire!

  In May 1911, the Qing government announced a cabinet list with nine Manchu people (seven of whom were from the royal family) and four Han Chinese. It was called the "Royal Family Cabinet". The constitutionalists were greatly disappointed by this, and some joined the revolutionary party. In order to gain foreign support for its rule, the Qing court took over the privately-run railways in Guangdong, Sichuan, Hubei, and Hunan provinces and then sold them to foreigners, which aroused strong opposition from the people of these provinces, sparking the Railway Protection Movement. The movement was particularly intense in Sichuan Province, where various localities organized railway protection associations, electing constitutionalists Pu Dianjun and Luo Lun as chairman and vice-chairman respectively, with the slogan "Break the agreement to protect the road". Tens of thousands of people participated. The Qing government ordered suppression. On September 7th, Sichuan Governor Zhao Erfeng arrested Luo Lun, Pu Dianjun and other representatives of the railway protection association, shooting hundreds of petitioners. The next day, he also ordered the dissolution of all railway protection associations. This further enraged the people of Sichuan, who destroyed telegraph lines, set up checkpoints, and cut off official correspondence.

  To quell the people's uprising in Sichuan, the Qing government sent Minister Duanfang to lead part of the Hubei New Army into Sichuan to suppress it, which weakened the Qing army's defense forces in Hubei. The revolutionaries decided to launch an uprising in Wuchang. On September 14, 1911, the Literary Society and the Progressive Association established a unified leadership organ for the uprising under the promotion of the Tongmenghui, united against the Qing. On September 24, the two revolutionary groups held a joint meeting and decided to launch the uprising on October 6. The activities of the revolutionaries were detected by the Hubei authorities, who were on high alert everywhere, and since important leaders of the Tongmenghui such as Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren could not arrive in Wuhan, the uprising was postponed.

  On October 9, Sun Wu and others accidentally triggered an explosion while making bombs in the Russian concession in Hankou. The Russian police arrived upon hearing the noise, seized the list of revolutionary party members and the proclamation of the uprising, and secretly leaked it. The Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan, Rui Cheng, ordered the closure of the four cities and the arrest of the revolutionaries. In desperation, the revolutionary party decided to launch the uprising immediately on the night of October 9 at 12 o'clock. However, that night Wuchang city was heavily guarded, and the revolutionary party members in various battalions were unable to make contact, and the plan for the uprising that night fell through.

  At this time, the new army in various parts of the city had the heart to revolt, but due to the obstruction of the Governor's Office, they have not yet made contact, which has caused a group of revolutionaries who are truly worried about the rise and fall of the country to worry!

  And the eighth town engineering eight camps Xiong Bingkun, is such a new army leader!

  The scorching sun was burning the earth. At this time, the new army soldiers who had just finished their lunch in the barracks of the 8th camp near the Zhonghe Gate of Meiting Mountain were doubled and more than doubled under armed guard, each returning to their own barracks. Even familiar people did not dare to shout loudly at this time, fearing that they would be caught by the already highly nervous guards and sacrifice their lives in vain.

  However, there were still some people who, even if the enemy had tightened their guard, were willing to take a risk for the revolution. With the help of their familiarity with the military camp, after figuring out the patrol soldiers' routine, they quickly avoided the inspection and gathered in a barracks, seemingly discussing something!

  "One team currently has 4 guns, short of 35 guns, and each person has only 5 bullets!"

  "The second team currently has 3 guns, lacking 41 guns, and each person has only 3 bullets!"

  "We currently have 4 guns in three teams, lacking 37 guns. Each person has 5 bullets. In addition, we got two hand grenades!"

  "We have 5 rifles for the four squads now, but we are short of 40 rifles... and our bullets only amount to 80 rounds!"

  "Five teams... Five teams currently have 2 guns, lacking 50 guns, and only 40 bullets. Our comrade Xiaoyan stole a handgun and a bullet from the foreign instructor... No choice, yesterday evening our team was caught by one comrade, so the patrol's vigilance is particularly strict.... We can only get these..."

  Sitting on the main seat in the house, Xiong Bingkun's eyebrows were tightly furrowed at this time. His left hand was supporting his forehead, quietly thinking. Only his arm, which was clenched into a fist and rested on the table with bulging veins, could make people feel the anxiety and restlessness in his heart...

  "Brother Dai Qian... Brother Dai Qian?"

  In a daze, he felt someone nudging his body, and Xiong Bingkun suddenly woke up with a start. He looked at Cheng Zhengying, who was standing beside him, with an apologetic expression. "Sorry everyone, I was thinking about how we should proceed. Now that we've lost contact with all parts of the city, we don't have any new orders from headquarters, and we don't know if a new date for the uprising has been set. If we rise up prematurely and there's no corresponding response within the city... it'll be troublesome! Alas, thinking about it is complicated, and I inadvertently became distracted!"

  He rubbed his somewhat aching head, and Xiong Bingkun said with anxiety: "Since the incident yesterday, the city has been in an uproar. The Governor of Hubei, Rui Ceng, has gathered heavy troops to patrol the city and arrested many progressive revolutionaries like us, causing public outrage. Among my subordinates, whether it's Zhang Biao's 8th Regiment or Li Songgong's 21st Mixed Brigade, there are people who are waiting for the arrival of our righteous army... Alas, I sigh that there is no great talent in the city to take command and lead us to victory. Secondly, that old thief Li Songgong is cunning and calculating, and two months ago, he used the excuse of a troop rotation to transfer Chen Dajun, who was sympathetic to our cause, away from Chuwangtai. Now, all comrades in the city are worried about not having weapons to start a rebellion. We can only wait for Chuwangtai, which is heavily guarded and has no cannons or divine assistance. Moreover, the new officer in charge is Li Songgong's confidant and is extremely hostile towards our revolutionary army, making it difficult for us at every turn. How can this be worthy of the expectations of thousands of comrades in the city?! Alas..."

  He heaved a deep sigh, his heart had been pent up for a long time. He took out the small watch from his pocket and looked at it, now it was already one o'clock in the afternoon. Although they had previously decided to launch the uprising tonight after the incident last night, they still couldn't solve the problem of uprising weapons and ammunition. Since the leader of the uprising, Sun Wu, accidentally caused an explosion while making bombs in the Russian concession in Hankou yesterday, leading to the leakage of the uprising news, Rui Ceng had serious doubts about the reliability of the new army in the city. Now, except for the three battalions under the control of Zhang Biao, the commander of the 8th garrison, and Li Yuanhong's 21st mixed brigade, which had the most troops in the city at this time, only one battalion of patrolmen and one battalion of police were not confiscated of their guns. The rest of the new army was not allowed to carry bullets except during morning and evening exercises, just to prevent the new army from making trouble.

  Unfortunately, even the most skilled craftsman cannot repair the 'Great Qing' this old house that not only leaks rain and water but also has its foundation eaten away by insects is nothing but a shell of its former self. Now with just one gust of strong wind and a push it can completely collapse!

  "Slap slap~~~"

  Cheng Zhengyin's mouth moved, seemingly wanting to comfort him, but unfortunately, after hesitating for a while, he couldn't find any way out and could only pat his shoulder, offering pale comfort: "Don't mind it too much. Our new officer in the 8th camp is a greedy person. We don't have money to give him, and we can't let him embezzle privately, so he's bound to be wary of us for helping that old thief Laozi accumulate wealth by selling guns. He doesn't know that we are the new revolutionary army, so let him guess. Without evidence, our prestige in the camp is rising, and we won't be afraid of him. However, if we can persuade Officer Wu Zhaolun from the left team, it would be great. He has always been favored by Laozi, who once wanted to recruit him as a battalion commander under his own command but was rejected. Now, in our camp, only his team still has guns, and coincidentally, Bo Nian just found out that tonight, the new officer arranged for him to guard the Chuwangtai military arsenal. We have already developed some comrades among his left team, and Bo Nian is a strategist who had previously sent someone to inform us that before the uprising, he would be guarding the south gate. At that time, we just need to arrange a team to ambush near the south gate in advance, and at 12 o'clock, he will open the city gate. He will command his subordinates to patrol other areas of the camp, and as soon as the patrol comes, they will surely be caught off guard. Once we break into Chuwangtai and open the warehouse, there are tens of thousands of guns, hundreds of machine guns, over a hundred cannons, and countless bullets. If we arm our brothers in the city, this battle will surely overthrow the Qing dynasty's rule in Hubei..."

  Of course, whether he believes it himself is another matter!

  "It's all right..."

  Everyone in the house knew that the future was uncertain, and they couldn't contact the new army inside the city. They also felt a heavy responsibility for guarding Chu Wang Tai, so they didn't dare to go out or speak much.

  Just then, the door creaked three times and two soft knocks sounded, followed by a low murmur. The people inside were suddenly startled, hastily hiding their guns and even several of them quickly found hiding spots to duck into. Before they could finish, the door slammed open with a loud bang, and a sturdy young man stooped in through the doorway, "Commander, battalion advisor, our men outside discovered that a group of brothers had arrived, but were rejected by the soldiers guarding the gate after which they immediately left. However, someone saw one soldier go to the deputy commander's quarters, and our people also found out that another sneaked into the camp quietly, I've already sent someone to bring him over, he said it was an urgent matter..."

  Everyone in the house saw him and suddenly let out a breath of relief. No other, this exceptionally robust man was called Jin Zhaolong, with the courtesy name Pinchen. Although his physique was not impressive, he had an exceptionally meticulous mind and was the 'sentry' arranged by Xiong Bingkun to hide outside the camp and keep watch.

  "What? A group of people has arrived? What kind of people are they? How many have come?"

  Xiong Bingkun was shocked and exchanged a glance with Cheng Zhengying, their eyes darkening even more. They had already guessed that the group of people might be comrades coming to make contact from outside the camp. Now they only hoped that they could escape quickly and not get caught by those scoundrels. Suddenly, they heard that someone else had sneaked into the camp, and immediately their eyes lit up. Cheng hastily ordered him to go bring the person back.

  As the two men had expected, it wasn't long before Jin Zhaolong brought in a short, dark-skinned man. The man first scanned the people inside the house for a moment, then suddenly his gaze fell on Cheng Zhengying's body and lit up brightly.

  "Are you Cheng Dingguo, Brother Cheng? I've met you once before. So the one next to you must be Xiong Daiqian, whom Zhang Zhi mentioned. Hello to both of you! I'm He Liguo and He Min from the Nanhu Artillery Team. Let's get straight to the point - I'm here to discuss a righteous matter with you..."