1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 20

The revolutionary army headquarters was completely dumbfounded. They were still planning how to attack Wuchang, and before they had even launched their northern expedition, the others had already marched south?

The attitude of the southern provinces towards the Changsha Uprising was consistently bizarrely neutral, neither opposing nor supporting it.

After all, the old ministers who initiated the Southeast Mutual Protection Pact back then are still around, so they continue in the same way this time. They ignore the Qing court's orders to suppress the revolution and let the revolutionary forces under their command develop as they please. Everyone wants to see if this catfish can stir up the current deadlock in China.

The old-style bureaucrats in the south were already fed up with the restless and unruly new army. If they could really control the new army completely, no one would let such an armed force go.

But there was no way around it; the old-style bureaucrats simply didn't have the courage to take the initiative and launch a thorough revolution. Zhao Yan's revolutionary program was far too radical and resolute.

Everyone adopted a wait-and-see attitude and did not stop the New Army's uprising. After all, if you dared to stop it, you would immediately be included in the list of revolution's targets.

Zhao Yan slaughtered more than 70,000 Manchu bannermen in Changsha in one fell swoop. This made the whole world afraid to challenge Zhao Yan casually. After all, this guy really killed the whole family when dealing with enemies!

Meanwhile, the revolutionary army headquarters was in complete chaos. "Loyal Army" troops from all over the country were gathering in Changsha. Starting from the 19th, troops from other places came to support the revolution every day.

"Sir, 1,800 men arrived from Guangxi today, along with 2,000 from Guizhou and another 800 from Guangzhou!" Dai Mingde reported to Wang Chongshan, sweating profusely as he held up a troop count sheet.

Wang Chongshan was still calculating how many people would need to eat today when the data he had just received in the morning arrived again in the afternoon!

Wang Chongshan was furious: "What's going on? Haven't three groups of people already arrived from Guangxi, Guizhou, and Guangzhou? Why are there more?"

Dai Mingde explained, "Last time, people from Nanning came from Guangxi, and this time, people from Guilin came. It's the same with Guizhou; this time, troops from southeastern Guizhou came."

As for Guangzhou, this time it's a student army! They said there are many more troops coming, including the New Army, student soldiers, Green Standard Army soldiers, and even merchant corps troops—they're all coming in droves!

Wang Chongshan stood up in fright: "Are they short of money for the New Year and coming here to rip us off? Quickly take the documents and staffing lists and come with me to see the head of state. This can't go on!"

When Wang Chongshan arrived at the gate of the head of state's residence, Zhao Yan had just finished a speech and was wiping his sweat, preparing to go back for a nap.

Wang Chongshan quickly led his men around the already excited and hyped-up crowd and stopped Zhao Yan.

"Your Majesty, don't rush back. They're here again. Another four or five thousand men arrived this afternoon!"

The reception process these past few days has been all procedural. After arriving, people from various places first have to go to the head of state's residence to pay their respects and have their brains brainwashed by Zhao Yan's persuasive skills before they are dispersed and assigned to join the revolutionary army.

At first, Zhao Yan was still enthusiastically welcoming people from all over the country, constantly giving speeches and brainwashing them. But with this endless cycle of frequent and incomplete urination, Zhao Yan began to lose his patience.

Upon hearing that several thousand more people had arrived, he nearly fainted.

Dai Mingde quickly helped Zhao Yan up: "Your Excellency, you can't fall down!"

Zhao Yan said weakly, "Help me inside, and quickly bring me ginseng soup to keep me alive!"

After all that commotion, Zhao Yan recovered and sat down in a chair, asking, "So far, how many troops have arrived?"

Party representative Wang Dingyun immediately picked up the forms and documents, and the accompanying accountants brought out abacus beads. After about ten minutes of tapping and banging, the documents were ready.

Wang Dingyun then reported: "At present, 74,591 reinforcements from various places have arrived at the main camp outside Changsha. If we include the troops from Guangxi, Guangdong and Guizhou who just arrived this afternoon, the number has exceeded 80,000!"

"Among them, those who had received a certain level of military training, including the New Army and the Green Standard Army, totaled 35,000 people, while the rest were militia, student army, and merchant army!"

"Several thousand more farmers from various places came with hoes, also wanting to start a revolution, but we gave them travel expenses and persuaded them to go back. Otherwise, there would have been even more people!"

Zhao Yan fell silent after hearing this, but then footsteps sounded outside the door; it was Zhang Mingqi.

As soon as Zhang Mingqi entered, he shouted, "Your Excellency, this can't go on! Please think of a solution! With so many troops, they'll eat us out of Changsha in less than two months, and they'll bankrupt Hunan too!"

"They're not here to support the revolution; they're here to bankrupt it. How can they treat a wealthy family like this? The New Year is almost here, and instead of staying home, they're here to feast!"

At first, the Revolutionary Army Headquarters treated all the troops who came to its aid from various places with the same treatment as the Revolutionary Army, providing them with three meals of dry food and one meat dish a day.

Moreover, once they arrived, they joined the training and were included in the preparation plan. Zhao Yan didn't mind having more people, because more people means more strength.

But after all this, the provisional government's previously relatively well-off finances immediately began to strain.

With such a large force, they didn't even have enough money for the journey when they set off. They relied entirely on the assistance of local governments. Which local government along the way would dare to offend these revolutionaries?

After entering Hunan, they were treated with even greater courtesy, feasting and drinking their way through the region. Local prefectures and cities were in dire need of assistance, and the central government in Changsha was on the verge of collapse.

If these people hadn't cut off their queues before coming, you could have persuaded them to go back, but they had all cut off their queues and shaved their heads, so no matter how many there were, you had no choice but to accept them.

Fortunately, Zhao Yan had already given orders that Hunan should not be agitated and that all localities should maintain order; otherwise, another 100,000 troops could have sprung up in Hunan in the next few days.

Back when the Hunan Army marched south of the Yangtze River, they all returned home with enormous wealth. Now, a revolutionary party and a provisional government have emerged. The people of Hunan don't care about the differences; as long as they can fight their way out and make a fortune, they are very interested.

Zhao Yan was also completely baffled: "Why aren't they going to Beijing to support the emperor? Why are they coming here to rob us rich people?"

"Your Excellency, wasn't it all because of your revolutionary proclamation? Everyone heard it and came to support you. You yourself said it, calling on everyone to rise up in resistance until the Qing Dynasty is completely destroyed and the foreign powers are expelled!" Zhang Mingqi explained.

Zhao Yan was speechless: "That was just an announcement, all just polite talk. Who told them to take it seriously?"

Zhang Mingqi quickly pleaded, "My lord, we really can't take it anymore! The revolutionary army camp now has nearly 100,000 troops. Not to mention anything else, just the food and drink alone cost several thousand taels of silver every day."

Tomorrow is the Lunar New Year, and 100,000 people will be having New Year's Eve dinner. You previously said you would give red envelopes to the revolutionary army, everyone would get one, but now look what's happened, you've suddenly created 100,000 troops, the national treasury simply can't handle it!"

Zhao Yan pressed further, "Didn't the national treasury still have over four million taels of silver? How could it run out so quickly? Do you think I don't check the accounts?"

Zhang Mingqi said, "Your Excellency, I swear to God, I didn't embezzle a single penny!"

"You can do the math yourself. Once you enlist in the Revolutionary Army and complete the registration, you will immediately receive ten taels of silver as a resettlement allowance, three taels of silver as your monthly military pay, two sets of military uniforms and a cotton-padded coat for each person, as well as shoes and socks!"

They also need to purchase military equipment and ammunition, as well as medicine and rations, and provide the soldiers with three meals a day plus one meal of meat. This isn't feeding soldiers; it's feeding pampered princes!

"We've already given out nearly a million taels of silver in resettlement allowances, and at the end of the month we'll be paying military salaries, and we also need to allocate funds to civilians to purchase military uniforms, weapons and ammunition."

We've almost bought up all the chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep around Changsha, and the government grain reserves are empty. The national treasury can only last another two months at most. We'll have to start thinking about how to make up for the deficit!

Zhao Yan slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "No, we can't let them continue to exploit us like this. We must launch the Northern Expedition immediately!"

"Everything will proceed as planned. The Northern Expedition will be moved up to the first day of the Lunar New Year. Tomorrow, everyone will have a good meal and receive a red envelope containing one tael of silver each!"

"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we must immediately launch a northern expedition! We can't continue eating Hunan food on the Lantern Festival; we have to go eat Hubei food!"

Zhang Mingqi wiped the sweat from his brow and agreed, "Great! If we keep eating in Hunan, we'll run out of food. We need to go to Hubei. Lord Zhang Zhidong is in Wuchang. We can't go wrong eating at his restaurants!"

According to seniority, Zhang Zhidong was Zhang Mingqi's great-uncle, and both of them came from the Zhang family. But at this critical moment, this grand-nephew could not care about any feelings. It's better to die for the grand-uncle than the grand-nephew!

Chapter 36 New Year's Eve Dinner

The following day was Lunar New Year's Eve!

Inside the headquarters, Dai Mingde had just been promoted, but looking at the red envelope in his hand and the salted vegetables and noodles on the table, he felt no joy at all.

Head of State Zhao Yan kept his promise and gave red envelopes to every revolutionary officer and soldier who was about to go to the battlefield during the Spring Festival. The new soldiers at the grassroots level each received one tael of silver, while the veterans who participated in the Changsha Uprising each received two taels of silver.

However, all the officers of the Revolutionary Army Headquarters and the First Division received only a blank slip of paper in their red envelopes, stating that a certain amount of bonuses were owed and would be paid immediately once the finances were restored!

It was still noon inside the headquarters, but the New Year's Eve dinner was served early because the officers would not have time to eat in the afternoon and evening, as they had to prepare for the Northern Expedition to begin on the first day of the new year.

Dai Mingde has now been promoted to Director of the Operations Department of the Revolutionary Army Headquarters, and concurrently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff of the First Division of the Revolutionary Army. His military rank has also been promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel.

But holding the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, looking at the noodle soup on the table where one's reflection could be seen, Dai Mingde couldn't help but sigh.

At the end of the long table, Wang Chongshan, who was in the main seat, was furious. He slammed his fist on the table and said, "What are you all sighing about? You should be grateful that you have noodles to eat. You should be thanking us for not being forced to eat sweet potatoes!"

"With 100,000 soldiers eating horse feed, the rats around Changsha have almost been eaten up. This bowl of noodles is already a good thing. Those who don't want to eat, get out and get to work. I'll have another bowl!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Chongshan was the first to grab a bowl and chopsticks and start picking up noodles, shoveling pickled mustard greens into the bowl.

There's only so much food left, and it'll be gone once it's all eaten. If you're still sighing like this, you'll be starving tonight!

Dai Mingde dared not continue to grieve and quickly started scooping up the noodles; if he was too slow, he would only be able to drink the noodle soup.

The New Year's Eve dinner at the headquarters was finished in ten minutes. After eating, they didn't even need to wipe their mouths, thinking there was no oil at all.

"Alright, now that you've finished eating, hurry up and go to the camp to arrange your affairs. Don't complain. If you have money, go to the city to eat at a restaurant. Nobody's stopping you."

"Besides, the Führer has already promised that if we take the three towns of Wuhan, he will make up the bonuses for every officer and give each of them 120 catties of pork!"

All the officers, fully revitalized, shouted in unison, "Long live!"

Zhao Yan's method of boosting morale was very crude: he simply gave them money and meat. In those days, meat was a more valuable form of currency than silver.

Even if people at the bottom of society have money, they may not be able to buy meat, but if you have meat, you can definitely exchange it for money.

Even officers serving in the military don't necessarily get to eat meat every few days, because these days, even if you're just drinking soldiers' blood and getting paid without working, there are still many people above you who get the lion's share.

Zhao Yan promised to give each officer a bonus of twenty taels of silver and 120 catties of meat after taking the three towns of Wuhan, which can be described as a huge investment.

After finishing their clear soup noodles, the hundreds of officers at headquarters, following the planned schedule, began to go to the main camp outside the city to make arrangements.

Zhao Yan has now unified the operating procedures of the military and political systems. He no longer relies on the initiative of his subordinates, but instead uses institutional constraints and planned arrangements.

It was decided that every matter must be planned in detail, and before proceeding, the plan must be given to Zhao Yan to review. If Zhao Yan felt it was reliable, he would approve it, and then the people below would simply follow the plan strictly.

Now, some officers at headquarters need to go into the camp to hold meetings with various units to deploy tasks, while others need to take stock of military supplies and arrange the vehicles, mules, and horses needed for tomorrow's supplies, as well as the transportation routes.

Some officers, along with intelligence personnel, need to set off overnight to find out if the army's route for tomorrow's march is clear, if the roads are blocked, and if there are any enemy threats along the way. Most importantly, they need to determine if there will be enough space for everyone to set up camp after the army leaves Changsha and arrives at the next encampment.

If there isn't enough space, where should the large army be dispersed and how should their meals and urination be handled?

In fact, the plan should also include contingency plans, such as how to deal with enemy attacks or ambushes and how each unit should react. However, the headquarters has too few people and not many capable officers, so it is impossible to consider these things.

Outside the city, inside the revolutionary army camp.

Wenxian was following the battalion commander to collect the last batch of military supplies before the expedition: a total of 230 cotton-padded coats, 150 pairs of cloth shoes, 150 leggings, and 100 Manshali rifles and matching bullets purchased from civilians.

These things were all collected from the home of a certain landlord. As for why he had so many things, the revolutionary army didn't want to ask. As long as you were willing to sell, the revolutionary army would buy them all.

After the count was completed, the battalion commander asked Wenxian to look at the list. After all, only Wenxian could read. Although he was just a private, he was literate, so the battalion commander couldn't treat him like a private.

Wenxian glanced at the list filled with dense capital numbers and categories, and nodded after confirming that everything was correct. The battalion commander immediately picked up a pen to sign, but after writing for a long time, no one could recognize what the characters were.

After the battalion commander signed the form, the quartermaster from the division headquarters also signed it and stamped it. He then handed the form to the landlord who was selling the goods. The landlord only needed to take the form to the finance official of the provisional government to collect the money.

"Revolution is good! We must have revolution! After the revolution, we'll have meat to eat, cotton clothes to wear, and cloth shoes for the New Year. If I had known this earlier, I would have started the revolution last year!" The battalion commander was very happy as he received the gifts and led his men back.

The biggest change in the army, from the New Army to the Revolutionary Army, was that everyone started doing things and began to make things the way they were supposed to be.

The government started allocating funds, and the military logistics department began procurement. Whatever the army needed, they could submit a report. Even if it was a little slow and they had to wait a while, at least the higher-ups would send the supplies over.

If it were the Qing army of the past, they would all be huddled in their barracks enduring the dead of winter. Cotton-padded clothes, cloth shoes? New Year's Eve dinner? Red envelopes? You're dreaming!

Upon returning to the camp, the battalion commander immediately summoned all the company commanders and ordered them to bring their men to collect the supplies. Each company was to collect as much as they needed, and Wenxian was responsible for supervising the distribution and registration.

The company commanders found it troublesome, and since they didn't actually have a specific number, they simply brought all the soldiers in their companies, whether they were wearing straw sandals or thin clothes, and told them to line up and take whatever they needed.

Wenxian's battalion was assigned to a Guangxi company today. This group of people came all the way from Guangxi carrying broadswords and wearing straw sandals. Heaven knows how they survived such cold weather.

The regimental headquarters issued a special notice to give them priority in arranging military supplies, since it was not easy for them to come all this way.

As one of the very few literate soldiers who was also a Party member, Wenxian was always taken along by the battalion commander, and no one dared to treat him as an ordinary private.

It was Wenxian who compiled the roster for these Guangxi soldiers, and it's also Wenxian who's distributing supplies to them now.

What exactly they would give out depended entirely on Wenxian's eyes. He glanced at the soldier and asked, "What's their name?"

"Li Bensheng."

He glanced at Li Bensheng in front of him, confirmed that the name was on the roster, and looked at the other man with his bare feet on the snow, wearing only a thin shirt and carrying a musket on his back.

Wenxian shouted, "Li Bensheng, one cotton-padded coat, one pair of cloth shoes, one pair of socks, one pair of leggings, one Manshall rifle, and thirty rounds of ammunition!"

"Next!"

Li Bensheng, who received a new cotton-padded coat and cloth shoes, as well as a second-hand rifle and bullets, was completely incredulous. His own parents had never bought him new clothes or shoes in his entire life, but he got them after joining the revolution?

I thought I was just going to be cannon fodder and scrape by, but I never expected to be given rifles and bullets. I didn't even get this kind of treatment when I was in the Guangxi New Army. I never thought I would get this treatment when I came to another province!

The other Guangxi soldiers also received their supplies and equipment, but not everyone received anything. In the end, about ten people did not receive anything, so the battalion commander asked them to coordinate among themselves and distribute it among everyone.

This is the norm. None of the units received the full amount of supplies and equipment. In some units, only a small portion of the personnel received the full amount, while in others, half of the personnel received nothing.

But the fact that they were able to receive the supplies and even promised to make up for them later was already beyond everyone's expectations. The troops from other provinces hadn't even done anything yet, but they were able to receive the supplies first, so no one had any complaints.

"Get ready for dinner. Go to the square to collect your New Year's Eve dinner by company. Bring buckets and basins with you. If you don't have any, go borrow some!"

This New Year's Eve dinner was something the provisional government racked its brains to organize. Providing New Year's Eve dinner for 100,000 people at once was no small matter in any era.

The soldiers used buckets and basins, and some even used straw hats to carry the New Year's Eve dinner back to their company, each displaying their unique abilities.

It's the same three dishes as always: white rice, potato chunks, pickled vegetables, and meat broth, but today the broth is a bit thicker than usual.

The logistics department staff also made a hodgepodge of all sorts of things, throwing beef, chicken, and pork into a big pot to cook, without even having time to chop them up. When there wasn't enough meat, they even had to make up for it with heart, liver, lungs, and intestines.

Add a handful of salt and a handful of chili peppers, and if you're feeling generous, add plenty of spices. Then boil it over high heat for several hours until it's completely mushy. Pour in potatoes, pickled vegetables, rice, and everything else, and you've got an Indian-style porridge. That's your New Year's Eve dinner.

This was a specific requirement put forward by Zhao Yan after his inspection. It was decided that the troops must cook this kind of porridge!

That's fair, no one has a choice, and there's no room for picking and choosing. You eat whatever is scooped into your bowl.

When the porridge is put into a bowl, everyone is overjoyed to see a thick layer of oil. They don't care what's inside; as long as there's oil, that's enough.

The camp was filled with the sounds of people wolfing down their food; they were eating with great gusto.

After the meal, under the supervision of the party representative, the officers distributed the red envelopes promised by the leader Zhao Yan to each soldier and informed everyone that they would be setting off for the Northern Expedition the next day.

The soldiers didn't care about the Northern Expedition or the fighting; all they cared about was the piles of silver they got. Every single tael was genuine, without any skimping. Some of the silver even had bloodstains on it, clearly indicating that it had been obtained through a thorough cleansing of the entire city.