Chapter 67 Low-key

  In the midst of running naked

  "So Wu will not disappoint your expectations, let's talk about the reorganization of the army. The military strength in our hands is now around 7,000 to 8,000, plus the scattered soldiers and the students from the surveying camp, which adds up to nearly 10,000 people. We can first organize them into six battalions. Currently, five battalions have been determined: the First Battalion under Li's command, the Fifth Battalion under Xiong's command, the Twenty-Ninth Battalion under Cai's command, the Thirty-Second Battalion under Sun's command, and the Artillery Eighth Battalion under Jiang's command. In addition to these, considering that the morale of the civilians in the city is not stable and there are not enough soldiers, and also to avoid weakening the strength of our revolutionary army, we can only gather one more battalion from the captured Qing soldiers and surrendered soldiers. As Wu has just been appointed as the temporary commander, he knows little about the heroes in the city, so I don't know which of you can recommend one or two brave warriors to take charge of this newly formed Second Battalion?"

  After the room fell silent, Wu Zhaolun stood up and said in a low voice, "In a chaotic world, military power is the most important thing. Only by grasping military power can one be considered to have failed in revolution. Even if the imperial court investigates, it will have to consider several times. There are many examples of this in history, so he came up with this banner system. However, only a few people, including him and Xiong Bingkun, knew about it for the time being." "Li Biao's military tactics are like magic, his subordinates must be full of versatile and skilled soldiers, can you introduce me to a few?"

  The muzzle turned, and Wu Zhaolin's first question was Li Han, who sat on his right hand. It made the eyes of the people in the scene who didn't know the inner contradictions jealous and red, and some even prepared to oppose as soon as Li Han spoke.

  Li Hangong saluted, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, the First Division previously had a fierce battle with the Eighth Garrison, suffering heavy losses. Moreover, the internal organization is still in disarray, and the number of officers within the division is still insufficient. Furthermore, our unit has been involved in few battles and lacks experience in commanding large troops. I beg for your understanding, Grand Commander!"

  His heart was even colder, but Li Han was not moved by the unified position he threw out. Jokingly, his own unified position had just been grasped, and the compensation for the dead and wounded soldiers under him had not been calculated yet. He had just supplemented 500-600 people from the newly formed army in the city, and many of them were mixed with unfamiliar faces. Where did he have the energy to compete with others for a unified position? Therefore, he directly and decisively gave up without being tempted.

  Everyone in the house looked at him with a mixture of surprise and suspicion, even Wang Wenren's malicious tone made them look at him with disapproval. The Communist Party members who were not very fond of him were all stunned, wasn't this person supposed to be a sly opportunist who took advantage of the revolution? How could he give up such a good chance to seize power?

  The prepared words were also useless.

  "Are there any other satisfactory candidates among the remaining few?"

  "Reporting to the Grand Commander, the situation is similar to that of General Li's unit, there is no one who can control the overall situation!"

  After Li Han, Cai Jimin sat down directly after finishing speaking.

  Those thirty-two banners were originally led by Sun Guoan, a new and surrendered general of the New Army, so he was very honest or said to be flattering, suggesting that Wu Zhaolin himself take the position. As a result, Wu smiled and refused, and then continued to sit in his seat without speaking.

  Xiong Bingkun lowered his head, seemingly hesitant, and several times wanted to speak up but didn't stand up. On the other hand, Jiang Ming was annoyed by several members of the Gongjin Association behind him for half a day. However, when he was about to get up and speak, Deng Yulin lightly pulled his sleeve and pressed him down, so he didn't speak either.

  The atmosphere in the house suddenly became a bit strange.

  "Why bother with such trouble?"

  Suddenly, a voice came from inside the house. Li Han turned sideways to look and found that it was someone from the Hui party side, but he didn't know which family's boss it was.

  "I say, you young whippersnappers are always pushing and shoving, but none of you want to do it. That's fine, give it to Old Master Luo. These merchants coming and going from Hubei province all have to give me a few thin slices of face, and my brothers under me can fill up the whole table at any time. If you don't want this second-in-command position, I won't be polite!"

  "This is certainly impossible..."

  "It's no use..."

  Look, there are people in the party who are eager for power and have stood up, whether it's the Gongjin Association or Xiong Bingkun and other meritorious officials who have come out to oppose them. This is ridiculous, although the people of the association in this city have also made some contributions, but if we talk about helping each other, they are actually causing more trouble. Almost all the brothers under the command of the big bosses in this house have participated in the despicable act of looting during the chaos, and there are even people who personally led the troops. Whether it's the Gongjin Association or Wu Zhaolun and others, although there is a struggle for power among them, it will not allow those association members to take control of the banner.

  Li Han sat on one side, calmly observing with a poker face, his left hand covering his eyes as he massaged his temples, using the opportunity to recall if there were any omissions in his previous actions.

  About an hour ago.

  "Is the intelligence accurate?"

  Li Han coldly smiled and asked a glance at his chief of staff standing beside him - Li Dong!

  "Yes, sir! Since you received the invitation, we secretly dispatched an elite squad of soldiers to hide and disperse around the Council Chamber for surveillance. However, due to the large number of guards in the vicinity and the need to avoid exposure, our people didn't dare get too close. Nevertheless, they managed to gather some information that someone might be planning to take advantage of the situation to harm you!"

  Although he was promoted from the infantry regiment's reserve cooperation school to the newly established Intelligence Bureau as the acting director, Li Donglai still felt that it was more comfortable than the half year he spent in the infantry regiment. After all, during his studies in Japan, he studied intelligence at the Japanese Military Academy. Although at the military academy, Li Donglai's performance was far inferior to those of his fellow foreign students who entered with him, looking at those students whose grades were even higher than the Japanese, where are they now? Some had already become a delicious meal in the belly of fish and shrimp, leaving behind only a skeleton that sank into the sea. More were coerced by Japanese intelligence agencies, becoming Japan's secret spies in China. Only he and another clever person who knew how to hide his abilities managed to complete their studies and return to their homeland.

  Unfortunately, no one expected that such a superior intelligence officer who was proficient in modernized reconnaissance and espionage techniques would become a synonym for ignorance and incompetence in the eyes of the corrupt officials of the Qing dynasty. A single transfer order sent him to Hubei, making him an ordinary low-ranking reserve army officer. If it weren't for Li Han's mistake, perhaps in just a few more years, his intelligence skills would have been worn away by time.

  "Hmm, I expected as much..."

  Li Han hummed, looking at him with some surprise. When the battle in the city had ended earlier, he had arranged for the reserve officers he had selected to introduce themselves in detail. This young and slightly short officer named Li Donglai had left a deep impression on him, so he asked him a few more questions. Unexpectedly, he had graduated from the Intelligence Department of the Japanese Army Academy, and Li Han was surprised to ask some questions about intelligence terminology and the comparison of the strength of foreign intelligence agencies. To his surprise, Li Donglai answered them in detail and accurately.

  Li Han, who deeply understood the importance of future intelligence, didn't say a word and brought him to his side. He issued a special order allowing him to recruit no more than 100 soldiers or officers from the new army to form an intelligence agency. Their first mission was to investigate what the leaders of the new army in the city were planning!

  As a result, Li Donglai did not disappoint him. His order had just been issued for less than half an hour, and not only had a crude intelligence agency been set up, but even the things he ordered to be investigated had some leads!

  "...go on."

  He waved his hand to signal him to continue, Li Han rubbed his sore temples and watched on TV as those big bosses and high-ranking officials seemed so simple and easy-going. But in fact, they had only risen to power for less than half a day by relying on the prestige of the uprising. Not to mention that he now had to divide his attention between patrolling the city walls, handling entry and exit, and dealing with the extreme anti-foreigner members of the Progressive Association who might pose a threat at any time. There were also the Triad societies and Wu Chaolin whom he had already offended. Of course, the most dangerous ones were those coming from Hankou in the direction of Hanyang. He had other arrangements on that side, so he wasn't too worried about it. However, since hearing the sound of cannons from the docks on the Hanyang side, he began to worry in his heart. History had already made some mistakes under his hands, and he didn't know if Hanyang would be able to return to the revolutionary army as it did in history after Wuhan was liberated a few days later. This was crucial to ensure that the revolution would win in the even more brutal war that was about to come.

  With such melancholy thoughts, it's only half a night's time that makes him feel inadequate for the first time, truly difficult to be a national leader who needs to solve the survival of domestic people and complete the modernization construction of the country, achieve the prosperity of the nation!