Li Yuanhong's worries were not unreasonable, just when he was arguing with Wang Zhanyuan and Lu Yongxiang, at the Hubei Iron and Steel Pharmaceutical Factory on the edge of the Han River, a man wearing a patrol gown and hanging his arms quietly sneaked into the steel medicine field under the cover of several Hubei New Army soldiers, and found his comrades in a long-abandoned warehouse.

As a former officer who was dismissed from his military post by the commander-in-chief and awaiting trial by a military court, the reason why he was able to move freely was entirely the result of Yang Wangpeng's efforts.

After learning that Deng Gang was dismissed by Zhao Bei, Yang Wangpeng, the commander of the first echelon, personally went to the staff office to intercede, coupled with Lan Tianwei's persuasion, and the emotions of the Qunzhi Society must also be taken into account, so in the end, Zhao Bei agreed to let Deng Gang "make meritorious service" and send him to contact the rest of the eighth town of the Hubei New Army, if he can instigate this Qing army uprising, he can reduce the punishment of Deng Gang, and if the factory can be protected, he can even be exempted from military trial, of course, even so, Deng Gang will not be able to return to the republican army to serve in the military.

The Steel Pharmaceutical Factory is a subordinate branch of the Hanyang Arsenal, which is mainly engaged in steelmaking and fire making. Most of the Qing troops stationed in the steel medicine factory were the troops of the eighth town of the Hubei New Army, although these troops were transferred out of Wuchang City by the governor of Huguang before the arrival of the republican army, but at that time several cadres of the Qunzhi Society had been ordered to sneak back from Taihu Lake and lurk in the eighth town in time, Zhao Bei led the republican army to capture Wuchang, these revolutionaries immediately got in touch with the republican army through the liaison station, and then were ordered to continue to lurk, waiting for the arrival of the liaison.

Deng Gang was that liaison, and his mission was simple: to instigate an uprising of the new army and cooperate with the Republican army to attack the Qing army and defend the arsenal and steel works.

After the Huangnigang Uprising, the Eighth Town of the Hubei New Army was treated unfairly by the Qing officials, and the resentment in the army was very heavy, and the cadres of the Qunzhi Society made full use of this sentiment to incite the morale of the army, but because the army was mixed with some banner officers and soldiers, they never found the opportunity to launch an uprising, and after the republican army arrived in Wuhan, they immediately carried out instigation, and the military spirit was on the side of the revolutionaries.

After the two sides connected, they exchanged the code, exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then cut to the chase.

"How's the morale of the military?" Deng Gang asked.

"Available!" The other party's answer was simple.

"How's the morale?"

"Very high!"

"What's the difficulty?"

"First, there is a lack of ammunition, and the ammunition is in the hands of reactionary officers; Second, the army was mixed with a small number of bannermen, well-armed and numerous, which was the biggest obstacle to the uprising. ”

"Ammunition is not a problem, then send someone to Longdeng Dike, and someone will send bullets over. As for the flag man, as long as the gunshots go out, how can a mere grasshopper shake the tree? The flag people in Wuchang City have all been lowered, how dare the flag people in Hanyang be? But remember, don't kill indiscriminately, this is the commander-in-chief's military order. ”

"The commander-in-chief is more than a woman's kindness."

"A woman's kindness? On the contrary, he is stubborn! ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"Alas, it's hard to put into words." Deng Gang touched his shoulder and sighed, obviously reluctant to say more. Now it is impossible for him to return to the army to serve, and he can only be responsible for the daily affairs of the Qunzhi Academy in the future, for a young man who has devoted himself to the big era, this is simply more painful than taking him to a military court, but since Yang Wangpeng vouched for him with his future, then this task must not fail.

"The commander-in-chief isn't from the Qunzhi Academy, right?"

"It's not! He is of the Restoration Society. Deng Gang shook his head, and stopped talking a little, but he didn't say anything more, and after a few careful instructions, he changed into a military uniform and left the steel medicine factory with dozens of soldiers carrying guns.

……

An hour later, the Republican Army balloon lifted the balloon again in the air in the nightfall, and a string of red and green lanterns hung from under the basket, which was so clear in the night that even spectators from as far away as Hankow could see it.

In this light, it is impossible for the balloon to carry out the mission of calibration, it is just a signal.

After the balloon was raised, the first section of the Hubei New Army stationed at the steel pharmaceutical factory moved without authorization and advanced to the steel plant in the east, and the flag soldiers and officers who rushed to stop it were scattered by a burst of random gunfire, and then the soldiers of this new army unit tied a white towel on their left arm, erected a red flag, officially announced the uprising, joined the republican army, and continued to move eastward, and had a fierce exchange of fire with the Beiyang Army that rushed to stop them after hearing the news.

At the same time, the two Republican gunboats that were originally anchored in the Yangtze River also sailed to the Han River and engaged in battle in the dark.

Hearing the sound of artillery, Zhao Bei immediately issued a general attack order, and the main force of the Republican Army, which had long been ready to go, immediately advanced north from the assembly area of Hanyang City, and under the cover of artillery, quickly broke through the defensive positions of the Beiyang Army in Qintai and Guishan, and then divided the troops into two roads, and spread out in a fan shape, the east route was led by Zhao Bei and went straight to Guishan, and the west road was led by Yang Wangpeng, the commander of the second echelon, and after establishing an advance base in Qintai, it continued to advance steadily to the north, relying on hundreds of rafts and sampans to cross Dongyue Lake at night, Directly across the lake to attack the flank of the Beiyang Army blocking the rebel forces at the steel medicine factory, cutting them off from the defenders of the steel plant and arsenal.

The battle took place at night, and the two warring sides did not have to distinguish between friend and foe on the other side, and the Republican Army all fired to the north, and the Beiyang Army all opened fire to the south, and the sound of explosions and guns came and went, and the night sky was reflected by the artillery fire, like a thunderstorm.

After several hours of fierce fighting, all the enemies of the steel factory were annihilated, and the Republican Army on the West Road immediately advanced to the east, joining forces with the Republican Army troops on the East Road, and carried out a pincer attack on the Qing army, so far, the Qing army defending the arsenal and the steel plant has been completely surrounded.

Later, the artillery positions of the Beiyang Army in Guishan also fell into the hands of the Republican Army, dozens of old and new cannons were mastered by the revolutionary army, and then turned the muzzle of the guns, condescendingly bombarded the Qing troops guarding the steel plant and the arsenal, although the artillery bombardment was quickly stopped because it was dark and the target could not be seen clearly, but it still destroyed the fighting spirit of the Qing army, and the battle lasted until half past nine in the evening, the steel plant and the arsenal had changed hands one after another, and all the Qing troops stationed in the Qing army were annihilated, and Li Yuanhong, the commander of the 21st Mixed Association of the Qing Army, and Lu Yongxiang and Wang Zhanyuan, the standard commanders of the Beiyang Army, were all captured by the revolutionary army.

The remnants of the Qing army in the northwest of the encirclement escaped by luck and scattered along the Han River to the northwest, which led to the Qing army in Montenegro.

Later, the Republican Army with the Revolutionary Guards as the main force unfolded in the northwest direction one by one, and after sporadic battles, they successively occupied the commanding heights of Black Mountain, Biandan Mountain, Wenjia Mountain, Guodi Mountain, Fairy Mountain, and Meiniang Mountain, and established a solid defensive line in the northwest direction of Hanyang.

At this point, the Battle of Hanyang was over.

In this battle, more than 15,000 Qing troops were annihilated, and more than 40,000 rifles, 20 machine guns, 20 retreat field guns, 40 Japanese-made mountain guns, and nearly 100 old-style cannons were captured. And since the Hanyang Arsenal fell into the hands of the Republican Army, the factory immediately became a large arsenal of the Republican Army.

Before dawn, the battlefield was all cleaned up, and more than 2,000 rifles, five cannons, and some ammunition were found, and more than 2,000 scattered Qing troops were collected.

The three towns of Wuhan, except for Hankou, which had not yet been recovered, had been brought into the hands of the Republican Army, and the red flag of revolution was fluttering on both sides of the Yangtze River.

Late at night on the day of the end of the battle, Zhao Bei summoned representatives of the gentry and merchants of Wuchang and Hanyang, gathered at the south bank of the confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River, and gave an order, all the official sedan chairs of the Qing court officials captured by the republican army were piled up into a small mountain, and the hats and robes of those officials were poured with foreign oil, and all of them were burned, and the blazing fire reflected half of the sky, whether it was the residents of Wuchang, Hanyang or Hankou, they could see the flames that rushed to the sky.

Standing on an ammunition truck, Zhao Bei held an iron horn and loudly announced to everyone:

"The era of emperors and generals is over! The era after that will be the era of the republic! From now on, abolish all unequal titles, and there will be no more 'adults', 'villains', 'slaves', and 'masters'! From now on, all people are 'citizens' of the republic! Let us shout in unison: Long live the revolution! Long live the republic! Long live the citizens! ”

"Long live the revolution! Long live the republic! Long live the citizens! ”

Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison, although they may not all understand the profound meaning of these slogans, but at least they shouted out the momentum that swept away all the obsolescence.

Accompanied by the cheers of the citizens, some red river lanterns appeared on the river, more and more, denser and denser, in the thousands, like the stars in the night sky, which could not be counted. Under the order of Zhao Bei, before the battle in Hanyang was completely over, Zhang Jiyang, secretary general and general representative of the Propaganda Committee, summoned the people of Wuchang City, carried red lanterns made in a hurry, and held a huge celebration of liberation outside the city, and lit river lanterns in Parrot Island and threw them down the river to shout for the republic and cheer for the revolution.

Seeing the red lights on the Yangtze River, the soldiers and civilians of Wuchang and Hanyang were all in high spirits, the cries of "republic" and "revolution" resounded throughout the world, and the whole city was immersed in the mood of victory. As for Hankou, which had not yet been recovered, it was a dead air, and the remnants of the Qing army entrenched here all trembled and opened their eyes wide, nervously watching in the direction of Wuchang and Hanyang, for fear that the revolutionary army would take advantage of the night to force their way and attack Hankow.

The authorities of the Hankow Concession also urgently strengthened their vigilance, and the consuls of various countries sent telegrams one after another, demanding that their governments immediately send troops to reinforce the Hankow Concession and to be armed and neutral.

It was a sleepless night for all.

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