Insufficient balance

  The occupation of the banner boundary marked that the rebel army had defeated the main Qing army in the city and initially controlled Fuzhou City. However, this did not mean that Chen Jingyun could raise his head and sleep soundly. He still had more important things to deal with, such as the large number of surrendered Qing soldiers currently squatting outside, including banner people and patrol troops. These people could not be handled hastily, nor could they be released directly or simply watched.

  "It's settled!" Chen Jingyun habitually tapped his finger on the table.

  Ma Cheng stood up immediately: "I'm in!"

  "Later, you will go to the Qing army that has surrendered and persuade those ordinary soldiers. Those who are willing to join the revolution will be immediately assigned to your unit, while those who are unwilling will each be given a silver dollar and dispersed." The rebel army currently does not have any extra manpower to guard prisoners, anyway, after collecting their guns, these captured soldiers can't do anything.

  He then swept his eyes over the crowd of officers below and said to Yu Shaoying, who had just arrived: "Brother Yu, the brothers in the constabulary battalion worked hard last night. Now that the situation is unstable, please continue to have the brothers in the constabulary battalion patrol various places within the city. If they encounter roaming Qing troops, bandits taking advantage of the situation, or rioting soldiers, they must be resolutely eliminated and not tolerated."

  Yu Shao-yang repeatedly said yes.

  Then, Chen Jingyun arranged for Feng Qin to set up a recruitment office in the downtown area: "The matter of recruiting soldiers is very urgent. Now my insurgent army has less than 2,000 people, and we urgently need a large number of troops to supplement it, so your task is very heavy!"

  "Understood!" After a night of chaos, Feng Qin had already stepped into the revolutionary party with one foot, whether he liked it or not. He had to follow Chen Jingyun's orders and hoped to maintain the current situation. Otherwise, if the Fuzhou Uprising failed, would the imperial court still listen to him say: "I was coerced!"

  "But don't take in just anyone, those who smoke opium, the old and weak, and rascals must be rejected." Chen Jingyun also knew that most of the people who came to join the army on the first day were rascals, except for those who really couldn't make a living. Ordinary good citizens were still shivering with fear and hiding at home. But this was not the way to start, it would be easy to recruit now, but later it would be extremely difficult to restore military discipline and morale.

  Chen Jingyun continued: "Now Fuzhou city has been cleared of Qing troops, but outside the city there is still the second battalion of the 37th Brigade under Yuan Fang's command, and not far away in Changle there are two battalions of Qin Yuanye. These are all great threats to us. In order to prepare for possible battles, I have decided to reorganize our current rebel army!"

  As soon as Chen Jingyun finished speaking, the expressions of everyone present changed, especially Lin Wenyin, Xiao Qibin, and Peng Shousong. Although the insurgent army in the city was nominally under Chen Jingyun's command, among his subordinates, only the Second Regiment absolutely obeyed Chen Jingyun's orders. The other troops were still manageable for now, but no one could guarantee that they would not disobey orders at any time.

  However, the situation is now tense, and Chen Jingyun cannot possibly take away the military power of Lin Wenyin, Xiao Qibin, Peng Shousong, Yu Shaoying and others with just one word. If he really wants to do this, there is no need for the Qing army to counterattack, and the rebel army will be in chaos on its own.

  "First of all, it's a matter of title. For now, our insurgent army has no official name, and the military government hasn't had time to be established, but we need a general term for external use! I suggest using 'Fujian National Army', and also replace the old Qing dynasty terms of 'zhen', 'xie', 'biao', 'dui' with 'shi', 'lǚ', 'tuan', 'lian', 'ban'. Also, change the front, rear, left, right squads to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th squads." Chen Jingyun finished speaking and Feng Qin immediately distributed the documents with detailed contents to all the military officers.

  Lin Wenyin and others, after reading it, felt that it was just a change of title and did not involve specific military systems. In fact, this issue had been discussed in the two meetings before their uprising, and now it was just made public. So everyone nodded through.

  "With this title, we can also use it to issue a proclamation to comfort the people and calm their minds!" Chen Jingyun said as he went on to say: "Feng Qin, you will personally take care of it later, and it will be issued in the name of the Fujian National Military Command!"

  Chen Jingyun continued: "Now, within the city walls, there are the Second Battalion, Engineering Battalion, Artillery Battalion, and Mr. Peng's brother. Without too much adjustment, we will adjust according to the current departments. The Second Battalion is promoted to the First Regiment, with Ma Cheng as the regimental commander; the Engineering Battalion and Mr. Peng's brother are merged into the Second Regiment, with Lin Wenyin as the regimental commander and Peng Shousong as the deputy regimental commander; the Artillery Battalion is promoted to the Artillery Regiment, with Xiao Qibin as the regimental commander; the Constabulary Battalion is promoted to the Constabulary Regiment, with Yu Shaoyan as the regimental commander. The cavalry squadron is promoted to the Cavalry Battalion, with Huang Anyuan as the battalion commander! The student soldiers will be combined with my personal bodyguards to form a Guard Battalion, with Lin Chengkun as the battalion commander and directly under the command of the Headquarters. Additionally, a new Third Regiment will be established, with Li Lianyang as the regimental commander."

  Chen Jingyun spoke while observing the reactions of the crowd, and it was clear that his words had won over the vast majority of people present. Lin Wenyin, Xiao Qibin, and Yu Shaoyong were all promoted to battalion commanders, or what used to be called banner commanders. Huang Anyuan was also promoted from company officer to regiment commander. As for Chen Jingyun's original subordinates, they were all overjoyed, having been promoted as well. Only Peng Shousong's expression seemed a bit off, although he had also been promoted to deputy battalion commander, his unit had been merged with Lin Wenyin's, which made him somewhat unhappy. However, at this critical moment, he couldn't express any opinions and could only mentally grumble a few sentences.

  Chen Jingyun looked at the joyful expressions of the people below, but he didn't think much of it. Because now the arsenal and the silver vaults of the Qing Bank branch were all under his control. Earlier, when Lin Chengkun came to report back, he had secretly informed Chen that he had found approximately 8 million taels of silver in storage in the vault. At the same time, he had arranged for his personal soldiers to be confiscating property from the banner people and nobles within the city, and he believed that they would not get much. This wealth was the foundation of Chen Jingyun's expansion of his army. As for Peng Shousong, Lin Wenying and others, they were just empty titles, as long as Chen Jingyun did not provide them with military supplies and salaries, it would be impossible for them to expand their armies in a short period of time.

  After appointing these senior military officers, Chen Jingyun personally appointed a series of mid-level military officers for the First Division, including deputy division commanders, three battalion commanders, and twelve company commanders. These people were originally platoon leaders, squad leaders, and other low-ranking officers in the Second Battalion, and this time they can be considered promoted. As for the Third Division, Chen Jingyun didn't manage it for the time being, waiting until the framework was set up before dealing with it. In addition, Chen Jingyun also didn't interfere with the Second Division, Artillery Division, etc., but only instructed Lin Wenyin and Xiao Qibin to report the lower-level military officers. The original secretaries, quartermasters, and armory officers of the 38th Brigade were transferred to the Command Center, while Feng Qin was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Command Center.

  This reorganization did not involve very deep content, and the military system was basically unchanged, only the title was changed. The expansion of each department was just given a title and organization, and Chen Jingyun grasped the military supplies and salaries tightly, not giving them half a cent. It is clear that after a night of intense fighting, Lin Wenyin and others had not yet realized that Chen Jingyun had begun to restrict their military power.

  After everyone's excitement subsided, Lin Wenyin said: "Commander Chen, Li Jimin's troops are still confronting Yuan Fang's troops outside the city. We should hurry to reinforce them without delay!"

  Chen Jingyun nodded: "Now the second camp outside the city is indeed a trouble, Lin Team Leader, do you have the guts to take a trip!"

  Hearing Chen Jingyun's order, Lin Wenyin immediately stood up: "Your subordinate obeys!"

  When Lin Wenyin agreed to the order so readily, it was somewhat unexpected for Chen Jingyun. Chen Jingyun's thoughts were simple: he just wanted to send Lin Wenyin's second battalion out to fight against Yuan Fang, regardless of winning or losing, Lin Wenyin's troops would suffer losses. Moreover, in the eyes of the Tongmenghui members inside the city, Lin Wenyin and Xiao Qibin had too much influence, which was a thorn in Chen Jingyun's side, making him uncomfortable no matter how he looked at it. However, after Lin Wenyin agreed so readily, Chen Jingyun felt a little guilty: was he being too petty?

  Although he felt guilty in his heart, in order to prevent Li Jieming from incorporating Lin Wenyi's third battalion and Yuan Fang's second battalion, he still made the first move: "Right, Li Jieming's unit is also promoted to a regiment, yes, it's the fourth regiment, and Li Jieming will be the regiment commander." This is another Chen Kui, you take my token of authority to persuade Yuan Fang to surrender, if he is willing to surrender, give him a regimental formation as well.

  Chen Kui was the original platoon leader of Chen Jingyun's troops, and after being reorganized into a guard regiment, he served as deputy regimental commander. Chen Jingyun wrote a handwritten order to him, which read: "If you come to surrender, entrust me with the heavy responsibility of one brigade." It's not difficult to make grand promises like granting official positions and making wishes, but anyway, from now on, Chen Jingyun doesn't care how things turn out. What's important is to win over Yuan Fang first.

  After settling these matters, the officers began to withdraw, and Lin Wenyin was in a hurry to prepare for the departure of the troops. Other officers were also busy with other military affairs. Chen Jingyun had just lain down to rest for a while when he received a report that Fuzhou General Piao Shou, who wanted to escape to the embassy, had been captured. Chen Jingyun did not have the heart to kill him and nor did he want to see him, so he simply said: "Lock him up first!"

  After sending away the messenger, he had just closed his eyes when another guard reported that a large number of former Qing officials were caught by the military officers and soldiers in front, including high-ranking civil officials such as governors and Taoist priests, as well as high-ranking military officers like Sun Daoren. Other officials, Chen Jingyun, did not have the mind to listen, but when he heard that Sun Daoren was also caught, he fell into deep thought.

  No matter what, he didn't want Sun Daoren to come to any harm. Sun was his superior and had promoted him, so if he were to kill Sun, he would be guilty of ingratitude for the rest of his life. Moreover, he was also related to Sun through his marriage to Lin's daughter. More importantly, Sun still had influence in the 10th town, and if he could persuade him to join the rebellion, there was a good chance that they could win over the various new armies scattered throughout Fujian province, such as Qin Yuanye in Changle County.

  After some deliberation, he couldn't rest either, so he put on his coat and prepared to go out and see Sun Dao Ren.

  Before he could leave, the guard reported that someone from his own household had arrived. He was called in to see who it was and found it was Chen Yanghui, the steward of the mansion.

  "Fourth Uncle, how did you manage to come through the war-torn lands?" Chen Jingyun asked.

  Chen Yanghui's face was somewhat pale, and he obviously hadn't slept well either: "Everything is fine at home. Although there were a few waves of bandits trying to cause trouble last night, the young master's soldiers were guarding us, so everyone is safe. The old lady heard that there was a disturbance last night and was very worried. Early this morning, she sent me out to investigate, and when I found out that the young master's command center was here, I immediately came over."

  After saying this, Chen Yanghui glanced at the guards beside Chen Jingyun and the officials following behind him, and immediately lowered his voice: "Young Master, are you really rebelling against the imperial court?"

  Chen Jingyun smiled: "That's right, it's upside down. Later, you hurry back and tell your mother that I'm fine!"

  After saying that, he didn't care about Chen Yanghui's daze and went straight to the gate. Chen Yanghui didn't come back to his senses until half a while later, muttering: "It's gone wrong! It's really gone wrong, what can be done now?!"

  PS: Found that the new book list on Zongheng is mainly based on clicks... So, Rainy Day is pulling down this thick face to specially ask everyone to brush up on the book page from time to time... Now I'm staring at the top three positions of the new book list on the homepage with drooling...