After nightfall, Anqing City had calmed down. The core cadres of the Yue Wang Association gathered together for a meeting. Everyone first explained the "active attack" plan proposed by Lu Zhengping during the day. But the participants were more concerned about the map provided by Lu Zhengping. This detailed map completely aroused the enthusiasm of these people to point out the imaginary world. At that time, it felt so good, it was really "a thousand miles of Jiangling in one day", the imaginary troops, the imaginary world, everyone arbitrarily crisscrossed and transformed the world according to the ideals in their minds.

"Chen Dashuai, if according to what the People's Party said, our elite will go out to fight for seven or eight days, in case the Qing infantry suddenly attacks Anqing, what should we do? Relying on Anqing City is the best way,"

"It's also a way to go around the back of the Hubei Yankees. But you really have to go hundreds of miles. ”

"Who's leading the team? Who to take with you? ”

No different from usual, the debate unfolded wave after wave. In addition to the fact that there are no "feasible" concrete solutions, all kinds of "possibilities" are mentioned one by one, and everyone has poured so much energy into these "possibilities" that everyone has a reason.

Not long after, even such plans as "assassinating the governor of Liangjiang", "assassinating the prince of the Manchu Qing Dynasty" and "assassinating the old demon woman of Cixi" were proposed. Moreover, these strange plans are also theoretically correct, once the high-level is assassinated and the upper level is shaken, at least the Hubei New Army may not have the heart to continue fighting, and it can also be called the idea of "encircling Wei and saving Zhao".

In the end, even the plan to break into the Hubei New Army and incite the Hubei New Army to rebel was also formally put forward and discussed, and if this discussion was seen by Chen Ke, he would definitely have a very familiar feeling. Most of the discussion threads on the forum are like this, "When discussing strategy, talk about details, talk about strategy, the possibilities are infinite, and never mention how to execute." ”

If it was before, everyone talked and talked late at night, and then they each went back to rest with their unfinished fun. But Chen Duxiu has absolutely no intention of letting this daily discussion continue this time. He interrupted the conversation, "Guys, I'll talk about that later. Do you want to send troops or not? ”

Looking at Shi Dekuan, who was silent, Chen Duxiu asked, "Dekuan, what do you think?" ”

Shi Dekuan pursed his lips, it seemed that he had a lot of courage before speaking, "Chen Dashuai, if it doesn't work, let's just withdraw to the People's Party." The People's Party would definitely not send troops to rescue Anqing, so I went on a trip, and I walked on the road for almost ten days. Mr. Qiu came back from the People's Party this time, and it took six days to come to our Anqing. With the time spent on the road bare, plus the preparation of equipment and food, even if we set off to contact the People's Party now, it will take a month for their rescuers to arrive in Anqing. I don't think we'll be able to make it to that point. ”

"Dekuan, you are disturbing the morale of the army." Chang Hengfang immediately stood up and objected.

"Dekuan has a point." Xiong Chengji expressed his support. At this meeting, there was no one who spoke, except for Shi Dekuan, who was Xiong Chengji. After a full day of artillery battle with the Hubei New Army, Xiong Chengji was not as sharp as before. "What's the use of us all dying in Anqing? It is better to withdraw to the territory of the People's Party first, they are also revolutionary comrades, and it is better than us fighting the Manchus here. ”

This plan was the most feasible plan so far, and after Xiong Chengji expressed his support for Shi Dekuan's idea, no one in the room spoke anymore for a while.

"I think we still have to fight. Even if we withdraw, we can withdraw to Huaining. Bai Wenwei was silent for a while, then muttered. If you don't fight and withdraw in disgrace, Bai Wenwei can't accept it no matter what.

There are not many people who should be with Bai Wenwei, everyone doesn't talk much, and when it is time to make a decision, everyone doesn't have the courage anymore.

Chen Duxiu asked, "Can we hold Anqing City?" ”

No one answered, and on this question, everyone once thought that Anqing would be easy to hold. The high city walls, artillery, and rifles all made them think that as long as they occupied Anqing City, they could easily resist 100,000 enemy troops. The fact that the 3,000 troops of the People's Party conquered Anqing City overnight and completely annihilated the Anhui New Army ruthlessly told these people that Anqing City was not enough to rely on for anything. The People's Party was still able to do this with inferior troops, and the Anqing Revolutionary Army, which was far inferior to the Anhui New Army, was now facing tens of thousands of Hubei New Army. If there is no miracle, everyone knows that they can't keep Anqing.

Looking at the silent appearance of the comrades of the Yue Wang Society, Chen Duxiu knew the result. He said without hesitation: "If we can't hold Anqing, we won't be able to stand it when we retreat to Huaining." In that case, we will withdraw to the territory of the BJP. Regroup there and make a comeback. ”

Hearing this, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This is not a good result, but it is much better than the immediate destruction. But another practical problem appeared in front of Yue Wanghui, how to retreat. The BJP's exemplary role in this regard is also extremely strong. It took them only one day to retreat from Anqing with a large number of captured supplies and equipment. If King Yue wants to retreat, what to bring and what not to bring. It's all a point.

"Let's ask the two gentlemen of the People's Party to come and discuss it." Chen Duxiu said.

"Dashuai, why should we find outsiders to meddle in our own affairs." Chen Duxiu's idea made it difficult for these real backbones of the Yue Wang Society to accept.

Chen Duxiu smiled, "Comrades, I led everyone to form this Yue Wang Association, but I didn't expect that we would be able to occupy Anqing. I didn't know that I would face such a situation after occupying Anqing. I'm not qualified, and none of us are ready. But Mr. Yan Fu of the People's Party and Chairman Chen Ke are ready. We might as well take refuge in these two first. It is also far better than a meaningless battle to die in Anqing. ”

Bai Wenwei was very unconvinced, "Marshal, Mr. Sun of the Alliance has already asked us to stick to Anqing, saying that reinforcements can arrive." As long as we can hold on, there will be absolutely no problem. ”

Chen Duxiu was also reluctant to explain, "Everyone, since everyone has jointly recommended me to be the commander, and now I have given this order, are you willing to obey?" ”

Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, everyone knows that they can't come up with a solution to the problem, and it is only a matter of time before they persevere and perish. At this time, although various "possibilities" were flying in their minds, no one dared to say anything more.

Lu Zhengping and He Jinwu were a little puzzled by the fact that they were suddenly invited to King Yue's meeting in the middle of the night. They originally wanted to escort them away during the day, but King Yue would definitely leave them in Anqing to rest for a day. Now that the Yangtze River is blocked by the Hubei New Army, it is not easy to find a boat to cross the river, and the ferry on the other side of the river is also occupied by the Wuhan New Army, so everyone has to stay in Anqing City. Both of them were tired, and after eating, they lay down and went to sleep. Until he was woken up by the people of Yue Wanghui, looking at the dark sky outside, Lu Zhengping asked a little strangely, "How long have we slept?" ”

It was Shi Dekuan who came to call them, and he replied, "About three hours." Two, we Chen Dashuai are invited. ”

The only person who received the two was Chen Duxiu, who told them that King Yue would like to withdraw from Anqing and join the People's Party.

"King Yue will defect to our People's Party?" Neither Lu Zhengping nor He Jinwu expected Chen Duxiu to make such a request. Before leaving, Chen Ke had made some predictions about the situation in Anqing and Chizhou for the two of them. There is no prediction in these predictions that Yue Wanghui will actually defect to the People's Party. Lu Zhengping and He Jinwu glanced at each other, and they couldn't help but show a look of surprise on their faces. What should I do? Is it Comrade Chairman Chen right away? Or do you refuse immediately?

Without waiting for Lu Zhengping and He Jinwu to recover from their surprise, Chen Duxiu immediately threw out a new bomb, "I came to the two of you to ask them to do a favor, and the two of them talked about the military this afternoon. Your party retreated from Anqing not long ago, and it is in good order, and I want you to put the two of you in charge of the withdrawal of our Yue Wang Society. I wonder if you can help? ”

"Mr. Chen, what do you mean by this?" Lu Zhengping asked, he was very suspicious that Chen Duxiu was setting some trap for himself. Where is there such an easy retreat.

Chen Duxiu looked at Lu Zhengping's face full of doubts, and he smiled: "Mr. Lu, in your opinion, will our King Yue be able to hold Anqing City?" ”

"......, I'm afraid it's not that easy." Since Lu Zhengping didn't know what Chen Duxiu meant, he simply told the truth.

At this time, Chen Duxiu didn't care about any face problems at all, he said calmly: "Since we can't keep it, then why should we hold it." Moreover, our Anqing Revolutionary Army is a newly built army, which is far from your party's army, and we hope that Mr. Lu, on the basis of the revolutionary comrades, can help us formulate a plan for retreat. ”

Lu Zhengping and He Jinwu glanced at each other again. Although Chen Ke did not expect that King Yue would actually retreat, Chen Ke once specifically explained that if the two of them saw that the recovery of Chizhou would obviously not be able to withstand it, he suggested that they abandon Chizhou and withdraw to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. I didn't expect that King Yue would see the situation much earlier. It's not impossible to help King Yue make a retreat plan, but neither of them knows Chen Ke's attitude towards King Yue. The Yue Wanghui was more alienated from the People's Party than the Guangfuhui. The two had no idea what King Yue's attitude would be towards the People's Party. If you can't figure this out and rashly lead the people of the Yue Wang Society to the base area, if something happens, it doesn't matter if the two of them are punished or not, but it will cause uncontrollable consequences to the base area, then it will be bad.

Chen Duxiu did not urge Lu Zhengping, looking at Lu Zhengping's uncertain look, he waited quietly. Chen Duxiu could see that Lu Zhengping was not a literati, and Lu Zhengping did not have the self-control of a literati who had been rigorously trained. Lu Zhengping has a kind of concentration unique to people who do practical things, but this kind of concentration is different from the straightforward and purposeful "philistine" of Diao Dezhang who will meet the party. Diao Dezhang's straightforwardness stems from the fact that he only cares about benefits and doesn't care about anything else at all. Lu Zhengping does not have the slightest taste of this philistine, but has a very simple feeling. Chen Duxiu and Lu Zhengping didn't have much contact, but they only met once today. In this contact, Lu Zhengping neither boasted nor pretended to be polite. Chen Duxiu has not seen many such people, although Yan Fu can achieve such a point, but Yan Fu has relied on long-term precipitation. Lu Zhengping is only twenty-three or fourteen years old, but this young man has a temperament very similar to Yan Fu. If I had to describe it, it was a feeling that would be convincing. Chen Duxiu listened to Lu Zhengping's self-introduction, and he was not a high-ranking cadre of the People's Party. And the cadres who are responsible for escorting Qiu Jin will not have too high a level. The middle and low-level cadres of the People's Party have such qualities, and Chen Duxiu is becoming more and more curious about the real strength of the People's Party.

"If Mr. Chen wants me to organize the retreat, how much can Mr. Chen follow the plan I have made?" Lu Zhengping finally broke the silence and spoke.

"As long as it's not too much, I'll do what I say." Chen Duxiu replied.

"If that's the case, forget it. The plan I am about to propose must be extremely excessive in the eyes of the Yue Wang Society. Lu Zhengping replied, and after speaking, he stood up and prepared to leave.

"Wait" Chen Duxiu hurriedly stopped Lu Zhengping, "Mr. Lu, there is nothing more truth in this world. If Mr. Lu thinks that his request is right, he might as well reason with me. Although I am reckless, I consider myself not to be an unreasonable person. ”

"Mr. Chen, Chairman Chen Ke of our party has spoken. In fact, there are only a few truths in this world, but it depends on the position from which you look at them. Where you sit on your ass, you will naturally think about the problem from where you are. According to our People's Party, this is called the butt deciding the head. ”

"The ass decides the head? Haha, well said. Chen Duxiu was amused by this simple answer. Although these words sounded rude, they made Chen Duxiu suddenly feel a sense of brightness. "Where do you think Mr. Lu should sit on our ass now? Do you want to sit on the side of the BJP? ”

Lu Zhengping didn't feel funny at all about Chen Duxiu's ridicule, "No, Mr. Chen, your ass should go to the people's side." ”

Chen Duxiu was very puzzled by Lu Zhengping's accusation, and he asked strangely: "Sit on the people's side?" Our revolution was originally for the people and for China. ”

"For the sake of the people, you let the whole Anqing soak in and urine? Is this your revolution? ”

"This ......" Chen Duxiu didn't expect Lu Zhengping's reason for criticizing himself to be public health, "This is indeed what we did not do well." But the situation is so tense that we really don't have time to pay attention to it. ”

"Don't take the good for the small, don't take the evil for the small. Our People's Party talks about principles, and our Chairman Chen said that thousands of years ago there was a predecessor named Xunzi in China, and he said that there are no two ways in the world, and there are no two hearts of saints. If you are really a revolutionary, then everything will meet the standards of a revolutionary. Revolutionaries are just to make the people's lives better, don't look at such a trivial matter as open defecation, for real revolutionaries, they will never let themselves do such things. There is no one else in my heart, of course, I can pull open my pants and pull them away. If you have someone else in your heart and the interests of the people, then you will never do that. ”

Hearing this, Chen Duxiu's face had become extremely solemn, he was also a famous scholar, and he was naturally familiar with the words quoted by Lu Zhengping. It was the first time he had heard anyone talk about the revolution in such a light. According to Lu Zhengping, not only did he not violate the teachings of the sage, but it was as if the sage had been teaching those who read the sages how to be revolutionaries more than 2,000 years ago. Chen Duxiu found that he didn't have any room to refute. If you must cite the scriptures, you can use what "subordination" and "things cannot be violated" to justify. Chen Duxiu knew very well that even if he spoke a lotus flower, he was only arguing. Because from the standpoint of the people of Anqing City, King Yue will be in Anqing for more than a month, and the people have indeed suffered. The people did not enjoy any of the benefits of the revolution at all, nor did the comrades who were loyal to the revolution. The benefits are only enjoyed by those who cling to the revolution, then divide the money and food, and defecate everywhere.

Chen Duxiu faced the young man who was several years younger than him, and frankly admitted his mistake, "Mr. Lu, your reasoning is right. I was wrong. What do we do, according to you? ”

"One thing to do is to have a beginning and an end. We, the People's Party, must unify our thinking before every war, and we must unify our thinking after the war. Where is this unity of thought? Reunification is a question of whether this matter is going to start and whether it is done. I don't know what you think, Mr. Chen, in my opinion, from the perspective of our People's Party, you have failed in Anqing. Even if you fight back next time and occupy Anqing, the Hubei New Army will fight again and be completely annihilated by you. You've already failed this time. If you want to retreat effectively, you must unify this idea. In this battle of Anqing, you have already lost. This is the working method that Chen Ke repeatedly emphasized during the training of political commissars. Seeking truth from facts is first and foremost about facing reality. Even if reality can make people hopeless, it must be faced. If you don't want to face reality, you will inevitably tell nonsense. If nonsense is piled up, the revolutionary cause will be irretrievably destroyed.

Even if Chen Duxiu is an excellent literati, has read so many books, and has such a reputation, but Lu Zhengping asked him to face the reality of failure in Anqing, Chen Duxiu still can't do it. His face was hot and his mouth was dry. Chen Duxiu can admit that he did wrong, but Chen Duxiu strongly wants to deny that he failed in Anqing. You can correct what you do wrong, but you can't do it again if you fail. This is to admit that he has been preparing for so long and has spent so much effort to seize Anqing, and it has completely ended in failure. This is a fact that Chen Duxiu absolutely cannot accept.

Chen Duxiu's face was red and white, and he even looked a little hideous under the late night light. Lu Zhengping was a little stunned in his heart, he was worried about what Chen Duxiu would do if he suddenly went crazy? Looking at it now, it seems too difficult to get Chen Duxiu to sincerely admit defeat. Lu Zhengping was worried on the one hand, and he was a little strange on the other. In the BJP, those comrades who have not read much can easily accept the fact of defeat. And it is also very good at criticism and self-criticism. Isn't it just admitting defeat? The facts are laid out there, what can not be admitted? Comrades who have not read much, but who have only learned knowledge in the BJP, can face failure. And Chairman Chen Ke's great knowledge is absolutely not to hide his failure. Seeing that Chen Duxiu is also a person who has read books, he seems to have been harmed by those who have read books. Three-year-olds who can't read can admit that they can't do anything and fail to do something. On the contrary, people like Chen Duxiu, who have read books and are already adults, can't even do such a trivial thing as admitting failure.

Fortunately, Lu Zhengping had already slept for a while, and he didn't feel sleepy at this time. He exchanged glances with He Jinwu, and Lu Zhengping saw a very helpless feeling in He Jinwu's eyes. Lu Zhengping sighed slightly, no wonder Chairman Chen Ke would rather not want Anqing than quickly draw a line with the "revolutionary parties" such as Yue Wanghui. To cooperate with this kind of organization, you have to be a little salty. Lu Zhengping admired Chen Ke's vision in his heart.

After waiting for a while, Chen Duxiu's expression returned to normal. "Mr. Lu is right, our Yue Wang Association has indeed failed. To-morrow I will send a notice in the city to explain this to the people. Then we will withdraw from Anqing. ”

He Jinwu couldn't stand it anymore when he heard this, and he asked, "Mr. Chen, why are you issuing a notice?" ”

"Huh? This has to be explained to the people. We have caused the people to suffer so much......"

He Jinwu was more impatient, and he said something that was not nice at the time, "You explain what a fart." Hurry up and clean up Anqing City, and then pack up your things and run. What does it mean? What kind of notice? Do you think the common people don't know that you can't stand it? What do you want? ”

Compared with Lu Zhengping's polite words, He Jinwu's words are much more frank and straightforward. This confused Chen Duxiu, "Mr. Lu said that he must stand on the people's side and admit defeat. ”

He Jinwu is the commander of the second company of the reconnaissance battalion, and the reason why he did not become a political commissar is that He Jinwu thinks that being a political commissar has to talk all day long, and his temperament is too urgent to do this. But this does not mean that he and Lu Zhengping will have the slightest difference in their views on the issue. Originally, Chen Duxiu's approach made He Jinwu angry, and after hearing Chen Duxiu's statement that he wanted to post a notice, He Jinwu couldn't help it anymore, he said with a smile: "Mr. Chen, if you want to stand on the people's side, clean up the feces, urine and garbage all over the city, if you stand on the people's side, you will first leave enough food for yourself to eat on the road, and then give the rest of the food to the people no matter how much, you are called standing on the people's standpoint." You can't defeat the Hubei New Army, do you think the common people don't know? Now that you have run away, the common people must know that you were scared away and beaten away. Do you need to put up any bullshit notices? ”

If Lu Zhengping's words only made Chen Duxiu feel a kind of reflection and despair, He Jinwu's words made Chen Duxiu feel a great shame. He replied with a red face: "Just do what Mr. He said." Just do as Mr. Ho said. ”

"Wait." Lu Zhengping hurriedly stopped Chen Duxiu, who was flushed, "Mr. Chen, don't worry. Let's think about who you're going to take and who you're going to go with. This has to be clarified first. ”