Insufficient balance

  The Liuhe Lane in Fuzhou's Nancheng District is a quiet place to live, thanks to the absence of noisy markets and shops nearby, as well as the presence of ancient trees that are over a hundred years old.

  However, the usually quiet Liuhe Lane was slightly noisy today. From a distance, you could hear the sound of horseshoes hitting the green bricks, and as the hoofbeats got closer, passersby saw two new army officers riding tall horses at high speed. They wore blue officer uniforms, black long boots, and had yellow and red crossed shoulder badges with dragon-patterned gold buttons. One of them was about thirty years old, with a square face and a long eight-shaped beard, tall and large in stature, with two dragon-patterned gold buttons on his yellow and red crossed shoulder badge, clearly a deputy commander. The younger officer who lagged behind by one horse position was slightly younger, with a somewhat immature face, and the epaulets on his shoulders were also yellow and red cross-colored, with only one dragon-patterned gold button, which was the rank of assistant commander.

  Only after the two men swung their whips and galloped over the bluestone road of Liuhe Lane did they slow down to a gentle trot before stopping in front of a mansion. As soon as the horses came to a stop, they leapt off their mounts and the young assistant commander hurried forward to knock on the gate.

  Before long, the gatekeeper opened the door and a young servant wearing a calabaza hat and a green jacket came out. The servant seemed to recognize the two men and immediately showed a smile on his face: "Ah, it's Master Ma and Master Lin..."

  Unexpectedly, the horse-faced officer with a surname of Ma frowned and cut off the young servant's words: "Where is your master?"

  The officer with the surname Lin on the side also spoke up: "Hurry and report, we have urgent matters to request an audience with General Biao!"

  As soon as the two of them spoke, the young servant was also a person who had seen many faces and did not dare to say anything else. He bowed his head and invited the two into the house, leading them into the main hall after which he instructed the maid: "Serve tea." Having said that, he quickly ran towards the backyard.

  Before long, a young man wearing a horse jacket walked into the main hall. He looked about twenty-two or three years old, and his height was around 1.75 meters. Although the horse jacket he wore was a bit loose, it could still be seen that he was extremely robust, and even compared to Ma Guan's national character face, he was not much different. After entering, he glanced at the two of them and said, "So it's Ma Guan and Lin Chengkun!"

  He waved his hand to signal the two of them not to get up to greet him, and he also walked over and sat down.

  Just as he sat down, Ma Guandai opened his mouth directly: "Lord Chen, something big has happened!"

  Chen Biao seemed to have not seen the anxious look on Ma Guan's face, and he picked up his tea cup, gently swirling the tea water with the lid before taking a small sip.

  Chen Baozong's expression was so solemn that Ma Guan and Lin Chengkun were puzzled. Lin Chengkun immediately said, "Sir, a big event occurred in Wuchang last night! The revolutionary party members led the crowd to rebel, and now they have occupied Wuchang City and made Li Yuanhong the governor. This morning, they issued a telegram, and we just heard the news at the telegraph office and rushed over immediately. It is said that the Governor-General has already urgently summoned General Zhang to discuss matters!"

  After saying this, Chen Biao didn't show any surprise on his face. Instead, he put down his teacup and calmly said, "I already knew about this!"

  Did you already know? Chen Biao Tong's reaction, however, was one that made Ma Guan Dai and Lin Cheng Kun look at each other in surprise. They had just received news of the Wuchang Revolution in the telegraph room at noon, and they had rushed to Chen Biao Tong's place as soon as they got the message. There were only a handful of people in Fuzhou who knew about it before them, so how did Chen Biao Tong know ahead of time?

  Looking at their surprised expressions, Chen Biao's heart was actually sighing. In fact, he had known it earlier than them, and not just a few hours earlier, but many days earlier!

  Four days ago, when he woke up from the darkness, he found himself in an ancient and fragrant room, with his whole body feeling weak and powerless, and his body was also burning hot. What's more, he had a headache. Along with that deadly pain, many memories began to emerge in his mind, but they didn't belong to him!

  Chen Jingyun, also known as Zi Hua, was born in 1888. His father, who had passed away, was a holder of the Imperial Examination and served under Li Hongzhang. After his father's death when Chen Jingyun was twelve years old, his mother took him and two daughters back to their ancestral home in Fuzhou. Following his father's wishes, Chen Jingyun attended a modern school and later received a scholarship to study in Japan as part of the fifth group of Chinese students studying abroad.

  In 1908, after graduating and returning to China, Chen Jingyun served in the 10th Town Commandant's Office to assist in training new troops. A few months later, he was transferred to the 38th Battalion as a drill officer. After the new army was formed, he took up the post of battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 38th Regiment.

  In April of this year, the revolutionaries launched a second uprising in Guangzhou. Among the many revolutionaries at Huanghuagang, there were not a few people from Fujian Province. After the incident, the Governor of Min-Zhe, Song Shou, was afraid that Fujian would also experience military chaos like Guangzhou, so he ordered Sun Daoren to rectify the new army and prevent the revolutionary party. At that time, the commander of the 38th Battalion was relieved of his duties due to suspicious behavior and frequent contact with revolutionaries. Later, Sun Daoren appointed Chen Jingyun as the temporary commander of the 38th Battalion. In this way, at a young age, he controlled an entire battalion. This is not to say that he was a genius, but rather that qualified military officers were scarce in the Fujian New Army's 10th Division, whether they were returned from abroad or graduated from local military academies. Moreover, during this time of widespread revolution, Chen Jingyun rarely came into contact with revolutionaries, which is why Sun Daoren valued and entrusted him with commanding a battalion.

  Chen Jingyun took control of the 38th banner and was diligent, focusing on training his troops. However, he didn't expect that not long ago, due to carelessness, he contracted a cold and fell ill. In his daze, someone had taken advantage of him and stolen his quarters.

  At this time, Chen Jingyun was no longer Chen Jingyun!

  But he could only keep this thought in his heart and couldn't say it to anyone.

  Seeing Chen Jingyun fall into deep thought, Ma Guanbai and Lin Chengkun exchanged a glance, then Ma Guanbai said: "Sir, originally there were many rumors in the military camp. Now if the news from Wuchang spreads, it's likely that those revolutionaries will take advantage of the situation to cause trouble. If things get out of hand, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to suppress!"

  Chen Jingyun picked up his teacup again, took a small sip, and then said, "It's natural to have different opinions, but as for the revolutionary party causing trouble!" After taking another sip of tea, Chen Jingyun put down his cup: "Later I'll go back to camp with you all, this critical moment can't let them make trouble!"

  "With a grown-up around, things won't get out of hand!" Chen Jingyun said, and only then did Ma Guanbai and Lin Chengkun's faces relax. They knew Chen Jingyun was ill, and if it weren't for this incident, they wouldn't have come to disturb him. This Nanxiao campus served as the headquarters of the 38th Regiment, with thousands of people stationed inside, including not only the 2nd Battalion of the 38th Regiment but also the Garrison Artillery Regiment, Cavalry Regiment, Logistics Regiment, and Engineering Regiment. The 2nd Battalion was Chen Jingyun's direct command, but the artillery, cavalry, logistics, and engineering regiments were not so easy to control.

  "I'll change my clothes first!" After saying this, Chen Jingyun got up and went to the backyard.

  Since waking up a few days ago and learning that he was on the eve of the Xinhai Revolution, Chen Jingyun had been thinking about how to go forward. The Xinhai Revolution had already broken out, and if nothing unexpected happened, the next few decades would be a period of warlord infighting, followed by the invasion of the Japanese army. In such a turbulent era, no Chinese person could avoid the world and live alone, let alone Chen Jingyun, who was still an officer in the New Army!

  He is a new army officer, and also an officer who controls thousands of troops. With nearly two thousand troops in troubled times, it is a guarantee for him to make a living. After the Xinhai Revolution, he can be considered a small warlord. Marrying dozens of wives and letting others shout "General" every day, his life should be carefree.

  But the problem is: The two thousand troops under his command are about to rebel!

  Actually, the troops wanted to rebel against him Chen Jingyun not only did not oppose but also supported, after all, the outcome of the Xinhai Revolution is well known to later generations, the Qing imperial court will collapse with a loud noise, and the success of the revolution is inevitable. However, now his troops want to rebel without pulling him Chen Jingyun in, what if those soldiers make a revolution in a couple of days, he Chen Jingyun would be the object of the revolution!

  In fact, the revolutionary party had tried to win over Chen Jingyun before, and many batches of emissaries had come. However, in the past, Chen Jingyun was single-mindedly devoted to military training and had no enthusiasm for revolution whatsoever. Even if he didn't take action against people, he still didn't give the revolutionary party a good impression. Therefore, at present, both superiors and subordinates in the 10th Regiment regarded Chen Jingyun as a stubborn feudal element!

  However, if Chen Jingyun hadn't had this attitude, Sun Daoren wouldn't have let him command the 1st battalion of the 3rd regiment. The 10th brigade only has four regiments and ten battalions: the 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th regiments, with the latter two each missing one battalion.

  The three battalions under Chen Jingyun's command already accounted for a quarter of the total strength of the Fujian New Army! Of course, neither Chen Jingyun nor Sun Daoren, the commander of the 10th Division, knew that revolutionaries had spread like wildfire within the division. Among the dozens of high- and middle-ranking officers, at least half were members of the revolutionary party, while most of the remaining half either sympathized with the revolution or were fence-sitters; only a handful of new army officers remained loyal to the Qing imperial court.

  "It seems that I still have to make contact with the revolutionary party earlier, although I don't know when Fujian will be liberated specifically, but at most it's just this month. If it's late, those revolutionaries might kill me as a feudal remnant." Chen Jingyun walked into the backyard with anxiety, and the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became, fearing that if he wasn't careful, he would be killed by the revolutionary party.