Because spies appeared in the city, all government offices in the city strengthened their guards. Ye Mingchen asked Wu Jianzhang to send all the new troops to guard each government office.
Tan Jie's Xietong was sent to guard the inner city wall because Xietong was a descendant of the Wu family. This wall separated the north and south of Guangzhou City and was the most important wall.
On the night of March 11, Liu Lichuan and Hu Xiaofan met and finally decided to set the time for the uprising at the beginning of the next morning.
In order to prevent accidents and leakage of information, Liu Lichuan did not even tell his subordinates the specific time of the uprising in advance.
At midnight, the major leaders under Liu Lichuan left the courtyard where Liu Lichuan lived in Nancheng and all hurried back to their residences.
Although the Guangzhou Government Office has implemented a curfew in Guangzhou these days, in the chaotic Nancheng, such a ban is in vain.
Liu Lichuan's men have more than a dozen strongholds in Nancheng. Except for Liu Lichuan, everyone only knows the location of their own stronghold.
This is to prevent others from following the clues if a stronghold is exposed. After the Shanghai uprising was interrupted by Huai Haijun, Liu Lichuan began to pay attention to confidentiality.
The stronghold is where gang members live, and weapons and equipment are also stored here.
On the street, the sound of the early morning watch could be heard.
Suddenly, thousands of people poured out of more than a dozen courtyards all over Nancheng, holding muskets or swords and other cold weapons in one hand, and torches in the other.
Under the leadership of the boss, move quickly towards the target location.
Guangzhou City has many gates, including four gates on the inner city wall.
There are also eight gates on the outer city wall to the south of the inner city.
Everyone left the courtyard without shouting for kill, but the division followed the leader with his head down.
Long-term gang life taught them obedience.
More than two thousand people are not enough to control the southern city, and they cannot open the inner city gate.
The internal agents in the new army are the real trump card.
Guide Gate in the inner city is the largest city gate, and the Xietong of the Infantry Association where Tan Jie is located lives on this gate tower.
This playboy never lived here before. He was either in a smokehouse or a hook-up place every day.
In the past few days, it was only under Wu Jianzhang's insistence that I moved to live in the military.
Followed by more than a dozen heavily armed men, Tan Jie walked quickly up the horse path to the city gate tower.
Xietong had a separate room above the city tower, and ten soldiers were stationed there outside.
"Is Lord Xietong here?" Tan Jie asked.
When everyone saw that it was Vice President Tan, they all relaxed their vigilance.
Tan Jie usually has a high prestige in the army, and his weight in the minds of the soldiers is much higher than that of the Xietong, which has never seen its end.
"Xietong is sleeping inside. Is there anything wrong with Deputy Xietong Tan?"
After receiving the soldier's affirmative answer, Tan Jie did not continue to speak, but walked straight forward. The soldiers did not stop him in the process.
"Clang!"
Tan Jie kicked open the door.
The Xietong dandy who was sleeping on the bed was so frightened that he sat up from the bed and pretended to call someone.
"Wu Xietong, it's me." Tan Jie said.
In the light of the fire outside the door, Wu Xietong squinted his eyes to carefully identify the man in front of him. Because of the light, his eyes could not see Tan Jie's face clearly, but he could recognize it from Tan Jie's voice.
"Tan Jie, what are you doing in the middle of the night? I will tell you to get out of the New Army tomorrow." When Wu Xietong saw that it was Tan Jie, he felt relieved and his anger at being awakened was instantly vented.
"You have no chance." Tan Jie raised the corner of his mouth and aimed the command knife in his hand to chop off Wu Xietong's neck.
In an instant, a human head rolled along the edge of the bed and onto the ground.
During this process, the guards at the door just stood there and stared blankly, with a puzzled look in their eyes. Perhaps they were stunned for a moment, but no one stepped forward to stop him.
When the common man is angry, blood will be splashed five steps away. What's more, Tan Jie is an educated common man.
In the past, when he was studying the books of saints and sages, Tan Jie felt that all the revenge in his heart could be realized through reading. The pen and mouth of those who read seemed to be able to follow the words and the law.
But reality taught him lessons again and again. After becoming a member of the Renaissance Society, Tan Jie realized that the revenge in his heart must be achieved through action.
To realize the rejuvenation of China, we must oust the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Otherwise, no matter how good a reader is, he will only be a paper framer for the imperial court.
Only iron and blood can open a new door.
He grabbed Wu Xietong's braid and held his head in his hands.
"Brothers, the Wu family colluded with foreigners and harmed our compatriots. The Renaissance Army has occupied six provinces in the south of the Yangtze River, intending to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty and restore our Han family. Today I will take you and others to join the Renaissance Army. Are you willing?"
Tan Jie was carrying a bloody human head. The head's eyes were wide-eyed, and under the light of the torch, one could see the frightened expression on its face.
There was a Biao soldier stationed at Guide Gate. They were all woken up and lined up at the top of the city. At this time, they had sworn to obey Tan Jie's orders under the leadership of Biao Tong.
Tan Jie left a group of men to guard the city gate, and then led these soldiers to the next city gate.
Liu Lichuan's men in the south city began to enter the north city, which is the inner city, through these opened inner city gates.
They first rushed to the left and right headquarters on the east side of the inner city.
That's where the Eight Banners soldiers in the inner city are stationed. It's also where the arsenal is located.
Later, with the cooperation of Tan Jie's new army, they successively broke through the left and right capitals in the city. The Eight Banners soldiers in the city had long been deserted, and there were not many people actually living in the camp.
Then the army attacked other yamen in the city.
Wu Jianzhang, who was sleeping in his house, was suddenly awakened by his housekeeper.
"Master, something bad is going on. There seems to be a fight outside."
Wu Jianzhang suddenly sobered up after listening to the old steward's report.
"What's going on? Who broke in? Have you entered the inner city?" Wu Jianzhang asked several questions in quick succession.
"Sir, it's so late at night, I don't know what's going on. The guards in the mansion just reported that there were gunshots at the Metropolitan Administration."
"Assemble the guards and call the people in the mansion to leave immediately."
Soon, the sound of chickens and dogs jumping could be heard in the Wu Mansion.
It took a lot of effort to get all the family members together, and I didn’t even have time to clean up the gold and silver.
"Sir, which way should we go?" the steward came and asked. The situation outside was unknown now. If we ran in the wrong direction and bumped into the rebels, we would be in trouble.
"Let's go to Dadongmen." Wu Jianzhang thought for a while and said.
"Yes, sir." The steward replied, and quickly asked the guards to lead the way and fled towards the Dadong Gate.
Close to Dadongmen are Panyu County Yamen and Gongyuan.
Before the Wu family's carriage arrived at Gongyuan, gunshots were heard from the Dadong Gate.
"Turn north and go to Xiaobeimen." Wu Jianzhang shouted to the outside through the car curtain.
The team quickly turned around at the intersection.
Tan Jie led his men and horses from Guide Gate all the way east along the inner city, gathering the men and horses of his association.
I met Liu Lichuan at the South Gate.
Liu Lichuan was leading his large troops to plan a sudden attack on the inner city.
The two sides discussed it, and Tan Jie sent a new army to go with Liu Lichuan to attack the Metropolitan Administration, first to disarm the inner city.
Tan Jie took his men all the way to regain the city gate and recruit new troops to surrender.
Just now, Tan Jie arrived at Dadongmen. The new army guarding here was another Xie. Tan Jie pretended to support and got on the city wall, but failed to control the Xie. The two sides exchanged fire on the city wall.
Because of the calculated calculation without intention, Tan Jie quickly eliminated this association and his henchmen.
Under the instigation of Liu Lichuan's subordinate Anzi, who was lurking among the lower-level officers, all the others surrendered.
There were more and more people under Tan Jie. He led his people forward and recruited new troops to occupy the city gate.
Liu Lichuan in the city led his men to arrest Guangdong officials and occupied government offices, warehouses and the homes of important officials.
The city of Guangzhou is so big. It took Tan Jie nearly an entire night just to go around the city wall.
A glimmer of light could already be seen in the east, and the rebels in the city extinguished their torches. There were still fighting in some places, because many mansions had guard handles. Under the orders of their masters, these people resisted stubbornly, which really caused a certain damage to the rebels.
trouble.
But it's just a nuisance.
The demise of the imperial power in the city is only a matter of time.
The operations team from the Guangzhou Station of the Intelligence Department also participated. They are mainly responsible for attacking those tough bones.
Most of the officials in the city have been captured. At present, only Governor Ye Mingchen and part of his Supervisor Biao Battalion are resisting on Guanyin Mountain in the north of the city. The rebels cannot attack for a while.
Wu Jianzhang escaped from the small north gate first.
Tan Jie wanted to conquer the rebels all the way, so he couldn't catch up with him.
At this time, the rebel army had moved its headquarters to the governor's headquarters. The New Army's third town in the city was basically under the control of Tan Jie. There was also a small group mixed with Liu Lichuan's gang members.
The New Army currently controls each city gate, and Liu Lichuan's men are mainly stationed at key points in the city.
In order to prevent Guangzhou City from falling into chaos, both parties formally sat together at this time to determine the temporary management division of labor in Guangzhou City.
At this time, Mei Huayuan, president of the Guangzhou branch of the Renaissance Society, also appeared at the governor's office. He would serve as the representative of the Huaihai Navy government.
"Hello, Mr. Mei." Liu Lichuan stood up and held his hands.
Mei Huayuan is a native of Guangzhou. He was born in Juren. He had worked in the military government before and was among the first batch of people to enter the Huaihai Navy.
This person has a very literati temperament, like a scholar, and you will feel worthy of respect when you look at him.
"Mr. Liu, I've heard of you for a long time." Mei Huayuan returned the favor.
"Mr. Mei, the city is currently under construction, but Guangzhou is a big city. Without effective management, there will be chaos. Mr. Mei is the representative of the revival of the military government, and I hope that Mr. Liu will make a strategy. Mr. Liu is a vulgar person, and he is willing to accept Mr.
driven by.”
Mei Huayuan knew that Liu Lichuan was being modest. Liu Lichuan had contributed a lot this time, so he must be given an important enough position, otherwise there would be a gap between the two parties.
Just survive the period before the arrival of the Southern Route Army!
"Mr. Liu, Hua is a scholar. He doesn't understand war matters, so he asked the general to serve as the garrison commander of Guangzhou. Oh, the word "commander" is the name for the chief military officer in our Fuxing Army.
"The top priority is to form a city defense force and a security force. The city defense force is responsible for guarding the city walls, while the security force is responsible for the security in the city and eliminating potential dangers. Hua will gather people to set up the administrative team in Guangzhou City first. I don't know what Mr. Liu wants to do.
?”
In fact, Mei Huayuan gave Liu Lichuan the position of chief military officer, which was considered a great favor to him.
Liu Lichuan is also very satisfied in his heart. As the military commander of a city now, the worst person he can officially join in the Renaissance Army will be a division commander. Liu Lichuan still has some understanding of the military system of the Renaissance Army.
"Liu is so virtuous and capable, are you really ashamed of yourself?" Liu Lichuan declined symbolically.
"Mr. Liu, there is no need to decline. These are extraordinary times. I would like to trouble you to take on this important responsibility."
"Okay, then I'll be disrespectful. If you do something wrong, please ask Mr. Mei to correct it in time."
Mei Huayuan smiled and nodded, thinking that this Liu Lichuan seemed to be an official.
At this time Liu Lichuan continued: "Mr. Mei, I propose that Tan Xietong be the commander of the city defense army. I am in charge of the security army myself. I have stayed in the city for two years and I know Guangzhou fairly well. I will ensure that there will be no trouble in the city."
Liu Lichuan's suggestion is quite pertinent. Tan Jie has received formal military training, and now the new troops on the city wall are under his command. It is just right for him to be responsible for city defense.
Liu Lichuan himself started out as a gangster and knew the unrest in the city. He was best suited to be responsible for public security. He only needed the nominal commander. This was to give him a higher starting point in the future. He did not want to be a warlord.
, there is no need to hold so much power.
"Commander Liu, there are two things that are very difficult at the moment. One is to eliminate Ye Mingchen on Guanyin as soon as possible. The other is to recruit men from the young people gathered outside the city to defend the city."
"I will find someone to count the grain and grass supplies in the treasury. Some of the silver in the treasury can be used to recruit Qingzhuang."
"Tan Jie, how many city defense troops do you have on hand?" Liu Lichuan turned to Tan Jie and asked. He and Tan Jie were both teachers and friends, so they were known by their first names.
"President Liu, I now have four thousand men. Some of the new troops were unwilling to surrender last night and some of them died in the battle. There are still some who want to cooperate with Commander Liu's men to besiege Guanyin Mountain. My subordinates suggest recruiting from outside the city.
Some young and strong people joined the city defense army. The city wall in Guangzhou is too long and we can't defend it at all."
With no one on hand and having to defend such a large city, Tan Jie felt helpless.
…
After arranging the distribution of power in Guangzhou, they took action individually.
The first is to post a Zhang Anmin notice in the city. Inform the people that the Renaissance Army has regained Guangzhou City and will severely punish the foreigners who caused the trouble. The people can live normally. The Renaissance Army will never disturb the people, and if there are problems, they can report to the officials in the area...
With the previous announcement as a foreshadowing, the common people knew who the Fuxing Army was and were not so worried. If it were ordinary bandits, the imperial army would fight back sooner or later, and there would inevitably be chaos in the city.
Mei Huayuan organized a group of administrative staff to divide the city of Guangzhou into areas according to streets, and assigned special personnel to take charge of management. These people included members of the Renaissance Society and some small officials who had surrendered to the government. The common people saw that there were people managing them, and some
Soldiers patrolled the city, and those who originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos did not dare to show their faces.
Liu Lichuan went out to Nancheng to appease the people gathered outside the city. As a gang leader, Liu Lichuan had a good way of appeasing people.
Now that the imperial court and officials have been overthrown, there is no need for the common people to petition again.
Later, Liu Lichuan announced that he would recruit soldiers to defend the city from the young and strong people outside the city, and each of them would be given a settlement fee of twenty silver dollars on the spot.
The young and strong people in the crowd signed up one after another. They originally wanted to settle accounts with the government and the foreigners, but now they became soldiers, which was much better than seeking revenge on the foreigners with their bare hands.
Immediately, all the young and strong people present signed up. Within half a day, 20,000 people were registered. There were a large number of weapons in the city's treasury, and there were even some newly purchased muskets and artillery by the Governor's Palace. Liu Lichuan armed this group with weapons
People. Distribute them to the city defense army, and each city defense army unit is equipped with an auxiliary battalion behind it. While defending the city, train at the same time.
If there were not enough muskets in the treasury, swords and guns were distributed. All the artillery in the treasury were also brought to the city wall and installed.
Although the combat skills of these new recruits are not very good, their fighting will is very strong.
Next, Liu Lichuan persuaded the remaining people to go back.
It was impossible for him to bring all these people into the city and raise them. The Qing army in Guangdong would inevitably counterattack.
By then, the city of Guangzhou will be surrounded, and they will have to live a tight life for a while.
That afternoon, Guanyin Mountain was breached, and Governor Ye Mingchen attempted suicide and was captured.
Guangzhou City began to actively prepare for war.
Wu Jianzhang, who escaped from Guangzhou, became the person with the highest official position in Guangdong. He sent people to order the cities around Guangzhou Fucheng to actively defend themselves to prevent the rebels in the city from taking the opportunity to expand their territory. Then he went to Foshan to dispatch the Fourth Town south to Guangzhou to suppress it.
The bandits also sent people to Guangxi to recruit the new army from the first town.
In order to prevent the Renaissance Army from attacking from behind, Wu Jianzhang ordered the Second Town to continue to deploy defenses in the north.
With the new troops in the two towns and some green camp soldiers who made up the numbers, Wu Jianzhang believed that he would be able to take back Guangzhou. By then, the governor of Guangdong might be his own, and he might also be able to serve as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
ps: I watched the movie "Assassination of a Novelist" today and was very moved. What bad intentions can a novelist have?