The sky was blue, and a few sparse white clouds moved slowly, changing shapes. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The two airships flew through the air one after the other, dropping a few target bombs as they passed over the target, then drifting away before turning around and flying back.

Personnel on the ground rushed over to measure the impact point. Chen Wenqiang turned his head and said to Cai Ye with a smile: "Songpo, how about such an air strike?" ”

Cai Yi thought for a while and said: "In view of the current lack of air defense weapons, this aerial bombardment is indeed very powerful. It's just that, judging by the number of airships and the amount of bombs they can load, the effect of bombing the ground infantry is not great, and it is more threatening to the enemy's artillery positions. ”

Yes, even if the payload of the airship is much higher than that of today's rudimentary aircraft, it is still impossible to achieve any carpet bombing. What Cai Ye said was also very reasonable, and Chen Wenqiang didn't have too high requirements, he just wanted to use it as a miracle trick.

"Relying on airships to win or lose the battle is of course unlikely." Chen Wenqiang pondered for a moment and said, "But as a new weapon, it is still very deterrent. ”

"Yes, if there are a lot of airships and a larger number of bombs, it is entirely possible that the pattern of war will change." Cai Ye has a deep and professional view of military affairs, "Few people have noticed the development of air power yet, but I believe in its prospects." Mr. Chen has a long-term vision and takes a step early, which is admirable. ”

"It's just some opportunistic things, if you really want to fight, you soldiers still have to be counted on." Chen Wenqiang waved his hand humbly and said: "I have read the article you wrote, although the specific content of the 'national soul' is not given in the "Military and National Chapter", maybe until now, you and I cannot answer. But the main content of it is still something that I appreciate and agree with, but it is difficult to achieve, especially in the current social environment. ”

"It's man-made." Cai Ye said in a deep voice: "Lord Chen's entrepreneurship is not smooth sailing. But it still made such a big situation. Let's just say that this Chenzhou Industrial Zone, just one year, is a earth-shaking change. There is also the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway, who would have thought that it would be completed in such a short period of time, and I am afraid that foreigners will also be impressed. If there were more shrewd, capable, pioneering and enterprising officials like Lord Chen, the national strength would be weak and depressed. There is still a lot of hope. ”

"If you want to show your strength, you still have to be constrained by the general environment." Chen Wenqiang smiled faintly, "I have done some careers, but I also have a reputation for being domineering." The imperial court, if it is still controlled by those incompetent people, even if I try my best to change one place, I can't change the whole country, and some people are worried about the death of the government. ”

Cai Yi looked at Chen Wenqiang and smiled slightly. said: "Lord Chen is relatively honest with me, and he doesn't even hide his identity as a revolutionary party. When others treat me with sincerity, I will naturally repay the favor. Although I am not a member, I still appreciate your proposition. If Master Chen believes me, then I hereby promise that once the revolution takes place, I will give me absolute sympathy and support. ”

Chen Wenqiang seemed to be smiling, looking at Cai Yi. Cai Ye did not show weakness and calmly looked at him.

"Haha. When Matsupa said this, I was relieved. Chen Wenqiang suddenly laughed, and the tense atmosphere immediately relaxed, if Cai Yi passed the test, then although his life was not in danger, it would be difficult to return to Hengyang. Take control of the army again.

"This standard will be handed over to you for command, plus the recruits you recruited in Hengyang, a mixed association is enough." Chen Wenqiang waved his hand and said generously: "The guns and ammunition are ready, and we will set off with the army." ”

Cai Ye understood. This standard army was obviously developed by the Revolutionary Party, and at least the officers were all members of the Revolutionary Party, and although Chen Wenqiang believed him, there was still room for him to say something unpleasant, that is, surveillance. But on the other hand, as long as he genuinely sympathized with and supported the revolution, the command remained firmly in his hands.

"Backward education, outdated thinking, weak physique, inferior weapons, and other ills are all mentioned in the "Military and Civilian Chapters." Chen Wenqiang looked into the distance and said slowly: "It is difficult to treat both the symptoms and the root causes, but this official still has some ways to treat the symptoms, that is, money." It's cheesy, but it's inseparable. ”

"If you talk about the ability to make money and raise funds, if you look at the country, no one can be above Lord Chen." Cai Ye didn't mean to make fun of it, and said very seriously: "If you want to enrich the country and strengthen the army, this money is absolutely indispensable." Therefore, my admiration for Master Chen is also true. ”

"200,000 salaries, 30 artillery pieces." Chen Wenqiang pondered for a moment and said with a wry smile: "It can't be any more." ”

Cai Yi smiled and said: "This is Lord Chen's ability, others are afraid that they want to break their heads, and I don't know how adults ask for money and money, and they want guns and guns." ”

"Hehe, this didn't fall from the sky, I'm worried all day long!" Chen Wenqiang paused for a moment, and said, "But I won't snatch food from the mouths of the small people in Shengdou like the imperial court, and I won't squander and waste those wine bags and rice bags." I heard that the old witch costs more than 100 dishes for a meal, and the highest cost is tens of thousands of taels, really-you say, should she smash her rice bowl? ”

Cai Yi smiled bitterly and shook his head, the arrogance and extravagance and waste of the Qing court and even the Empress Dowager Cixi are not new and secret, but people seem to be accustomed to it, although there are some discussions, but they are not widely criticized. And like Chen Wenqiang, who directly denounced Cixi as an old witch and threatened to smash the queen mother's job, I am afraid that he is the only one.

……………

The Hengyang affair was decided, and the retreat route of the Fifth Town of Beiyang from Guilin into Hunan was cut off, and then the Guangdong New Army led by Wu Luzhen intercepted it in the east, and there was no other way to go except to Guizhou.

And even if an army can obtain food and pay by plundering along the way, but there is no continuous supply of ammunition, how much combat effectiveness can it have? As long as the revolutionary strategy of the middle section is successful, the Fifth Town of Beiyang and the Eighth Town of Hubei will be the enemy to be defeated without a fight, and even the revolutionary army in the southwest will be completely withdrawn, the base areas of Yunnan and Guizhou will be completely abandoned, and the general trend of the revolution as a whole will be irreversible.

At present, in the southwest, the revolutionary army and the fifth and eighth towns seem to be fighting fiercely in Guangxi and Yunnan, but the revolutionary army is gradually mobilizing, one is to enter Sichuan, and the other is to assemble on the eastern front, so that the men and horses led by Wu Luzhen can be continuously drawn and arranged on various key points of the march to Wuhan.

Time was tight, and the Revolutionary United Front, of course, with the Revival Association as the mainstay, was in full swing preparing for the countdown to the implementation of the plan.

And Chen Wenqiang's task is heavy. Don't look at him as if he is playing in the mountains and rivers, but he is arranging the work of entering the main route - the Guangdong-Hanzhou Railway. The railway patrol police, armed police, plus the dispatchers of the railway company, as well as the locomotives and carriages to be called, all need to be carefully arranged.

In addition to personnel arrangement, military production has also been transferred to full production. The money is spent like water, in exchange for the abundance of guns and ammunition.

When Chen Wenqiang returned to Guangzhou again, it was already November 1908, and there were less than two months left before the half-year period.

The situation in the country was changing dramatically, and the constitutionalists launched a huge petition asking the Qing court to shorten the original nine-year preparatory constitutional period, and to set up a "major political consultation" and convene a "provisional parliament" before the expiration date. Meantime. He also requested that "a responsible cabinet be established as soon as possible", and specifically explained that the responsible cabinet assumed internal and diplomatic responsibilities on behalf of the emperor, so that the monarchy could be "at peace with Mount Tai."

However, the Qing court undoubtedly disappointed the constitutionalists, and although the Qing court promised that "the constitution must be established, the parliament must be opened, and those who are cautious will be ordered in order of urgency", it still said that "the country is vast." The people are intellectually diverse, and the House of Representatives is opened. anti-disturbance", the delegates' petition was rejected.

The provincial petition delegates were not surprised by this result--- if the petition had been successful once, it would not have been called the Chinese court. So, they launched the petition again and expanded the range of petitioning representatives. Petition signatures were widely solicited to gain momentum.

On September 5, 1908, the delegates of various provinces went to Beijing again to launch a second petition. In addition to the provincial advisory bureaus, the petition also included representatives of provincial chambers of commerce, societies and overseas Chinese. And. Encouragingly, the petition also collected 300,000 signatures, far larger than the first.

The petitioners who entered Beijing first came to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and presented 10 petitions. Although each of the 10 petitions has different emphasis, there is only one conclusion, that is, "the speedy opening of the Diet is the only way to save the country." The petitioners also warned that if the parliament is not convened quickly, "the disasters caused by the Han, Tang, Yuan, and Ming dynasties will surely return to today." ”

However, some of the constitutionalists' fierce threats were rebuked by a more severe edict, "But the matter is of great importance, and it is advisable to be orderly, and the proclamation is clear, and there is no need to blaspheme it again." ”

Obviously, Cixi is not a woman who is ready to give in easily. Of course, she has her concerns, in case this precedent is set, and the common people will follow suit in the future, where is the majesty of the court? Wouldn't it leave a great deal of trouble?

But Cixi was also shocked and worried, and when she saw that there were already 300,000 signatories requesting the constitution, she couldn't help but look gloomy and speechless for a long time.

"No invitations, as for three, as for four, as for endless." The constitutionalists were also mentally prepared to run into a wall again, but they were by no means willing to give up. "We must make a third petition, with perseverance and perseverance, three, four, and even ten, and we may be able to hope for success." The number of people participating in the petition has increased dramatically, and the scale has expanded, and many provinces have seen demonstrations and petitions.

On 16 October, more than 1,000 students studying in Japan held a rally at the Tokyo Jinhui Hall to show solidarity with the petition delegation and to take an active part in the Third National Congress petition. Subsequently, overseas Chinese in Nanyang, the Americas, Japan and other places also called to support the petition activities, and sent representatives to Beijing one after another to show their support. At the same time, major newspapers and magazines have also created public opinion and vigorously advocated the benefits of a speedy opening of the Congress. For a time, "petitioning to convene the Diet" became the hottest topic at that time, and a wave of petitions for the speedy opening of the Diet was also formed throughout the country.

Unlike the previous two petitions, the constitutionalists mobilized a wide range of people from all walks of life and carried out a huge campaign of petition signatures and marches.

On October 5, more than 1,000 people from all walks of life in Zhili, led by Wen Shilin, president of the National Academic Petition Association, and others, marched to the Governor's Office of Zhili to petition and forced the Governor of Zhili to act as his substitute. Ten days later, more than 3,000 people from all walks of life in Henan held a petition signature activity in Kaifeng Youliang Temple, and then lined up to petition the governor of Henan's yamen, and the governor Bao Di personally came out to meet and promised to play on behalf of the imperial court; On October 23, more than 1,000 people in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, gathered to sign signatures in support of the petition and went to the governor's yamen to petition. On the same day, the Shanxi Consultative Bureau and the National Assembly Petition Comrades Association organized and held a petition meeting of more than 10,000 people, and more than 5,000 people signed on the spot.

On 30 October, more than 5,000 people from all walks of life in Fujian marched to the Governor's Yamen to petition, and Songshou, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, accepted the petition. On the same day, the Sichuan National Assembly Petition Comrades Association held a petition meeting, attended by more than 6,000 people, and under the leadership of Pu Dianjun, chairman of the Advisory Bureau, everyone marched to the Governor's Yamen to petition, and Governor Zhao Erxun promised to perform on his behalf. Under the organization of the provincial petition comrades' associations, signature petition activities in other provinces, such as Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and other places, are in full swing. In particular, the petition activities in the three northeastern provinces were particularly enthusiastic, with more than 10,000 people rallying in Fengtian and hundreds of thousands of signatories.

However, the Qing court was no longer willing to make any further changes, and then ordered the dismissal of the petitioning representatives, forcibly escorted the representatives of the three eastern provinces back to their hometowns, and also found an excuse for Wen Shilin, a representative of Zhili, to send Xinjiang to fill the army, so as to make an example of the chickens and monkeys.

In Chen Wenqiang's view, the Qing court's refusal was exactly what he wanted. At the same time, the success or failure of this petition movement, the snowflakes of petitions, the flock of petitioners, the millions of signatures, and the feat of cutting off arms and strands to write bloody letters, all of these show that the people of this ancient empire are dedicating all their enthusiasm and effort to promoting a great change.

Moreover, as the petition movement continued and deepened, more and more local powerful factions began to express their support. In particular, the Han governors, from Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong, have seen that the Qing court has taken the deprivation of the power of the Han governors as an urgent task in the name of preparing for the constitution, so they have taken up the trump card of constitutional monarchy, hoping to contend with the nobles through the responsible cabinet to prevent the excessive expansion of the central power, and also implicitly unite to contend with the central government.

There is a cause and there is an effect, and the reason why the Qing court was overthrown was really because there were too many old historical debts and improper governance, which can be said to be self-inflicted.

But just as Chen Wenqiang continued to raise funds and began the intense work of the countdown, an unexpected thing happened, and the big change was immediately like a chemical reaction with a catalyst, changing the situation in China at a surprising speed. (To be continued.) )