"Lord Xietong, Anqing's chaotic party has secretly left the city." The communications corps reported to Li Yuanhong, the 21st co-commander of the Hubei New Army.

At this time, it was close to ten o'clock in the evening, and when he heard this news, Li Yuanhong immediately came to his senses, "How many people have been sent out by the chaotic party?" ”

"Lord Qiqi, there are probably more than 100 chaotic parties who secretly left the city and went in the direction of our 41st mark. Lord Biaotong asked me to report to my lord, and I will never let the chaotic party succeed in a sneak attack. ”

"Hmm. Tell the 41st standard system that one must not let the chaotic party escape. Let's go down. ”

Not long after the communications soldier left, he heard a dense burst of gunfire in the distance. Not long after the gunfire stopped, a communications soldier panted into Li Yuanhong's Chinese army tent under the leadership of his own soldiers, "Lord Xietong, the forty-one standard has been reported that the chaotic party that went out of the city has been completely annihilated. ”

"Well done!" Li Yuanhong breathed a sigh of relief, and then he hurriedly added, "Let Biao Tong send the captured rebels to the Chinese army immediately, and I will interrogate them personally." ”

"Yes." After the signal soldier answered, he quickly walked out of the Chinese army's tent.

The staff officers who had been in Li Yuanhong's big tent in the Chinese army were also relieved. "My lord, it seems that this chaotic party in Anqing is also vulnerable in front of our Hubei New Army."

"How did these people lay Anqing? The new army in Anhui is so vulnerable? ”

Listening to the skillful flattery of the staff officers below, Li Yuanhong also had a little smile on his face. The fall of Anqing and Chizhou shook the government and the opposition, Li Yuanhong never expected that it was actually his own co-commander who led the troops to pacify the chaotic party in Anqing, he really didn't want outsiders to see his nervousness and excitement. If you can successfully exterminate the chaotic party and recapture Anqing and Chizhou, how much credit is this, there is no need for Li Yuanhong to remind himself repeatedly. The more he faced such a feat, the more Li Yuanhong had to remind himself to be cautious. Because the fall of Anqing and Chizhou is really too surprising.

"Lord Xietong, are we starting to attack the city?" The staff officers were far from Li Yuanhong's thoughts, and everyone was very excited to learn that they had eliminated the rebellious party out of the city so easily. Generally speaking, those who dare to go out of the city to fight are the elite, and the elites of the rebel parties are still so vulnerable, let alone those who are cowering in the city.

"Don't worry, I'll talk about it after asking those captured rebels." Li Yuanhong said calmly. Having said that, Li Yuanhong couldn't help but feel excited and proud in his heart. In order to hide this excitement, Li Yuanhong simply buried his head and pretended to look at the map. But how could the smug expression be hidden from the clever staff officers, the staff officers hurriedly surrounded them and began to point fingers at Anqing City, and the meaning of the words was to let Li Yuanhong hurry up and march into the army and quickly take Anqing City.

Li Yuanhong knew the real thoughts of these staff officers, after the rebel party conquered Anqing and Chizhou, the court was in chaos, Anqing was the provincial capital of Anhui after all, and the Anhui New Army was stationed. As a result, Anqing fell within a day, and the new army was also wiped out. You must know that the new armies in all provinces are all troops formed by the imperial court with great effort, when did such a chaotic party emerge that could easily eliminate the new army in Anhui. The whole court was terrified.

The contradictions and disputes between the ministers of the court have always been against people, and any trivial matter can become a fierce struggle between parties as long as they are in the court. Not to mention such a major event as the fall of Anqing. Even Li Yuanhong, who was far away in Hubei, heard that this struggle had turned into a fierce struggle between Yuan Shikai and the princes of Beiyang as usual. The struggle at the top was too complicated and intense, and Li Yuanhong did not know the essentials. The new troops around Anqing were extremely afraid of the "revolutionary party" that suddenly appeared. Since the news learned by the imperial court that the Anqing New Army was very likely to be a collective rebellion, under the strict orders of the imperial court, all the new armies in all provinces launched a strict internal investigation to arrest the revolutionary parties that had penetrated into the new army. With such a large-scale search and inspection, coupled with the Chinese New Year, the new army around Anqing could not be dispatched.

After the Chinese New Year, because there were many chaotic parties in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and Anqing, the new army in the south did not dare to dispatch easily. The heavy task of suppressing bandits fell on the shoulders of the Hubei New Army. There are also many opinions within the Hubei New Army on who to send to lead the troops, and most people believe that the Hubei New Army should be allowed to control Zhang Biao to lead the troops, but after all, the Hubei New Army has not long gone through a campaign to "inspect the revolutionary party within the New Army," and because the Hubei New Army is very "advanced" under the management of Lord Zhang Zhidong, there are quite a few people who are inclined to the revolutionary party internally. The number of officers and soldiers who do not want to suppress the Anqing rebellion is also a lot. If Zhang Biao left Hubei, some people were afraid that these new troops would make trouble, and in the end, the heavy responsibility of commanding the troops would fall to Li Yuanhong. Moreover, Zhang Biao's command was not stingy, and in addition to the 21st Association under Li Yuanhong's command and the Hubei New Army Naval Army, which collected the warships of the Anhui New Army, Zhang Biao also transferred the 29 standards under his command to Li Yuanhong's command. Li Yuanhong's strength reached 7,000 people.

If Li Yuanhong can easily take Anqing, not only can Li Yuanhong be promoted, but these staff officers who follow Li Yuanhong can also be promoted. Seeing the great victory in the first battle, the rebel party was so vulnerable, which was related to their promotion and fame, and the staff officers' minds became more anxious.

The Hubei New Army under the city temporarily remained cautious because of Li Yuanhong, which was originally good news for King Yue in the city. But none of the cadres of the Yue Wang Society were able to realize this. Going out of the city to fight was a particularly brave and righteous Hui Party unit, and they almost volunteered to go to the outside of the city to lay an ambush and prepare to "rob the camp" at night. Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by the new army, and the whole army was wiped out in a moment. For the Yue Wang Society, this blow was too heavy.

The defenders of the Yue Wanghui at the head of the city exchanged words one by one, and this rapid defeat made many defenders from the Anhui New Army unable to help but recall the defeat in the face of the People's Party. That failure was just as swift and so simple. Many defenders even superstitiously thought that as the new army lost the battle, they still had to lose the battle after becoming a revolutionary party. Could it be that this Anqing is the place where he is destined to be unlucky?

The lower-level soldiers were panicked, and the upper echelons of the Yue Wanghui fell into the same feeling. The party members who were originally shouting to go out of the city to fight were silent one by one, and they no longer dared to release such big words. And the parties who originally advocated giving up Anqing and running away were even more eye-catching. They exchanged glances with each other, and then looked at Chen Duxiu and the others who were sitting in the first place with a look that wanted to speak.

Chen Duxiu didn't notice the eyes of the party, and his mood at this time was in a daze because of the ups and downs. Chen Duxiu did not understand military affairs, and for him, the revolutionary war was supposed to be victory after victory. Otherwise, how could there be a final victory of the revolution? After the Hubei New Army demonstrated its superior strength, it also demonstrated its strong combat effectiveness. Chen Duxiu was stunned by this clean military defeat.

As a military cadre, Chang Hengfang, who was born in the new army, can accept this defeat, "This is just a small defeat, as long as we defend Anqing City and don't go out of the city easily, the Hubei New Army will not enter the city so easily." ”

These words did not boost morale, and the crowd was as if they had not heard these words at all, and they should be in a daze, and they should be cowardly.

"Let's arrange the team to defend the city at night and defend carefully. ...... tonight" Speaking of this, Chang Hengfang paused. He was going to say, "It's not going to be easy tonight." But the atmosphere in the room was so sluggish, Chang Hengfang felt that he couldn't say this very frustrating sentence.

Seeing that Chang Hengfang wanted to speak and stopped, Diao Dezhang swallowed his saliva, and then said: "Chen Dashuai, in this situation, I will take my brothers to guard the north gate." After finishing speaking, Diao Dezhang thought for a while and added, "This cannon is very bad, the brothers didn't rest well yesterday, we rested in the first half of the night, and we will stay in the second half of the night." ”

Seeing that Diao Dezhang, who had always advocated surrender, could be so righteous, Chen Duxiu couldn't refuse, he nodded, "That's it." Hengfang, you go and arrange the troops guarding the city at night now, you must be careful. ”

Chang Hengfang began to arrange the deployment of defending the city, and as a result, the members of the various Hui parties were sent to the city wall, but half of the new army troops controlled by Yue Wanghui were left in the city camp except for half of them in the west of the city and several other key points. This is not Chang Hengfang's selfishness. Tomorrow during the day is destined to have a great battle, and if the vigil at the head of the city is exhausted, and the fight begins tomorrow during the day, the number of troops capable of fighting will be extremely insufficient.

The party members stopped talking one by one, obviously dissatisfied with Chang Hengfang's arrangement.

Looking at the cowardly appearance of the party, Chang Hengfang said angrily: "What are you afraid of, isn't there our troops defending in the west of the city?" There are brothers of the new army on several other points, and the Hubei Yankees are coming to attack, and as long as everyone holds for a short time, our reinforcements can arrive. ”

The leaders of the party knew that this was true, but they were still very uneasy in their hearts. A leader of the Hui Party named Zhou Xingchen said timidly: "Commander Chang, then let me guard the north gate with Brother Diao." Brother Diao has a lot of people, and I have few people, so I want to defend the city with him. ”

Many people can be courageous, but Chang Hengfang can understand Zhou Xingchen's thoughts. He adjusted the order of the vigil, and the leaders of the party went one after another......

When only the cadres of the Yue Wang Association were left in the conference hall, Chang Hengfang said in a tragic tone: "Dashuai, we can hold it." ”

"How long can we hold out without reinforcements?" Chen Duxiu's voice seemed to be questioning, but also as if affirming. The people in the conference hall were silent when they heard this. Before confronting the Army of the New Army, there are still a thousand "scenarios". When the infantry of the Hubei New Army Chen Bing Anqing was under the city, all the "assumptions" were ruthlessly dispelled by reality. When these people were forced to set their sights on this only path, each of them suddenly realized that the end of this path was most likely completely shattered. Many people in the Yue Wang Guild had to face such a reality, "They may have known such an outcome for a long time, but they always let themselves avoid facing it." ”

In such a sad atmosphere, Xiong Chengji got up and said: "Commander, comrades, we have been practicing diligently for more than a month, and our backbone is capable of fighting. The only problem is that the party members don't listen to the call. Anqing City is too big, and if there is no party, it will not be able to defend it completely. We put our own elite troops in the city, and once the new army attacks the city, we will send troops to the place where the new army is attacking the city, and we can hold it if we want to. ”

After all, Xiong Chengji graduated from a professional military academy, and his advice was good. Hearing this, Chang Hengfang took the lead in responding to peace, "That's true, the new army will fight and the party can fight." Many of our troops are from the new army, and everyone is from the new army, so what is there to be afraid of? Could it be that the Hubei Yankees are all three-headed and six-armed? ”

Under the encouragement of these two soldiers of the Young Zhuang faction, the conference hall gradually became a little lively. Many people are still uneasy in their hearts, but after all, everyone is a young person, and there is a sense of not admitting defeat. The performance of the Hui party these days has proved that they can't fight at all, but when both the offensive and defensive sides are new troops, Anqing has the city wall as a backing, and it will be much better to be condescending after all. It may not be who will kill the deer.

If he hadn't met Lu Zhengping, Chen Duxiu would have been inspired by the enthusiasm of the young comrades, but he couldn't forget the conversation with Lu Zhengping last night. "The party is unreliable. The number of comrades of the new army is insufficient, and Anqing is so large that even if it repels the first few attacks of the Hubei New Army, once the Hubei New Army increases its troops, or the new army in Nanjing, Anqing will still not be able to hold it. If that's the case, then why bother to stick to it. ”

Chen Duxiu agrees with Lu Zhengping's opinion, but it is not easy to command the retreat of thousands of people. The retreat plan provided by Lu Zhengping was to prepare dry food first and send people to explore the way. Then dismiss the Hui Party, let the core troops who dare to fight fiercely attack the Hubei New Army, and suddenly retreat when the Hubei New Army thought that Anqing was going to go out of the city to fight to the death. This will not only buy time, but also increase efficiency. Chen Duxiu also thinks so. The problem is that Chen Duxiu was a revolutionary, or more precisely, a literati and revolutionary theoretician, and he lacked the ability to fully implement this plan, let alone the courage to persuade his comrades to carry it out.

So in everyone's confused thoughts, Chen Duxiu almost followed everyone and wasted a day's time. Now seeing that the comrades are so enthusiastic, Chen Duxiu doesn't know how to talk about the retreat.

Chang Hengfang had already made up his mind to fight to the death, and he saw that the other cadres had reached a consensus, so he said to Chen Duxiu: "Marshal, if there is nothing else, I will organize a vigil." ”

"Well......, okay. For now. Chen Duxiu responded.

Chang Hengfang took Xiong Chengji and others out together, and only Bai Wenwei was left in the conference hall. Chen Duxiu suddenly found that he had lost another opportunity to persuade his comrades to retreat.

"Strictly guard the camp and beware of sneak attacks by rebels." Li Yuanhong gave the order.

"Yes, Lord Co-ordinator. My lord, what's the password for camp tonight. The staff officer replied and asked.

Li Yuanhong looked at the dishes on the table in front of him, and wanted to use the name of a dish as a password, but he couldn't help but think of Cao Cao's "chicken ribs" password, and resisted the urge to use the name of the dish, Li Yuanhong said: "The password is to attack Anqing at night." ”

"Night attack on Anqing." The clerk hurriedly wrote down the password and presented it to Li Yuanhong before using the seal.

After the staff officers went out, Li Yuanhong ate a few mouthfuls of food boredly and asked his soldiers to withdraw the leftovers. The staff officers did not dare to eat at the same table with Li Yuanhong, but the big tent was happy and quiet. After the soldiers made tea, Li Yuanhong took a sip casually, and his brows couldn't help frowning.

This is not because the tea is not delicious, Li Yuanhong has his own thoughts. In the afternoon, Li Yuanhong personally interrogated the captured rebels. only to find that the rebel parties are simply a rabble. After being captured, these people were all violently beaten, and when they were brought to Li Yuanhong, they were all covered with scars. There is no arrogance at all. Li Yuanhong's inquiry was very smooth, and these people explained the situation in the city 1510. These circumstances not only did not make Li Yuanhong feel at ease, but made Li Yuanhong feel even more confused.

When Anqing fell more than a month ago, it really shook the world. Anqing is the provincial capital and a famous city. The fact that it was captured in one day made many people who were pessimistic about the imperial court even think that the complete destruction of the Qing Dynasty was about to begin. Regarding the extermination of the rebellious party in Anqing, the opinions in the court are obviously divided into two factions. One faction advocates immediate purge, while the other advocates finding out what is going on.

The officials who advocated immediate purging adhered to the consistent attitude of the imperial court in recent years, and they had to be ruthless to those who dared to rebel in order to deter the rebellious party. However, those who advocate finding out first are some of the more old and serious ones, and the Anhui New Army is not a good fighting unit in the new army, but it is also a whole new army. It was completely annihilated in one day, which shows that the forces of the chaotic party have far exceeded imagination.

The officers of the Hubei New Army believed that there were nearly 10,000 new soldiers and officials at all levels in Anqing City, so there should be someone who could run out and report the news. Unexpectedly, the Hubei New Army waited for half a month, but did not wait for any news to come out. In the past half month, the Hubei New Army has also sent many spies, but the results of the investigations have been very different. There is a huge amount of information about all kinds of completely different information, but when it comes together, it is impossible to put together a decent general situation.

What the Hubei New Army knew was that it was the Yue Wang Hui who now occupied Anqing, and it was the Guangfu Hui that occupied Chizhou. The information is better and justifies. For the Anqing New Army and the officials in Mancheng, the intelligence is varied. Some say that all the officials below Enming were killed by the revolutionary party, some say that Enming and others have already defected to the revolutionary party, and some say that the entire Anhui New Army has defected to the revolutionary party. Anyway, all the officials in the city are alive and dead, and there is no news. This extremely strange thing made the Hubei New Army a little overwhelmed.

In the blink of an eye, the Hubei New Army learned that the victims who had been displaced to Nanjing and other places because of last year's floods began to make trouble, and the imperial court ordered Rui Fang, the governor of Liangjiang, to appease him, and he was unable to send troops to Anqing. And after a New Year's fermentation, all kinds of news have become more unpredictable. On the whole, the cultural relics officials in Anqing Mancheng not only still have no whereabouts, but also heard that a new revolutionary party, the "People's Party," has emerged in northern Anhui, and there are even more varied opinions about the People's Party. Some people say that the People's Party is a subordinate of Yue Wanghui, and some people say that the People's Party is a subordinate of the Guangfuhui. Each of these claims seems to have some truth. In the end, it was Zhang Zhidong who was far away in Beijing who gave the order, and the Hubei New Army was ready to send troops. Lord Zhang Zhidong is now the Minister of Military Aircraft in the capital, and his words will definitely not be wrong. The Hubei New Army began to prepare for battle, but there was no news from the imperial court, and it was only ten days ago that the Hubei New Army officially received an order from the imperial court to send troops to suppress it.

But after today's interrogation, the captives confessed that it was not the Yue Wang Hui or the Guangfu Hui who defeated Anqing, but some people's party that was not in Anqing at all. Moreover, the People's Party is not under the Yue Wang Hui and the Guangfu Society. According to the captives, the People's Party was a revolutionary party that had been established long ago and now controlled the northern part of Anhui. There was a flood in northern Anhui, and the news was not clear, even if there was news, it was bad news. Such a revolutionary party suddenly rose in the flood-stricken area, and the news between northern Anhui and Hubei was not smooth, and Li Yuanhong really did not know whether he should listen to the words of the captives. Tasting tea, Li Yuanhong really couldn't make up his mind in his heart.

But after thinking about it for a while, Li Yuanhong also let go of his thoughts. Although the captives mentioned such a People's Party, they also said that the People's Party had already returned to Fengyang. Fengyang is hundreds of miles away from here, and there is nothing to be afraid of. As long as Anqing and Chizhou are recaptured, it will be a great achievement. What kind of people's party in Fengyang, let the court worry about it.

After determining this, Li Yuanhong ordered, "Inform all battalions that tomorrow the third watch will make rice, and as soon as the morning dawns, they will start shelling the western city of Anqing." ”

"Yes, Synergy."

"Wait, let's go and explain to the battalions, and tonight we will strictly prevent the Anqing rebels from stealing the camp." Li Yuanhong still maintains the principle of being cautious.