Xu Shichang, Liangbi and Zhu Erdian's special train heard the news of the Wuchang change in Xinyang. It was like a bucket of cold water poured down head-on, extinguishing the last little fire in Liangbi's heart.

It turned out that the British firmly stood on the side of the imperial court, which would naturally put pressure on Long Qian. As long as the two sides start peace talks and win time for the imperial court to reorganize its army and enter the armed forces, the situation is not hopeless at all. However, Wuchang rebelled again after Changsha, and the ninth town rebelled again after the eighth town, and the life and death of high-ranking military and political officials in Hubei were uncertain, and the opportunity for direct dialogue with Long Qian was suddenly cut off. Roundabout Guangzhou? Where is the time!

There are telegraph offices at major stations along the Luhan Railway, and the news is still transmitted very quickly. Now naturally I can't go to Wuchang, just at Xinyang Station, Xu Shichang sent a telegram to Jingshi, asking for instructions.

There is no return call back from the center. Xu Shichang and the others had to wait in Xinyang, and Zhu Erdian, who had always been gentle and polite, was also impatient and kept complaining in English.

The next day, that is, on September 3, Xu Shichang received bad news again in Xinyang, the troops of the Mengshan Army occupying Shanhaiguan ignored the Japanese obstruction and forcibly marched eastward. No need to ask, the army that defeated Duan Zhiquan on this way was to go to the Beijing Division!

Jingshi is in danger! Calculating the strength of troops, the troops formed by the Beijing division have only one association and the other standard, and the fluctuation of military morale is certain, it is not bad if there is no chaos, where can there still be a war?

"The Japanese are really bears! How can you let Lushan enter the customs? "They just dare to shoot." Lu Shanbu has to obediently withdraw from Shanhaiguan! Aren't they afraid of the intervention of the Japanese army? How capable is Long Qian to dare to go to war with the Japanese? Even Lao Maozi was defeated by Japan! Mr. Minister, did you send a telegram to Japan in the name of the British Government? They have garrisons in Tianjin, and they must not let the traitors enter Zhili! ”

Xu Shichang betrayed the Qing court from the bottom of his heart, so when he heard the bad news in the north, he didn't like a good gaffe, and said in his heart, Lu Shan hadn't seen a war with the Japanese, so he would be afraid of the Japanese? But he couldn't say this, "Well, you can't pin your hopes on Japan, so let's quickly remind the imperial court to think of a countermeasure." I don't think it's a way for us to spend here. Let's go back to Beijing. ”

Zhu Erdian agreed. Ignoring Liangbi, he shouted to return to Jingshi immediately. The news of the Wuchang Uprising made Zhu Erdian completely understand that the Qing Empire was like the sunset falling in the west, and no amount of strength could save the trend of extinction. He must return to his post. A sober assessment of China's upheavals must be made. to serve as the basis for the Imperial Cabinet to formulate foreign and military policy in the Far East.

"Mr. Xu. Immediately order the train to go back. I must return to my post as soon as possible, and I must consult fully with the ministers of other countries. The Wuchang incident is bad news, and Shanhaiguan is even more bad news! Let's be frank. I do not see any hope for your Government to turn the situation around. ”

As if to prove the diplomat's prophecy, just as Xu Shichang and Liangbi were about to return to Beijing, the telegraph room received bad news again, this time it was a telegram from Shanghai and Zhejiang announcing independence. This dealt another major blow to the already stormy Manchu government. Zhu Erdian was silent this time, he knew very well that this was just the beginning, and the collapse of Manchu rule was just around the corner.

The independence of Shanghai and Zhejiang is actually very smooth, more than everyone imagined.

Shanghai and Zhejiang are the base camps of the Restoration Society and an important base of activities of the Alliance. The main person who instigated the events in Shanghai and Zhejiang was Chen Qimei.

As a key member of the Confederacy, Chen did not attend the Tokyo Conference on August 10, which led to the split of the Confederacy. At that time, he was still running the "Minsheng Daily" in Shanghai, and stepped up propaganda and organizational work.

The news of the Tokyo meeting reached Chen Qimei's ears, and Chen Qimei deeply hated the separatist behavior of Tao Chengzhang, Song Jiaoren, and others (these people did not contact him when they passed through Shanghai after returning from Japan). Originally, he was going to go to Japan to pay homage to Sun Wen in person to cheer up Sun Wen, who was destined to be disheartened. But before the trip was made, he heard the news of the Wuchang incident and the entry of the Lushan army. Chen Qimei immediately found Li Liejun and decided not to hesitate and act immediately.

Chen Qimei said, "The Ninth Town, Wuchang is already under the control of the rebel army, this is too good news, it will shake the Manchu court again, plus the Mengshan Army Lushan Department has entered the customs, and its target is undoubtedly the Beijing Division." The attention of the Tartar court was all attracted by the Mengshan army and Wuchang, where could they still take care of Shanghai? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we must act now. ”

Li Liejun agreed.

There is a force for action, and that is the Shanghai business group. Founded in 1907, this organization has been clamoring for constitutionalism because its members are all famous people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, such as Huang Yanpei, Lei Fen, Shi Liangcai, Zhang Jian, etc., and they have strong economic power. In the name of protecting the factories and warehouses of enterprises, the merchant groups purchased weapons and trained soldiers, and in fact there were already rudimentary forms of an army. At that time, the president of the business group was Li Pingshu, and the vice presidents were Shen Manyun and Ye Huijun. Among them, Shen Manyun is the manager of Xincheng Bank, who joined the League under the introduction of Youren, and is a staunch anti-Qing person. Although Li Pingshu was not a member of the League, he also lost confidence in the Manchus, and it was not difficult to pull over to the side of the League.

Li Liejun is a soldier who knows the soldiers, and he said to Chen Qimei, who was impatient, "In the land of Shanghai, if the uprising is to succeed, it must be responded to by Jiangsu and Zhejiang, otherwise it will be difficult to succeed." ”

Chen Qimei is in favor of contacting Zhejiang and Jiangsu to act together. But he insisted that he must move immediately, and the uprising in Shanghai brought about changes in Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Chen Qimei said to Li Liejun, "If you wait any longer, the country will have the surname Long, where is our foothold?" In this way, you are responsible for contacting Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and I will organize the move in Shanghai. ”

Book friends must have estimated that the Shanghai uprising led by Chen Qimei was very smooth. Shen Manyun persuaded Li Pingshu to take the merchant group as the main force, and in the early morning of September 3, he "hastily" moved to occupy the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau of Gaochang Temple outside the South Gate, Shanghai-Nanjing Station and other important places in one fell swoop. In the evening of the same day, Chen Qimei gathered in Zhangyuan to announce the recovery of Shanghai.

The next day, Hangzhou revolted. Zhejiang declared independence.

Zhejiang was originally a key area of activity for the revolutionary party, and Tao Chengzhang, Qiu Jin, Xu Xilin, and others all carried out their work in Zhejiang as members of the Restoration Society or the League, laying the foundation for the uprising ideologically and organizationally. The heroic inauguration of Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin (the Zhejiang Revolutionary Party has always believed that Qiu Jin had been sacrificed) further inspired Zhejiang's determination to oppose the Qing Dynasty. Having learned from their failures and realizing the importance of the military, they shifted their focus to the military. By 1909, the Zhejiang New Army had formed a mixed association, including pipe bands (battalion commanders) Jiang Zunwei and Zhu Rui, team officers Gu Naibin, and instructor Feng Chizhong. Huang Yuanxiu and others from the Supervision and Training Office were all revolutionary parties. Tao Chengzhang secretly returned to Zhejiang from Japan. Seeing that Hangzhou was already rumored, he immediately felt that the time was ripe and immediately began to organize the Hangzhou uprising. Tao Chengzhang and Chen Qimei did not get along, so naturally they had no contact with Shanghai. Li Liejun has not yet arrived in Zhejiang. Tao Chengzhang resolutely launched the Hangzhou Uprising.

The uprising took place at 2 a.m. on the 4th. The troops of the New Army, which were controlled by the revolutionary party, served as the main force, starting from Jianqiao and Nanxingqiao respectively, and opened the Wangjiang Gate and Xincheng Gate in Neiying. The revolutionary army smoothly entered the city, and at dawn they laid down the governor's yamen, the Baoguo Temple Ordnance Bureau and other key departments, except for the resistance of more than 1,000 officers and soldiers of the banner battalion. The generals and co-leaders of the flag battalion surrendered under persuasion, and Hangzhou was recovered.

At that time, the characteristic was that the control of the provincial capital was equivalent to the control of the whole province.

Not to mention that Zhu Erdian contacted the ministers of various countries to discuss the great changes in China, Xu Shichang and Liangbi entered the palace to restore their lives, and the Empress Dowager Longyu was also present, so they could only cry bitterly, and they couldn't come up with any way.

Zaifeng was also helpless, he naturally had already heard the news of the Wuchang incident, and had strictly ordered the naval fleet anchored on the Wuhan River to bombard Wuchang, but the fleet only fired a few shots at Liujiamiao and it was over. Sa Zhenbing, the commander of the navy, led a fleet to escort the Ninth Town to Wuchang under the order of the center, including two cruisers Hairong and Haichen and five gunboats including Chuyu, Chuqin, Hu'e, Jianwei, and Jiangyuan, which had been anchored on the Wuhan River. Maybe Sa Zhenbing saw the situation clearly, or maybe he didn't want to harm the innocent, Sa Zhenbing did not carry out the center's orders. When Liangbi and Xu Shichang returned to Beijing, Sa Zhenbing, the admiral of the navy, had already left the fleet and left the fleet on a British steamer in the name of medical treatment, and several warships of the navy also pulled anchor and set sail for Jiujiang, putting themselves in a neutral position.

The retreat of the navy without a fight chilled the center, Yuan Shikai's refusal to accept the center's order to enter Beijing to protect the Beiyang Army made Zaifeng resentful, and the Northern Army of the Mengshan Army ignored the Japanese garrison's obstruction and marched to Zhili, which made the Qing court desperate! Then came the news of the announcement of independence in Shanghai and Zhejiang, and in the past few days, it has almost tormented Zaifeng and others into a mental disorder. Therefore, Xu Shichang and Liangbi's recital only lasted for a quarter of an hour, and Zaifeng ended the recital without even asking the two of them what countermeasures they had.

Liangbi returned to the War Department to learn about the guarding of the Beijing Division, while Xu Shichang hurried to Hengshui to meet Yuan Shikai.

Xu Shichang, who calmly observed the situation, believed that the Manchu Qing was completely finished, and now the only thing that needed to be saved was Beiyang. Therefore, he was anxious to meet Yuan Shikai to discuss a charter.

Xu Shichang received a notice before leaving, asking him to participate in tomorrow's court confrontation. But Xu Shichang ignored it, what kind of charter can be negotiated now? Calculating the time, Lu Shan's troops may arrive in Beijing in a few days, what can be accomplished by relying on a mixed association?

Xu Shichang put on makeup and went out of the city, and when he arrived in Hengshui on September 8, Yuan Shikai was sick, not pretending to be sick, but really sick. Long Qian fell ill in Changsha, and Yuan Shikai fell ill in Hengshui, no coincidence.

Yuan Shikai met Xu Shichang with illness, others can not see him, this righteous brother who has been with him through thick and thin must be seen.

"Don't ask me about my illness, let's talk about what kind of charter the center is?" Yuan Shikai was lying on the couch, weak, and Yang Shiqi and Yang Du stood next to him.

Xu Shichang got straight to the point, "Wei Ting, everyone has seen the situation clearly, time is pressing, I have repeatedly thought about it in the past few days, we should take the initiative to contact Long Qian." ”

"Hmm," Yuan Shikai glanced at Yang Du, because this young man who was keen on imperial studies also meant this, and volunteered to go to Changsha to meet Long Qian, "I'm afraid that Wuchang has not yet gone down, and the Jingshi will be in a hurry first." Fifth Brother Bian, didn't you see Zhiquan before you left Beijing? ”

"Where can I see him! Time was pressing, and he stopped in Changsha before, obviously to promote the change in Wuchang. Now Long Qian will not hesitate any longer, his southern army will immediately go south to Wuchang! This is an opportunity for us. ”

"What chance?" Yang Shiqi asked rhetorically.

"Xingcheng, Huizi, what do you say now?" Xu Shichang didn't believe that these two strategists couldn't figure this out.

"Lord Xu, why don't we write it in our hands and see if we think the same." Yang Shiqi is Yuan Shikai's chief strategist and is very familiar with Xu Shichang. After speaking, he took the pen and handed it to Xu Shichang, and then wrote a few words in the palm of his hand.

Xu Shichang was unhappy, and felt that it was too much for Yang Shiqi to play a celebrity at this point, but he did not refuse, and after a little thought, he also wrote a few words in his palm.

"Then let's show the lord." After that, Yang Shiqi opened his palm, and it was the words "Lianlong forced to clear". Xu Shichang wrote "peace talks on the establishment of the country".

"Ha Lu Ha, although the words are different, the meaning is the same." Yang Shiqi said with a smile, "For today's plan, we can't beat Long Qian militarily." But we still have a treasure to tap into. As for the result, I think we meant exactly the same thing, to force the Qing court to abdicate and seek the establishment of a republic. At that time, I will naturally have a foothold in Beiyang. ”

The meaning of uniting Long Qian is no longer to be an enemy of the Mengshan army, which is also the reason why the three towns of Beiyang refused to carry out the central orders after withdrawing from Texas. The meaning of forcing the Qing is very clear, that is, to take the initiative to force the Manchu Qing to abdicate, take the initiative politically, and obtain the capital for political negotiations with Long Qian. Aren't you going to overthrow the Manchus and establish a republic? Didn't you say that anyone who agrees with this theory is a fellow believer? Now that Beiyang "responds" to your call, then you have no reason to continue fighting. And the four words "peace talks on the founding of the country" written by Xu Shichang are indeed the same as those written by Yang Shiqi, but they are not as accurate as Yang Shiqi's expression.

Yuan Shikai let out a long sigh, "Yuan Moushi received the favor of the country, how could he make a move to persecute the imperial court?" This is inappropriate. ”

Yang Shiqi smiled slightly, "Naturally, you don't need the lord's father-in-law to do it, you just need to send Huafu or Zhiquan to do it for you." Isn't the lord sick? For the sake of today's plan, it is better to leave the Hengshui military camp and go back to his hometown to recuperate. As long as the capital of Beiyang is kept, there will naturally be room for the main public exhibition in the future. ”

"Brother Xingcheng's words are extremely true." Yang Du understood that the capital that Yang Shiqi said was the remnants of the three towns in his hands, "Although Long Qian has the absolute upper hand, in terms of foundation, especially in the north, it cannot be compared with the great commander in any case. At present, Long Qian and the Sun family may merge, seeing the chaos in the southeast, that piece is inclined to Sun Wen, as long as we take the lead and force the Manchu Qing to abdicate, Long Qian will lose the reason to enter the Beijing Division. The most dangerous thing at the moment is not the south, nor Shandong, but Zhili! It is the Lushan department that is advancing southward. It is said that Tang Shaochuan stayed in the Lushan army unharmed and was treated preferentially. I will go to Jingdong with the handwritten letter of the handsome, meet Lushan, and state the meaning of the handsome peace talks. In addition, it is still necessary for Duan, Feng and others to take action to disarm the Zhili Mixed Association and control the Jingshi in order to do the thing of forcing the palace. ”

Xu Shichang looked at Yuan Shikai's expression, and knew that his brother had already been with Er Yang. The fall of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is a foregone conclusion, and Xu Shichang is not a pure minister, and now he is basically thinking about the aftermath of the Beiyang group.

"The situation is so bad, I really don't want to be in this position anymore. I only worry about the orphans and widows in the court, if I get a reputation for bullying the young monarch, I will not have the shame to see the ancestor under the nine springs. It's best for the eldest brother to make a hard trip to the south. told Long Qian that he was favored by the Queen Mother, and the world knew it. Now they have to let people live. The abdication of the imperial court is possible, but it cannot be exterminated. If he does not agree to this, Yuan will fight with enthusiasm and protect the court to the end. As for Huizi, you can return to Beijing with Wang Pingqing, and by the way, bring me a letter to King Qing, and some words are still for King Qing. On the Zhiquan side, just do what you want, Beiyang has reached the point of life and death, and he can't stand by and watch. ”

The so-called words of King Qing are naturally to persuade the Qing court to abdicate. The Prince of Manchuria came forward, which was naturally more suitable than a foreign minister. (To be continued......)