There were two main topics on the agenda of this military meeting: first, to clear the battle plan of the Qing army outside the city; Second, the direction of the next step.

The first issue was quickly agreed that if the Qing troops entrenched outside the city were not cleared as soon as possible, the city of Anqing could be attacked by land and water at any time, so those Qing troops must be eliminated or driven across the Yangtze River as soon as possible. However, there was a serious disagreement on the second issue, and the faction led by Zhao Bei believed that the current lack of ships made it impossible to carry out the plan of a long-distance attack on Jiangning, and that the only way to develop was to develop northward, expand the influence of the revolution as much as possible, and immediately establish a "Han military government" to strive for the early recovery of the whole province; However, led by the Hui Party, another group of people believed that they should cross the Yangtze River and develop towards the south of the Yangtze River, so as to meet the Hui Dang forces in Jiangxi, Hunan, and Jiangsu there, increase their strength, and then march east to conquer Jiangning in one fell swoop.

Xiong Chengji agreed with Zhao Bei's opinion, although he did not agree with the suggestion of "drilling the ravine", but at least he did not insist on the plan to attack Nanjing, and Zhao Bei's previous worries were finally put down.

In Zhao Bei's view, whether it is going north or south, it is necessary to reach a consensus as soon as possible, otherwise, as soon as the Qing army's reinforcements arrive, with this little man in the city, it will not last long at all, and only by taking advantage of the enemy's heavy encirclement before the formation of a decisive jump out and carry out an external battle can the revolutionary strength be preserved.

In the initial stage of the revolution, in the face of the situation in which the enemy is strong and we are weak, we absolutely cannot be trapped in an isolated city, and only by fighting on a mobile basis can we find favorable fighters, annihilate the enemy's vital forces, and develop and strengthen ourselves.

But unfortunately, no one in Zhao Bei was willing to accept the opinion at all, whether it was the northbound faction or the southbound faction, they all believed that conquering Jiancheng was the best revolutionary means.

The Beishang faction wanted to occupy Luzhou, because the recruitment principle of the new army of the Qing Dynasty was "indigenous people defending the land", many soldiers and officers in the new army of Anhui were recruited in northern Anhui, where the people were fierce, and the local concept was very strong, and they desperately hoped to return to Sangzi as soon as possible, return to their hometowns in fine clothes, and honor their ancestors; The southward faction focused on the wealth of the south of the Yangtze River, the rice of Hunan, the porcelain of Jiangxi, and the factories of Jiangsu, all of which were coveted targets, whether it was for their own consideration or to raise funds for the revolution, the southward movement was undoubtedly the best choice, and the cities in the south of the Yangtze River had countless gold and silver treasures, as well as the gentle and delicate beauties, but if they did not occupy the cities, all of this would be a pipe dream.

In addition to these reasons, there is another point that everyone has to worry about, that is, the morale of the army, if you abandon the city to drill a ravine without a fierce battle, it will deal a serious blow to the morale of the army. In this regard, Zhao Bei could not help but have concerns, so he did not insist on his own opinion.

However, the differences between the northbound faction and the southbound faction could not be bridged at all, and Xiong Chengji, the governor of the capital, was also helpless, because he was worried about the split of the revolutionary camp, he lacked experience, so he had to put this proposal on hold for the time being, and first clean up the Qing army outside the city.

According to the deployment of the headquarters, the rebel army will be divided into two parts, the left wing detachment headed by Zhao Bei will stay to defend the city, and Xiong Chengji will lead the right wing and middle wing detachments out of the city to fight, first eliminate the enemy entrenched in the west of the city, and then turn to the north, take the key pass Jixian Pass, choke the passage of east-west exchanges, and send a small number of Hubei and Jiangsu officers to secretly sneak to Taihu County, get in touch with the Jiangsu New Army and the Hubei New Army that held the autumn exercises there, and instigate the two armies to respond to the uprising. Let's take the next step.

After careful consideration, Zhao Bei took the initiative to ask Ying, and turned down the task of defending the city, but took over the task of contacting the new army in Hubei and Jiangsu, because in his opinion, it was too dangerous to hold on to the lonely city, and if it was not done, the whole army would be annihilated, so instead of being trapped in Anqing, it was better to take a small army to Taihu County, and instigate the autumn drill troops there to respond to the uprising, even if they could not instigate the uprising, they could retreat with their whole body, whether it was to fight guerrilla warfare or escape, it was more convenient. As a traverser, he was not very optimistic about the future of the Anqing Uprising, but he just didn't say this idea.

At this time, there was no need to screen the background of those who joined the army, and those who came from the recruitment office did not refuse, and those who were willing to serve as soldiers to eat food, as long as they could run and jump, they would be recruited into the army, because the military salary was the same as that of the new army, it was four or five dollars of official silver per month, and half a month's military salary was paid in advance, so those who signed up to join the army enthusiastically, and the peddlers, pawns, shipwrights and sailors, and even green-skinned wandering sticks changed into military uniforms, tied up white cloths, and turned into revolutionary soldiers. Before dawn, the 20,000 foreign guns seized from the fire depot had been distributed, and there were still more than 10,000 people with bare hands, not even military uniforms, these people could not have any combat effectiveness, so they could only stay in the city, and be incorporated into the left wing detachment to strengthen their momentum, and Duan Zhixuan, the acting detachment leader, was responsible for training and assisting in defending the city.

At dawn, the sound of artillery rumbling was heard on the Yangtze River, and the two Qing gunboats moored on the river because of the towing of the autumn drill troops had begun to carry out deterrent shelling, although the shells had not yet fallen into the city, but the panic of the residents of the city had intensified. Since the rebels had sealed off the city, the people could not escape the artillery fire.

The rebel troops in the city immediately mobilized to set up field artillery and mountain artillery under the root of the southern city to fiercely return fire, forcing the Qing gunboats to sail to the south bank.

In the midst of this dense artillery fire, colorful flags fluttered in front of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion in the city, drums were noisy, and the generals of the New Army dressed in military uniforms, with sabers hanging on their waists and black circles under their eyes, surrounded the Metropolitan Governor Xiong Chengji and walked onto the temporary point general platform.

Xiong Chengji was dressed in riding boots, full of energy, holding a document to ask for the Qing Dynasty, standing on the stage, in front of hundreds of officers and representatives of the people, and counted the state of the Manchu Qing Dynasty:

"The Revolutionary Military Government of the Chinese Liberation Army, the Metropolitan Governor Xiong, is ordered by the military government! Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, I have long been a feud in the Central Plains, at the end of the Ming Season, taking advantage of the chaos to rise up, recklessly and viciously, according to my China, stealing my artifact and enslaving my compatriots! …… All my compatriots, it is advisable to do their duty, to exert their strength, to calm the Tartars and restore China! Use Shen Dayi to proclaim compatriots, urgent as a law! Pick! ”

In Zhao Bei's view, this letter is impassioned, but it is inevitably a little narrow-minded, and there are many fallacies about the history of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, but this is no way, after the nobles of the Eight Banners entered the customs, they tampered with the history books, and * repeatedly, even the readers may not understand the real history of the rise of the Eight Banners outside the customs.

"The right-wing commander is acting as the left-wing commander Duan Zhixuan!" Xiong Chengji shouted.

"The job is here!" A young officer stepped forward, took a few steps forward, stood in front of Xiong Chengji, and saluted, a position temporarily taken over by the officer since Zhao Bei had resigned as the commander of the left wing.

"The people's army is in command of Jin Zhaokun!"

"So-and-so!" A middle-aged strong man stood beside the officer with a big grin, he was a native of Hongmen, a native of Anhui, and was one of the organizers of the Anqing Uprising.

Duan Zhixuan is the commander of the city defense, and Jin Zhaokun is the deputy commander of the city defense. The two of you must unite sincerely and keep Anqing together! ”

Under the attention of everyone, Xiong Chengji handed over an official defense to the officers, and officially appointed Duan Zhixuan, the acting commander of the right wing of the Liberation Army, as the commander of the Anqing city defense, and Jin Zhaokun, the leader of the Hui Party, as the deputy commander of the city defense, and the two of them were fully responsible for the city defense of Anqing.

"Pioneer Officer Zhao Bei!" Xiong Chengji picked up another pass, and because it was hastily carved, this passpass was not even painted, it was just a piece of wood pimple cut into a staircase.

"The job is here!" Zhao Bei came out in response and stood up and saluted.

"This is your seal of control, take it. Your mission is very dangerous, take care. Xiong Chengji handed over the customs defense to Zhao Bei and told him that because Zhao Bei's task of contacting the new army in Hubei and Jiangsu was top secret, it was inconvenient to talk about it in front of everyone.

"Please rest assured, the ministry will do its best to complete the task!" Zhao Bei said categorically.

Xiong Chengji nodded, glanced at the officers standing beside him, pulled out the command knife on his waist with a "bang", took a few steps forward, and looked impassionedly towards everyone:

"Expelling the Tartars and recovering China is at this time! May all the kings work together to defeat the stubborn enemy! ”

"Work together to defeat the stubborn enemy! Work together to defeat the stubborn enemy! ”

Encouraged by the Metropolitan Governor, everyone shouted in unison, and soon, this shout spread throughout the city, and all the soldiers of the rebel army were thunderous and morale were high, and the snow-bright bayonets reflected the morning glow in the sky, a gorgeous and dazzling red, murderous spirit.

Xiong Chengji raised the artillery oath, led more than 20,000 people out of the north gate to set up camp, after breakfast, the military horn sounded, the revolutionary army held high the flag of the Restoration Society, and launched a fierce attack on the remnants of the Qing army entrenched in the west of the city.

Standing at the head of the city, watching the team out of the city, Zhao Bei's mind fluctuated, history has changed because of his arrival, what will happen next, he has no bottom in his heart, but since he has devoted himself to this era, then, perhaps, there is no way back.