Insufficient balance

  Feng Qin continued: "It's worth noting that in addition to the 10th Division of the New Army in Fujian, there are also five routes of patrol troops with a total of 5,000 people. Among them, the front route Chen Jinqiu's division has been defeated by us, and the other four routes are: the middle route, the 5th battalion of Cao Chunfa's division with 1,500 people stationed in Quanzhou; the rear route, the 2nd battalion of Fan Qingcheng's division with 600 people stationed in Zhangzhou; the left route, the 5th battalion of Xu Jingqing's division with 1,500 people stationed in Jianning; and the right route, the 2nd battalion of Liu Zhuo's division with 600 people stationed in Tingzhou. In addition, there are also a considerable number of soldiers guarding various forts!"

  "With 3,000 new troops and 4,000 patrolmen, they basically controlled most of Fujian!" Feng Qin stopped his narrative and looked at Chen Jingyun.

  Chen Jingyun nodded and said, "Although Fuzhou has been recovered, our great revolutionary cause has just begun. Such a large province of Fujian cannot be allowed to wander outside the military government. We must adopt various means to recover all parts of Fujian! And in order to make our army's organization more conducive to the revolutionary cause, I suggest reorganizing the Fujian National Army!" He paused here and looked at everyone, seeing that no one had a clear expression of opposition before turning to Feng Qin and saying, "You explain the detailed plan!"

  "Feng Qindao: 'Yes!' Immediately distributed several copies of the plan, and said: 'In order to recover the whole province of Fujian and then promote the national revolutionary cause, in accordance with the instructions of the commander-in-chief, the plan of the general staff is as follows:'

  The First and Second Regiments were formed into the First Brigade, with Ma Cheng as the brigade commander and Xiao Qibin as the deputy brigade commander. The commander of the First Regiment was succeeded by Zhuang Dafu; The Third and Fourth Regiments were formed into the Second Brigade, with Li Jimin as the brigade commander and Li Lianyang as the deputy brigade commander and concurrently the commander of the Third Regiment. The commander of the Fourth Regiment was succeeded by the deputy position. The Garrison Battalion was changed to the Sixth Regiment, and together with the Fifth Regiment, they formed the Third Brigade, with Yuan Fang as the brigade commander and Yu Shaoyong as the deputy brigade commander. The commanders of the Sixth and Fifth Regiments were respectively promoted from their deputy positions. To strengthen the artillery support for each brigade, the Artillery Battalion was divided into three artillery companies, which were assigned to the three brigades. The Guard Battalion was expanded into a Guard Regiment, with Lin Chengkun remaining as the regiment commander. At the same time, the newly established Seventh and Eighth Regiments were formed into the Fourth Brigade!

  It's natural that some people are happy and others are worried. When Ma Cheng, Li Jimin, and Yuan Fang were promoted to high positions, they were overjoyed, but Xiao Qibin was gloomy. The reason was simple: the artillery regiment had been divided into three parts, so he couldn't be the regimental commander anymore. Although he got the position of deputy commander of the first division, the two regimental commanders under the first division were both Chen Jingyun's trusted subordinates, who would listen to him?

  Chen Jingyun's words were clearly intended to elevate himself, but actually lowered his own status, and everyone could see through it. However, Chen Jingyun didn't care. If Lin Wenyin was still around a few days ago, he could have relied on the Second Division to make some waves, but now that only one artillery division was left under Xiao Qibin's command, it was impossible for him to stir up any trouble. As for Li Jimin and Yuan Fang, neither of them were old revolutionaries; Li Jimin was like Chen Jingyun, a temporary turncoat, while Yuan Fang had simply defected to Chen Jingyun's side and had no connection with the Tongmenghui.

  Xiao Qibin is not a fool, although his face doesn't look too good, but he didn't blow up on the spot.

  "Since everyone has no opinion! Mr. Feng, you continue!" Chen Jingyun took a sip of tea, he was very satisfied with the current state.

  Feng Canmou also coughed and said: "According to the reorganized current military strength, there are three brigades. The first brigade will go north along the coast to Funing Prefecture, where they will face the 39th Banner. If they do not surrender, we will resolutely eliminate them, and then establish a defensive line in Funing Prefecture to guard against the Qing army from Zhejiang. The second brigade will go to Yanping Prefecture, where there are also two battalions of new troops, and also face Xu Jingqing's five battalions of patrol troops in Jianning Prefecture, as well as defend against the Qing army from Jiangxi."

  At this time, Lin Zhaomin interjected: "What about the south then?"

  Lin Zhaomin has been somewhat forgotten by people in the past few days. Although he still wears the big hat of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Fujian National Army, this position is much higher than that of the group of military officers below him. However, in recent days, everyone has intentionally or unintentionally avoided mentioning him. Chen Jingyun's side is like this, and so is the Tongmenghui side. Li Jimin and other newly joined military officers are even more ignoring him.

  Feng Qin replied, "The south also has a plan!" He then said seriously: "The third brigade will go down along the coast to Zhangzhou Prefecture. There are only two battalions of patrol troops with a total strength of 2,000 people. After defeating them, we will garrison in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou to prevent the Qing army from Guangdong!"

  "The defense of Fuzhou City will be undertaken by the Guard Corps and the newly formed 4th Brigade!"

  At this time, Ma Cheng doubted: "The 4th Brigade has not been formed yet. There is only a guard regiment near Fuzhou City. Isn't it too empty?"

  Chen Jingyun said, "Not so, although the three brigades have arranged their tasks, but each regiment's military supplies and personnel are not full, and the soldiers have been fighting continuously for several days, which has consumed a lot of energy! Therefore, each department needs to rest and replenish troops, ammunition, etc. This will take at least five or six days, during which time the fourth brigade can also set up its framework!"

  Here is the translation:

  At this point, Chen Jingyun remembered the matter of military equipment and immediately spoke up: "Regarding military equipment, in order to avoid logistical supply difficulties caused by numerous models, each department must unify their caliber!" Chen Jingyun thought to himself while speaking: "The First Regiment, Second Regiment, Third Regiment, Fourth Regiment, Fifth Regiment, and Sixth Regiment will all be equipped with the Hanyang rifle. All other types of rifles will be collected back." Currently, the number of people in these six regiments is extremely small, with the First Regiment having around 1,300 people, the Second Regiment around 400 people, the Third Regiment around 1,200 people, the Fourth Regiment 500 people, the Fifth Regiment 500 people, and the Sixth Regiment 400 people. In total, there are only about 4,000 people, which is enough to equip them all with Hanyang rifles. Of course, the other models of rifles that were collected back as well as those in storage cannot be wasted either. They can also be used to equip other troops in the future.

  The officers present all knew the importance of unifying military equipment and naturally would not oppose it.

  In this military council, the most important thing is to organize each regiment into three brigades and separate artillery regiments. Two regiments formed a brigade, which was previously called two battalions in one division, just with a different name. The division into three routes was for the convenience of short-term military operations, and the selection of the main officers was also cautious. Ma Cheng, Li Jiming, and Yuan Fang were all former infantry battalion commanders who could be considered as Chen Jingyun's only available mid-level officers. At the same time, Xiao Qibin, Li Lianyang, and Yu Shaoyong were assigned to them as deputy brigade commanders, which could also restrain them.

  Dividing the artillery regiment is not a good idea, originally it was just an 18-gun battalion, after the division, it became three six-gun artillery companies, scattered use is not a good choice, but Chen Jingyun in order to isolate Xiao Qibin, had to put the artillery under his own command, and reluctantly made such a move.

  After the military meeting was over, everyone came out one after another. Just then, a staff officer of the headquarters rushed in with a telegram in his hand and exclaimed with joy: "We have just received a telegram announcing the recovery of Hunan!"

  "Oh? Hunan has also been recovered?" Chen Jingyun's face did not change much upon hearing the news, but it was clear that a hint of joy had already appeared on his face.

  As soon as he took over the telegram, he realized that Jiao Dafeng, the leader of the new army in Hunan, had led a mutiny last night and successfully controlled Changsha within a day. With lightning speed, he established a military government and appointed himself as the governor-general, issuing a telegram. This speed was even faster than the Fuzhou uprising, which took several days of fighting. He didn't know that Jiao Dafeng in Hunan was much bolder, recruiting 600,000 to 700,000 soldiers within a few days after the mutiny and sending out the first batch of troops to aid Hubei just four or five days later. In comparison, Chen Jingyun's military expansion was slow. However, Jiao Dafeng's rapid expansion came with a price - he was killed by his own mutinous soldiers just ten days after the uprising. It can be seen that revolution and mutiny are not easy tasks, and one mistake can cost you your life.

  "Good! Hunan has followed in the footsteps of Fujian, and it can be imagined that uprisings will erupt across the country!" Chen Jingyun handed over the telegram to the crowd behind him.

  As if to prove Chen Jingyun's words, in just a few minutes, another staff officer rushed in, also holding a telegram: "Governor, Shaanxi has been recovered!"

  Everyone was shocked, Chen Jingyun took over the telegram and saw that the new army in Shaanxi had also risen up. The insurgent army called itself the Qinlong Fuhanjun, with Zhang Fengchuo as its commander-in-chief and Qian Ding as his deputy. The reason why it did not establish a military government like Hunan was mainly because the news from Shaanxi was not smooth, and they were not clear about the trend of uprisings in various southern provinces, so they temporarily used this name for the time being.

  Governor, it seems what you said was right, the uprising has broken out nationwide! And our Fujian is the one that triggered this massive outbreak!" Feng Qin said with a smile, his words were partly correct and partly incorrect. As the second province to be liberated, Fujian mainly played a supporting role, making the spark of the Wuchang Uprising burn even bigger, but saying that Fujian triggered this large-scale uprising was still an overstatement.

  However, everyone present was from Fujian, so naturally no one would refute Feng Qin's words!

  "It seems someone from the North won't be sleeping well tonight!" Chen Jingyun was also all smiles.

  Chen Jingyun's guess was correct. Faced with the increasingly deteriorating situation in the south, Zaizhen had not slept well for many days. When he heard that Shaanxi and Hunan had almost simultaneously issued a telegram to restore order, his eyes turned black and he fainted.

  The news reached Yuan Shikai's ears, although it made the hand holding his teacup tremble slightly, spilling tea water everywhere, but he showed no other unusual expressions, only saying: I know!

  And this news was another bombshell for the vast number of Chinese people! Newspapers in various places hastened to print and distribute extra editions, and newspaper boys almost shouted as they scattered newspapers with this message on the streets.

  So far, four provinces have been recovered. At this time, even the most optimistic people about the Qing court understand that if nothing is done at this time, the dynasty will collapse.