The revolution in the southern provinces was not all smooth, at least, in Hubei, the first revolution in the original history, was successful, although the League also tried to initiate a revolution, but Hubei was managed quite tightly by Zhang Zhidong, although Zhang Zhidong was now transferred to the capital, but Hubei is still not easy to shake. In addition, the League's habitual secrecy was not in place, so the uprising was destroyed by the Qing government before it was launched.

At this time, the Qing court was also hurriedly discussing how to suppress the revolution. After the outbreak of the revolution, the regent Zaifeng and the Empress Dowager Yulong, as well as a group of important ministers, discussed countermeasures. In their opinion, the best way is for Tie Liang to take the Beiyang Army to suppress the rebellious parties in the south. However, after the order was given, the Beiyang Army could not move. They first asked for a promotion fee and a reward for silver, and finally after these were satisfied, the Beiyang Army moved, but the Beiyang Army was so slow that it was like a rich lady going out on an outing. From the tenth day after the Hangzhou Uprising, the Beiyang Army began to move south from Tianjin, and it took ten days, and the advance of the Beiyang Army had not yet reached Xuzhou.

On the contrary, the Hubei New Army moved much faster. Compared with Yuan Shikai, the Manchu nobles believed in Zhang Zhidong more, so Zhang Zhidong was able to return to Hubei, first, to suppress the situation, and second, to prepare to lead the Hubei New Army to suppress the uprising in Jiangnan.

In the Qing Dynasty, the Hubei New Army was second only to Beiyang's military strength, and in addition to Hubei's location in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and with Zhang Zhidong in charge, the pressure on the revolutionary army immediately increased.

……

The first to feel this pressure was the Restoration Society, which had just taken control of Anqing. Before the army of the Hubei New Army attacked, the gunboats belonging to the Hubei New Army first went down the Yangtze River to the vicinity of Anqing, and shelled the camp of the original Anqing New Army and the current revolutionary army. And there was an artillery battle with the Anqing New Army. In the artillery battle, the Hubei New Army also clearly showed a higher tactical quality, their artillery fire was faster and more accurate, and in the exchange of fire, the revolutionary army suffered nearly 100 casualties and lost five cannons. And this is almost all the artillery in the hands of the Anqing Revolutionary Army. After that, under the supervision of Zhang Zhidong, the Hubei New Army, about 4,000 people, began to march towards Anqing. All of a sudden, the situation became dangerous.

After learning about the crisis in Anqing, several people in direct charge of the Guangfu Society, including Tao Chengzhang and Qiu Jin, could not care about Chen Qimei and Shanghai, and Tao Chengzhang went directly to the Pacific Travel in Hangzhou, hoping to order a batch of weapons from there. This foreign company was opened by Chen Guang and other Chinese Americans, and the real boss behind it was, of course, MacDonald. At the same time, Qiu Jin rushed to Anqing with the most descendant troops of the Restoration Society to stabilize the situation.

……

"Mr. Tao, you know that according to the general rules, we cannot sell weapons to countries that are in the midst of a civil war." and Tao Chengzhang who painted the general manager of the foreign bank, this young man is called Chen Ping, is Chen Guang's grandson, as a good Chinese three generations, including the appearance, he has quite little Chinese gas. Having married two generations in a row, Chen Ping seems to be completely Caucasian, but he can also speak Chinese, but his Chinese is far less authentic than English. It can be said that apart from the name, I can't see how much Chinese flavor he has.

"But to be honest, you also know that my grandfather set up this foreign bank to help the Chinese rebel. He had always hated the Manchu government very much. So, as long as it's a rebellion, we're always willing to help. It's just that there is an extra formality to go through here. We went to Cuba to register a company and then buy weapons in the name of that company and sell them to you. So that we are not violating the principles of the US government on the sale of weapons. ”

"Mr. Chen, is this too late? Moreover, the weapons are sent from the United States, and it may be very time-consuming to ship them again, can there be a faster way? Tao Chengzhang asked.

"It's very fast to register a company in Cuba, and I'm sending a telegram now, and in the evening, it's morning on their side, and then in a morning at most, we can register that company. To be honest, Cuban law has very few restrictions on what it means to register a company, in order to provide such convenience to businesses in many countries. Of course, they don't do it for free, and they need to collect money to help us get around legal issues. You know, most of the re-exports from Cuba are refunded, but the arms trade in order to circumvent the legal barrier is certainly not included, so for this to do so, the goods need to pay a customs duty to enter Cuba. Therefore, the price will be a little higher than usual......"

"That's understandable, so when will these arms arrive soonest?" Tao Chengzhang asked.

"We immediately place an order, and with the quantity you provided, the U.S. side will have the goods ready in about a week. Then if it is loaded in New York, crosses the Panama Canal, and then shipped to Shanghai, the whole process will take at least a month. After arriving in Shanghai, if it needs to be transported to Anqing, it will take about five days. Chen Ping replied.

"Is there a quicker way?" A month and a half or so made Tao Chengzhang feel a little slower.

"If you ship from San Francisco, that means you will send the goods to San Francisco by rail first, and from there you will be able to board the ship, which will save you a week and a half. If you can hire the latest fast free wheel transportation, you can save about a week. In this way, we will be able to deliver the goods within a month. Of course, in doing so, the cost of transportation will also rise a lot. ”

"Couldn't it be faster?" For about a month, Tao Chengzhang felt that it was still a little slow.

"It couldn't be any faster." Chen Ping said, "At the current level of technology, this is the fastest speed." However, Mr. Tao, if you are really in a hurry, there is actually another way. ”

"What's the solution?" Tao Chengzhang asked.

"You can just hire a bunch of mercenaries." Chen Ping replied, "There is a mercenary company in Cuba called 'Bao. Protect. Umbrella' company. They can provide mercenary services. ”

"Mercenaries?" Tao Chengzhang didn't think of this for a while.

"Yes, mercenaries. Nowadays, U.S. law restricts mercenary companies more and more. Therefore, the scope of Blackwater's business has shrunk a lot, and now it can basically only provide VIP protection and related training, and can no longer directly undertake the business of foreign warfare. Blackwater's shareholders certainly don't want to see business lost. So they registered this company in Cuba, where the laws are relatively lax. Protect. Umbrella' company, specializing in those services previously provided by Blackwater. They have ready-made weapons in their hands, and they can do it faster if they are hired. And their combat effectiveness is also quite strong, because in fact, they are Blackwater. The old man of our family was born in Heishui back then. According to him, 'If we Blackwater fight the U.S. Army, one can fight at least three.' So you don't have to worry about combat effectiveness. And as far as I know, some of the company's troops are now being hired by some Philippine companies, and if you really need speed, then we can buy the rest of their contracts from those companies in the Philippines and send them to Anqing to carry out combat missions. Chen Ping explained.

Fighting with foreign devils, Tao Chengzhang never thought of this.

"Is it okay to use foreigners to fight?"

"What's wrong with that. To be honest, there are very few wars in the world that are completely free of mercenaries. Just like the victorious army when the Manchu Qing Dynasty suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, isn't it a foreign mercenary? Of course, now that the times have progressed, they are not called mercenaries in war, but volunteers. For example, in this war, they could call the Cuban People's Volunteers. In fact, these volunteers are often helping the Arab sheikhs fight the Turks today, and tomorrow they are helping the Turks suppress those Arab sheikhs. There are even people who have been knighted on both sides. Now the situation is even simpler, and when they are propagandized, they can claim that they are Cuban revolutionaries, fighting for democracy in the world. Even, if you want, we can ask them to issue a statement on the Cuban side under the name of the 'International Association for the Promotion of Democracy' or whatever, and they support the Chinese people's pursuit of freedom and democracy, and are willing to fight for it." Of course, this statement also asks for money. ”

"Do these mercenaries have artillery? How many of them are there? What weapons are there? When will it arrive at the earliest? ”

"Yes, Cuban law is more lenient and allows people to possess cannons. So they have cannons in their hands. But I don't know exactly if those guys in the Philippines have them or not, and how many there are. As for the price, this can only be negotiated with them. However, today's 'Bao. Protect. Among the umbrella' mercenaries, there are many soldiers from Cuba, and their salaries are lower than those of the Americans, so the price is naturally lower. In addition, the high price also needs to consider who the opponent is. Generally speaking, the price will be divided into four major grades according to the enemy, that is, first-class powers, second-class powers, third-class countries, and uncivilized tribes. Great Britain, France, and Germany belong to the first class, Russia, Italy, Austria-Hungary belong to the second class, Turkey counts to the third class, and Arabs and Filipino natives count to the fourth class. I think the new army of the Manchu Qing Dynasty should probably be a little weaker than the Turkish army, and I will bargain to see if it can be counted as a third-class weak or fourth-class strong. It shouldn't be too expensive. Of course, the final result depends on their offer. As for the time, if you contact them immediately to start talking, generally speaking, from the negotiation of the price and the signing of the contract, they will immediately depart from the Philippines, and they will probably be able to arrive in Anqing in half a month. Chen Ping said.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen. However, I still need to discuss this matter with my comrades. Tao Chengzhang replied.