Insufficient balance

  The sudden gunshot in the barracks made Chen Jingyun's heart shocked, had the news of Wuchang Uprising already spread to the inside of the barracks? Was the soldier in the barracks preparing to follow the uprising of the new army in Wuchang?

  After this thought flashed through his mind, Chen Jingyun swept his gaze over the military officers present and found that the other officers in the audience were also shocked, but then came to their senses. All the officers above the team leader in the South Drill Ground were here, and those revolutionaries would not launch a rebellion at this time.

  This rebellion is not something that can be accomplished by just a few soldiers causing trouble, without the leadership of mid-to-high level officers, or even their tacit consent, this army would never have been able to rebel.

  He immediately pressed down the tension in his heart and said in a low voice: "Ma Guandai, go out and see what's going on!"

  After finishing speaking, he stood up and continued: "Feng Qin, pass down my previous order!" Feng Qin took orders and followed Ma Guan to leave. Then Chen Jingyun swept his eyes over the military officers present: "Now is a tense situation, everyone has to be patient, if something goes wrong, the hundreds of thousands of civilians in Fuzhou will suffer!"

  The crowd below naturally echoed in agreement, and even the Artillery Camp's Xiao Qi Bin opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately didn't. However, the Engineering Camp's Lin Wenying furrowed her brow: "Closing the camp gates so tightly and not allowing anyone to enter or exit, won't that be too tense? This way, the soldiers inside the camp will only have more to gossip about!"

  Chen Jingyun bowed his head and remained silent for a moment, then said: "No matter what, let's first stabilize the situation for these two or three days before talking about it. As for the soldiers' emotions, the main officials of each department need to comfort and console them more! The engineering camp and artillery camp have many soldiers, so Xiao brother and Lin brother also need to take care of them!"

  Although Lin Wenyin wanted to say something more, she knew that continuing would not change Chen Jingyun's mind, so she didn't say anything else.

  Who made Chen Jingyun the biggest in the South Drill Ground? Although the artillery camp, cavalry, engineering camp, and logistics camp, etc. have no direct affiliation with the 38th Regiment, they all belong to under-strength units, with not many soldiers, and the military ranks of the team leaders are not high, so naturally there is nothing to say. Moreover, the South Drill Ground was originally the location of the command post of the 38th Regiment, Chen Jingyun issued orders here and they couldn't say anything about it.

  Ma Cheng came in again after a while and said: "Biao Tong, just now it was the soldier on sentry duty whose gun misfired!"

  Everyone present let out a sigh of relief, whether it was Chen Jingyun or the officers who were inclined towards the revolutionary party or were actually part of the revolutionary party. The reason was simple: they had not yet prepared to revolt. If something unexpected happened, it might all be ruined.

  Chen Jingyun again ordered the main officials of each team to comfort their troops, and then let the officers of each team return, but left Lin Wenyin, the bandmaster of the Engineering Battalion, and Xiao Qibin, the bandmaster of the Artillery Battalion.

  Chen Jingyun personally poured a cup of tea for the two, with a smile on his face: "Just now, Zihua's words were somewhat reckless, don't take it to heart!"

  Chen Jingyun's actions, however, left Xiao Qibin and Lin Wenyi bewildered. Xiao Qibin even looked surprised and flattered: "Lord Chen, your words are too kind, the matter is urgent and we must be strict, Brother Lin, don't you agree?"

  Lin Wenyin smiled and said: "Of course, of course, Lord Chen is too polite!"

  Chen Jingyun also had a smile on his face, and then said a few more words about the camp's affairs. Xiao Qibin and Lin Wenyi naturally continued to speak well of Chen Jingyun's words, but unexpectedly, after a moment, Chen Jingyun suddenly changed the subject: "Brother Lin, according to what I know, you and Lin Juemin are cousins from the same clan, aren't you?"

  As soon as this remark came out, the atmosphere suddenly cooled down. Lin Jiaomin was unknown to ordinary people, but new army officers and officials knew him well. In April of last year, the Guangzhou Uprising had failed, and many revolutionaries were arrested and killed, including Lin Jiaomin. He was a Fujian native who had returned to Fujian to rally young people to join the uprising in Guangzhou. His actions had made Governor-General Songshou so nervous that he had thoroughly reorganized the 10th Division, removing several high-ranking officers and transferring many mid- and low-level officers out of their original positions.

  "Sir," Lin Wenyin said after taking a deep breath, "although I am of the same clan as Lin Jue Min, I have absolutely no connection with that rebel!"

  Chen Jingyun sneered inwardly: "No way! You might have already started planning a rebellion!" However, he couldn't say this out loud. Instead, Chen Jingyun's face remained kind: "Brother Lin, don't misunderstand me, I didn't say you're a revolutionary party member. I'm just curious about Lin Zhaomin; no matter what, he gave his life for the country. You can't label someone like him as a traitor!"

  Chen Jingyun continued: "Originally I thought you and Lin Juemin were brothers of the same clan, couldn't you have heard some anecdotes about him?"

  Lin Wenyin also felt a little strange after hearing this. When did Chen Jingyun start taking an interest in revolutionary parties?

  Lin Wenying opened her mouth to say something, but Chen Jingyun just waved his hand: "Actually, those revolutionaries are also righteous men, fighting for the country without regard for their own lives. This kind of integrity is also worthy of admiration!"

  This remark made Xiao Qibin and Lin Wenyin both reveal a look of surprise, no other reason, but the Chen Jingyun today is different from the Chen Jingyun in their impression. The Chen Jingyun in the past would not scold Lin Juemin and others as counter-revolutionaries, nor would he have any good words! When did he say two words "admire"?!

  Especially Lin Wenyin, she stared at Chen Jingyun for half a day, but before she could speak, a soldier came in from outside: "Sir, the messenger from the town commander's office just arrived and said that General Xiao invites you to go over and discuss matters!"

  Chen Jingyun didn't think it was strange either. With such a big thing happening on the Wuchang side, it's natural that Fujian can't be unaffected. This order even came later than Chen Jingyun had expected.

  Chen Jingyun said to Xiao Qibin and Lin Wenyi: "Both of you, I still have something to attend to, so..."

  Xiao Qibin said, "Understood, General Tong's invitation must be for something important. We'll take our leave!" As he spoke, he also stood up and followed Lin Wenyin out.

  Watching the two of them leave, Chen Jingyun fell into deep thought. He believed that his previous actions were so obvious that Lin Wenyin or Xiao Qibin must have seen his inclination towards the revolutionary party's attitude. As long as this attitude was conveyed, those revolutionaries would not be able to remain indifferent. After all, he was the commander of the 38th battalion and one of the top four or five high-ranking officers in the 10th town. Moreover, in the Nanxiao camp, there was the second battalion that Chen Jingyun considered his trusted confidant. If the revolutionaries were to win him over, it would be no problem to take down Fuzhou city.

  What if they didn't realize it? Or Lin Wenyin and Xiao Qibin weren't the kind of revolutionaries he imagined them to be? After Chen Jingyun had this thought, he immediately called Lin Chengkun in.

  "Cheng Kun! Can I trust you?" Chen Jingyun's opening sentence stunned Lin Chengkun.

  After a moment of stunned silence, Lin Chengkun said: "Officially speaking, you are my superior officer and at the beginning of the year, it was also your recommendation that got me appointed as the commander of this battalion! Privately, I am your in-law, my elder sister is your sister, everyone in the 10th Regiment considers me to be your man!"

  Chen Jingyun nodded and said: "Lin Chengkun is right! Then he asked, "Have you ever been in contact with revolutionary party members?"

  Lin Chengkun was just about to speak when Chen Jingyun said again: "I want to hear the truth!"

  Lin Chengkun looked at Chen Jingyun's face and said, "I have had contact with them before. Since I became your deputy officer, many revolutionary party members have come into contact with me openly or secretly! However, sir, you can rest assured that I absolutely did not join the revolutionary party!"

  "Alright!" Chen Jingyun said with his hand tapping on the table, "You go and make contact with those revolutionaries!"

  "What's this?" Lin Chengkun was shocked to hear Chen Jingyun say: "Sir, you can't be..."

  Chen Jingyun continued to knock on the table: "The world is about to change, although soldiers value loyalty and obedience, but everything must be prepared for a backup plan! This family of mine is counting on me to make a living! Not to mention me, can't Cheng Kun have a family behind him?"

  "Following the adults' meaning, what is this Qing dynasty likely to be?" Lin Chengkun asked tentatively, and before Chen Jingyun could answer, he took a deep breath: "Chengkun understands, I'll go find those revolutionaries later!"

  "Don't rush, don't draw attention from others, go and test the waters first, best if you can get in touch with their real power holders!" Chen Jingyun instructed with some concern.

  This uprising is a rebellion, so we must be extremely cautious! If the news leaks out, it will be a matter of life and death!

  He then took Lin Chengkun, this deputy officer, and three to five personal soldiers out the door. Given the tense situation, it was safer to bring a few personal soldiers along. The group rode the warhorses from the cavalry unit directly into the city's Flower Alley, where the command post of the 10th Garrison was located, and also where Sun Daoren's residence was situated.

  When they arrived at the town commander's place, they happened to see several officers who had just entered. After a glance and comparing with their memories, they realized that these people were Hu Guilao, the commander of the 39th battalion, and his entourage! Hu Guilao also heard the sound of horseshoes and turned around, seeing Chen Jingyun and others, took two steps forward: "Brother Chen, have you been well lately? I just returned from an inspection outside and heard that you had fallen ill with a cold a few days ago. I was just about to come visit you!"

  He was quite stout, and not very tall, so the whole appearance looked like a fat dumpling. His chubby face was full of flesh, and it shook up and down with every step he took. Compared to his deputy officer and soldiers behind him, who were all robust and refreshing, he was worlds apart.

  "Thanks for your concern, Brother Hu. I just caught a chill and took some medicine, sweated it out and that's all! Chen Jingyun had already dismounted his horse and was walking in: 'But Brother Hu, why are you making the rounds outside the city? You're not usually so diligent!'"