"Help—"

Sharp cries for help resounded one after another on the surface of the Yangtze River.

Some of the survivors who fell into the water were almost unconscious due to the icy cold water, some of them stopped moving because their bodies were almost freezing, and after their cotton clothes were soaked by the river, they began to sink into the river, and some of them tried to swim towards the shore. In such a cold river, if you stop, your body will soon freeze, and you must move your whole body, maybe some people don't understand that this will save their lives, it is just an instinctive unconscious action to survive.

A few minutes after the explosion, the nearby river steamers, barges, and cargo ships began to move towards the Wuchang wharf where the accident occurred, and the people on board silently rescued the people who had fallen into the water amid the cries for help.

Compared with the river, the radius of one kilometer centered on Wuchang Merchants Wharf is like the end of the world, the original bustling streets seem to have become a battlefield in Europe, the old wooden buildings were torn apart by the shock wave of the explosion, although the new reinforced concrete buildings were spared in the explosion, but the glass windows were shocked, and the shattered glass fell on the street and became a deadly weapon, and the previously bustling and lively streets were full of the moans and cries of the injured. Thousands of people have lost their loved ones, husbands have lost their wives, wives have lost their husbands, fathers have lost their sons, mothers have lost their daughters, and children have lost their parents......

Amidst the cries and moans, everyone was asking the same question - what's wrong? What happened? ”

"Imperial Times" Lunar New Year on January 27, 11th Year of the Empire - "The Question of the Dead—What's Wrong?" 》

“…… Although I didn't witness everything that happened there, although I didn't get to Wuhan, I saw thousands of Wuhan citizens smiling and doing New Year's goods, where men were working hard, women were smiling, children were celebrating the New Year, and there, like everywhere in China, people were preparing for the Spring Festival on this day of the New Year. But now I only see a brutal slaughter befall them...... I saw that in the explosion clouds, people lost their loved ones, I saw husbands lose their wives, wives lost their husbands, fathers lost their sons, mothers lost their daughters, children lost their parents, I saw, I saw ......"

A whimper of grief, pain, and tears came from Gu Peng's throat, and his whimper spread throughout the country through the radio waves, and the people who were originally doing the New Year's goods were stunned, and they looked at the people around them in a daze, what was wrong? Who did it?

"I have seen the most brutal atrocities in the world, I have seen the unforgivable atrocities......"

At this moment, another note was passed to him, Gu Pengqi looked at the note, stunned for a moment, as he guessed, it was not the explosion of the Hanyang Arsenal, it was not the explosion of the firecracker, the center of the explosion was located at the temporary welcome pier, it was a terrorist attack against the president of the House of Nobles, and after a moment of silence, there was a trace of determination in his eyes.

"Even now, the on-site reporter of the radio station in Wuhan has sent back further information, although as media people, it is impossible for us to make a final rebellion like the agents of the Investigation Bureau, but one thing is for sure, this is a terrorist attack against Yuan Shikai, the president of the House of Nobles!"

As an announcer, although he has the creed of "never speak up if he doesn't know the truth", this time, Gu Pengqi broke his promise.

“…… There has never been a person like me who has ever been so convinced that the republic is the direction of the world's development and the only way for China to become rich and strong, I have been a firm republican, I have also advocated republicanism on the radio, I believe, I would rather believe that republicanism will lead China, republicanism must be the ultimate choice of the people, I have said a word, I will not take back a word. And yet all this, today, at this very moment, is lost by the sight that is currently emerging......"...,

In the somewhat messy broadcast studio, Gu Pengqi's expression was sad and angry, and through the glass window, everyone could see it, and his eyes were even crying when he mentioned republicanism.

"No matter who is responsible for this terrorist attack, it is planned by any organization, here, as an ordinary citizen, I have only one request, kill them! Even the end of the world will not let go! ”

The cold words burst out in Gu Pengqi's throat, and these cold words spread to all parts of the country through the radio waves, and every person in front of the radio heard this sentence, and when they heard this sentence, they did not have any doubts, and even expressed their will with applause and shouts.

"Your Majesty, the Director of the Investigation Bureau has arrived."

Listening to the report of the attendant officer, Chen Moran looked at Jiang Baili in front of him, just a few minutes ago, he had just signed the order to implement temporary security throughout the country and military control of Hubei Province.

"Baili, carry out the order!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Saying that, Jiang Baili and the others exited the office, and after they exited the office, Chen Moran first took a deep breath in order to calm himself down.

"Let him in."

An authoritative and calm voice spit out from Chen Moran's throat, Zha Zhiqing did not come immediately, it was expected, he had to gather intelligence and rush over, otherwise he would not be able to answer his question at all.

"Your Majesty!"

Entering His Majesty's office, Zha Zhiqing bowed deeply, he didn't even raise his head, just bowed.

"Why don't you straighten up!"

Chen Moran, who was looking at the intelligence report he had just received, didn't even raise his head when he asked Zha Zhiqing what he said.

"The minister is guilty!"

Guilty!

Snorted, Chen Moran still didn't look up.

"Guilty, what crime?"

Standing on the thick carpet, Zha Zhiqing didn't know how to answer for a while, could it be that he had already received an alarm before?

But, if so......

This situation has not escaped Chen Moran's attention, and after being a superior for so many years, he can be said to know when those people tell the truth and when they tell lies.

"Hmph, tell me, what are your sins!"

As soon as the tone was mentioned, Chen Moran's voice turned cold, and his gaze even began to turn cold, this time he had raised his head and forced to look at Zha Zhiqing's face.

"Your Majesty......"

Although Zha Zhiqing lowered his head, Chen Moran still noticed that his hands were wilting, cold, and sweaty.

"Your Majesty......"

Again, Zha Zhiqing, who felt the sweat on his forehead, said a little nervously.

"We had a security alert, but ...... But ......"

In front of His Majesty, Zha Zhiqing never dared to hide anything, of course, there was a premise, if he asked, but Zha Zhiqing knew how to make things work in his favor.

"But what?"

Glaring at Zha Zhiqing, Chen Moran only had an urge to kill him.

"Your Majesty, we consider that the assassination of an officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has just occurred in Wuhan, and that it is still broad daylight, and the security of Wuhan City has been strengthened, so we believe that there will be no vicious security incidents in Wuhan in the short term, therefore, we believe that they may attack other targets, or prepare for the next round of attacks......"

While defending himself with half-truths, Zha Zhiqing continued to explain.

"Because of that security alert, we smashed a republican weapons depot in Guangdong and arrested 63 militants in Shanghai...... In the past five days, in order to avoid vicious incidents, the Bureau of Investigation has carried out raids on republican militants throughout the country......"

At this time, when talking about the merits of the Investigation Bureau, Cha Zhiqing's initial timidity was gone. …,

But his words did not have the desired effect on the owner of the office.

"The Bureau of Investigation has indeed done a lot of things, but ......"

Looking at Zha Zhiqing, at this time, Chen Moran had a kind of time-space error in his heart, in another time and space, wasn't the "911 incident" also because of intelligence mistakes? He was silent for a moment and sighed.

"This must not be disguised as the fault of the Bureau of Investigation in this matter!"

Looking directly at Zha Zhiqing, Chen Moran spoke again.

"It was your ignorance of intelligence that led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, and this ...... It is an unforgivable fault. ”

"Your Majesty, I ......"

In the face of His Majesty's anger, after a moment of silence, Zha Zhiqing said.

"I will resign from the Investigation Bureau to show responsibility!"

"This ...... Unpaid is not a solution,"

Chen Moran deliberately paused for a moment, and at the same time observed Zha Zhiqing's expression, noticed that his hands trembled slightly, and immediately understood his true thoughts, and the previous words were not his true heart.

"However, what the people need now is not the resignation of the director of the investigation bureau, but the truth, the people need the truth, I also need the truth, give you half a month, I want to get the truth! I want to give an explanation to the people! ”

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the minister will live up to Your Majesty's expectations, strive to crack this case as soon as possible, and never let go of any participant."

Finally, when he heard His Majesty's instructions, Cha Zhiqing knew that he had passed this hurdle, and everything that remained would develop as he had planned, although the cost was very high, but in the end, history would understand that the choice he made was beneficial to China, and the future of the empire would be fundamentally guaranteed in this event, and anyone who tried to destroy the status quo and try to overthrow the empire would be sanctioned.

To be precise, all those who try to "split" the empire will be cleaned up, and it will be a ...... When he walked out of the Qinzheng Building, Zha Zhiqing only felt a sense of mission in the future, he knew that a new chapter in history had begun, and in this stage of history, the Investigation Bureau would take on an unprecedented mission, and he himself would ......

"Zha Zhiqing ......"

Standing by the window, looking at Zha Zhiqing who walked out of the Qinzheng Building, Chen Moran's eyes became colder and colder, if it weren't for the terrorist incident that happened in Wuchang, maybe he could tolerate some things, but now it seems that Zha Zhiqing is a person...... Shook his head in his heart, in some cases, some people will always do unexpected things because of ambition, that incident, at first he just suspected that it was the Investigation Bureau, but now, the incident in Wuchang has strengthened Chen Moran's understanding, now only evidence is missing, but this matter must not be investigated, once a real investigation is carried out, even if it has nothing to do with him, it will be involved, and his reputation will be at that time!

"Zhiqing, Zhiqing! This time, you've got me in the loop! Yes, there are some things that someone has to do, but there are no orders for things......"

With a cold snort, Chen Mo turned around and sat down behind his desk, there are more things to deal with, as for the rest of the autumn aftermath!

The transport plane of the Army Air Corps is actually a bomber, because the Prime Minister took the plane, the ground crew even deliberately moved a sofa on the plane, and even specially prepared two military blankets, the reason why the military blanket should be prepared is very simple, when the plane flies at an altitude of two or three thousand meters, the temperature in the cabin will drop by about ten degrees, which means that the temperature of the entire voyage is about minus six or seven degrees, in order to prevent "frostbite" Prime Minister, the Army Air Force must naturally make all preparations, sofas, blankets, hot water, coffee, etc., but to their disappointment, all this, during the whole voyage, the Prime Minister enjoyed nothing but the sofa. …,

"Are you almost in Wuchang?"

Guan Mingtang, who was sitting on the plane, couldn't even remember when he asked this question, and now he even wished that he would fly to Wuchang at once, to check the scene, to visit the injured in the hospital, as the prime minister, this is his duty.

"Your Excellency, it will take another half an hour!"

After the navigator in the front cabin took a slide to calculate the distance, an army sergeant walked up to Guan Mingtang and said softly, during the report, he glanced at the security personnel sitting behind the cabin, this time the security personnel who went to Wuchang with the prime minister reached as many as 10 people, it is said that the Wuhan garrison area has entered the city for guard, and the Hubei military administrative region has also controlled the whole province, and now there will definitely be no security problems in Wuchang.

Nodding his head, Guan Mingtang looked out of the cabin, his brows were furrowed, and his face was full of sadness, although he hoped to get the truth as soon as possible, and he was also heartbroken by Yuan Shikai's assassination, but what made him even more heartbroken were those civilians who died innocently and tragically in the explosion, especially those students, those teenagers......

Half an hour later, the plane landed at Wuchang Airport, when the plane landed, Guan Mingtang could clearly see that there were hundreds of officers and soldiers standing in the airport, and there were more than 20 trucks parked on the edge of the airport, and the trucks were all equipped with machine guns without exception, which was ...... "Your Excellency Prime Minister, I am Cheng ......, the person in charge of the Wuchang Garrison District."

As soon as he got off the plane, before the lieutenant colonel finished speaking, Guan Mingtang pointed to the trucks and said.

"What are they doing here?"

"Your Excellency, they will be responsible for your safety during your stay in Wuchang!"

Cheng Gongwang hurriedly replied that this was a direct order from the Chief of Staff, that China could not afford the death of a prime minister in assassination, and that a president of the House of Nobles was enough to cause a great upheaval in the political situation in Nanjing, and now they had to do whatever it took to protect the minister from any harm.

"Send them out immediately, I believe that now, it is not me who needs the soldiers more, but those who are wounded......"

When he spoke, without waiting for Cheng Gongwang to defend, Guan Mingtang had already walked towards the outside of the airport.

"You, you......"

"You lead the way in front and go to the docks!"

In the end, at the insistence of Cheng Gongwang, in addition to the four cars, there was also a truck full of soldiers escorting the convoy towards the dock.

"How can there be so many soldiers?"

Seeing that there were many more soldiers on the street than he imagined, Guan Mingtang asked.

"Your Excellency, in order to avoid the deterioration of the incident, with the consent of the military administrative region, the recruits in training in the training camp were also dispatched, and they were all natives of Hubei, so they ......"

When Cheng Gongwang spoke, Guan Mingtang noticed that in addition to the solemn expressions of those soldiers, there was more anger, many of them even had reddish eyes, and perhaps their family members were among them......

"Your Excellency, the quarantine area has arrived, please ......"

When the car stopped at a checkpoint, Cheng Gongwang reminded the prime minister beside him that not to mention such a civilian official, even he, a soldier who had been on the battlefield, was also stunned by the tragic situation near the dock.

"Get off here!"

Opening the car door, Guan Mingtang first heard the sound of ambulances, the soldiers on stretchers still kept carrying the wounded towards the truck to take them to the hospital, and on both sides of the street, there were doctors in white coats everywhere.

"They are students of the Doctor's Hospital of Ziqiang University, and now all the hospitals in Wuchang are crowded with the wounded, and in order to accommodate the wounded, all the schools have been converted into temporary hospitals, and the General Staff has agreed to use the medical reserves of the military district......"

"Why are there so many wounded?"

Although he had been mentally prepared for the casualties, Guan Mingtang was still taken aback by the scene in front of him, because it had been three hours since the incident, but the wounded were still being carried out in a steady stream...... There were too many wounded.

"Your Excellency, today is the New Year, and the area around the wharf is the most lively place in the outer city of Wuchang......"

There is no need for Cheng Gongwang to continue to explain, how could he not know the excitement of the streets during the Chinese Spring Festival, before and after the Spring Festival, the streets of China are the same, crowded outside, some in the city and some in the countryside......

Finally, ten minutes later, Guan Mingtang and his entourage came to a place less than two hundred meters away from the wharf, which was completely razed to the ground, and there were more ...... on the street except for the remains of the building limb wreckage, and even as soon as he looked up, Guan Mingtang saw a soldier taking down a severed foot from a tree......

Vomit......

#c