"Brigade Commander, the rebels in Anqing sneaked out of the city," a signalman reported to Li Yuanhong, the Brigade Commander of the 21st Brigade of the Hubei New Army.

It was already approaching evening. Hearing this news, Li Yuanhong immediately perked up. "How many people did the rebels send out?"

"Reporting to the Commander, about a hundred rebels sneaked out of the city, heading towards our 41st Regiment. The Regiment Commander asked me to report to you that he will absolutely not let the rebels succeed in their sneak attack."

"Mn. Tell the Regiment Commander of the 41st Regiment that he must not let a single rebel escape. Go down."

Not long after the signalman left, dense gunfire was heard in the distance. The gunfire didn't pause for long before a signalman, led by a personal guard, entered Li Yuanhong's central army tent panting. "Brigade Commander, the Regiment Commander of the 41st Regiment reports that the squad of rebels leaving the city has been completely annihilated."

"Well done!" Li Yuanhong breathed a slight sigh of relief, then hurriedly added, "Let the Regiment Commander send the captured rebels to the central army immediately. I want to interrogate them personally."

"Yes." The signalman responded and quickly left the central army tent.

The staff officers who had been in Li Yuanhong's central army tent also breathed a sigh of relief. "Commander, it seems these Anqing rebels are also vulnerable in front of our Hubei New Army."

"How did these people capture Anqing? Was the Anhui New Army that vulnerable?"

Listening to the skillful flattery of the staff officers below, a smile appeared on Li Yuanhong's face. The fall of Anqing and Chizhou had shaken the court and the public. Li Yuanhong never expected that he, a Brigade Commander, would lead troops to pacify the Anqing rebels. He really didn't want outsiders to see his nervousness and excitement. If he could successfully exterminate the rebels and retake Anqing and Chizhou, how great this credit would be was something Li Yuanhong didn't need to remind himself repeatedly. The more he faced such credit, the more Li Yuanhong had to remind himself to be cautious. Because the fall of Anqing and Chizhou was truly too surprising.

"Brigade Commander, should we start attacking the city?" The staff officers didn't have Li Yuanhong's thoughts. Learning that the rebels leaving the city were eliminated so easily, everyone was excited. Generally speaking, those who dared to go out of the city to fight were elites. If the rebels' elites were so vulnerable, let alone those shrinking inside the city.

"No rush. Let's wait until I finish questioning those captured rebels," Li Yuanhong said calmly. Although he said this, Li Yuanhong also couldn't help but feel a burst of excitement and pride in his heart. To cover up this excitement, Li Yuanhong simply buried his head and pretended to look at the map. But how could that proud expression deceive the clever staff officers? The staff officers hurriedly gathered around and began to point at Anqing city. Their words inside and out meant letting Li Yuanhong send troops in force quickly to take Anqing city rapidly.

Li Yuanhong knew the true thoughts of these staff officers. After the rebels captured Anqing and Chizhou, the court was in chaos. Anqing was the provincial capital of Anhui after all, and the Anhui New Army was stationed there. As a result, Anqing fell in one day, and the New Army was wiped out. One must know that the New Armies of various provinces were troops established with great effort by the court. When did such a rebel force that could easily eliminate the Anhui New Army suddenly emerge? The court was terrified from top to bottom.

Conflicts and disputes between court ministers had always been directed at people rather than issues. Any trivial matter, once it reached the court, could turn into a fierce struggle between factions. Let alone such a major event as the fall of Anqing. Even Li Yuanhong, far away in Hubei, heard that this struggle had turned into a fierce struggle between Yuan Shikai of the Beiyang clique and the various princes, as usual. The upper-level struggle was too complex and fierce; Li Yuanhong couldn't grasp the main points. The New Armies around Anqing were extremely fearful of this "Revolutionary Party" that suddenly popped up. Since the news obtained by the court indicated that the Anhui New Army was very likely involved in a collective rebellion, under the strict orders of the court, the New Armies of various provinces all launched strict internal investigations to catch the revolutionaries who had infiltrated the New Army. With such a major search, plus the New Year, the New Armies around Anqing couldn't move.

After the New Year, because many rebels in Jiangsu and Zhejiang echoed the Anqing rebels, the southern New Armies dared not move easily. The heavy responsibility of suppressing bandits fell on the shoulders of the Hubei New Army. Regarding who to send to lead the troops, there were multiple opinions within the Hubei New Army. Most people thought that Zhang Biao, the Division Commander of the Hubei New Army, should lead the troops. But the Hubei New Army had just undergone a movement of "checking for revolutionaries within the New Army." Under the management of Lord Zhang Zhidong, the Hubei New Army was very "advanced," and there were quite a few people internally inclined towards the Revolutionary Party. There were also some officers and soldiers who didn't want to go to suppress the Anqing rebels. If Division Commander Zhang Biao left Hubei, some feared these New Army soldiers would cause trouble. In the end, the heavy responsibility of commanding the troops fell on Li Yuanhong. And Division Commander Zhang Biao wasn't stingy either. The troops dispatched included the 21st Brigade under Li Yuanhong, as well as the Hubei New Army Navy which had gathered the Anhui New Army Navy's warships. Zhang Biao also allocated the 29th Regiment under his own command to Li Yuanhong's command. Li Yuanhong's troop strength reached seven thousand.

If Li Yuanhong could easily take Anqing, not only could Li Yuanhong be promoted, but these staff officers following Li Yuanhong could also be promoted. Seeing the great victory in the first battle and the rebels being so vulnerable, which related to their own promotion and fame, the staff officers' minds became even more eager.

The Hubei New Army under the city temporarily maintained caution because of Li Yuanhong. This was originally good news for the Yue Wang Society inside the city. But none of the Yue Wang Society cadres could realize this. The unit that went out of the city to fight was a particularly brave and loyal secret society unit. They almost volunteered to ambush outside the city, preparing to "raid the camp" at night. But unexpectedly, they were ambushed by the New Army instead, and the whole army was wiped out in a moment. For the Yue Wang Society, this blow was too heavy.

The defenders of the Yue Wang Society on the city wall whispered to each other, uneasy. This rapid defeat made many defenders who came from the Anhui New Army couldn't help but recall the failure facing the People's Party. That failure was equally rapid, simple, and neat. Many defenders even thought superstitiously: as New Army soldiers, they lost battles; after becoming revolutionaries, they still lost battles? Could this Anqing be a place where they were destined to be unlucky?

The lower-level soldiers were in a state of panic, and the upper level of the Yue Wang Society fell into the same feeling. The secret society members who had originally shouted about going out of the city to fight were now silent as cicadas in winter, daring not utter such big words anymore. And those secret society members who originally advocated abandoning Anqing and running away had flickering eyes. They exchanged glances, then looked at Chen Duxiu and others sitting at the head with a hesitant look.

Chen Duxiu didn't notice the eyes of the secret society members. His mood had fallen into a blank state due to the great ups and downs. Chen Duxiu didn't understand military affairs. To him, revolutionary war should be one victory after another. Otherwise, how could there be the final victory of the revolution? After the Hubei New Army demonstrated its superior strength, it also demonstrated its strong combat effectiveness. Chen Duxiu was stunned by this clean and neat military failure.

As a military cadre, Chang Hengfang, who came from the New Army, could accept this failure. "This is just a small defeat. As long as we guard Anqing city well and don't go out of the city easily, the Hubei New Army won't be able to fight into the city so easily."

These words failed to inspire morale. The crowd acted as if they hadn't heard these words at all; those dazed remained dazed, those timid remained timid.

"Let's arrange the team for guarding the city tonight. Defend carefully. Tonight..." Speaking of this, Chang Hengfang paused. He wanted to say "Tonight won't be easy," but the atmosphere in the room was so low that Chang Hengfang felt he couldn't say this somewhat depressing sentence no matter what.

Seeing Chang Hengfang hesitating to speak, Diao Dezhang swallowed his saliva and then said, "Grand Commander Chen, given the current situation, I'll take my brothers to guard the North Gate." After finishing, Diao Dezhang thought for a moment and added, "The shelling is fierce. The brothers didn't rest well yesterday. We'll rest for the first half of the night and guard the second half."

Seeing that Diao Dezhang, who consistently advocated surrender, could be so righteous, Chen Duxiu couldn't refuse. He nodded, "Let's do it this way. Hengfang, you go arrange the troops guarding the city tonight. Be careful."

Chang Hengfang began to arrange the deployment for guarding the city. As a result, the followers of various secret societies were sent to the city wall. On the contrary, apart from half of the New Army troops controlled by the Yue Wang Society being placed at the West City and several other key defense points, the other half were kept in the barracks inside the city. This wasn't because Chang Hengfang had any selfishness. There was destined to be a big battle tomorrow during the day. If they exhausted their energy guarding the city at night, the number of troops capable of fighting would be extremely insufficient when the fighting started tomorrow.

The secret society members hesitated to speak, clearly dissatisfied with Chang Hengfang's arrangement.

Seeing the cowardly appearance of the secret society members, Chang Hengfang said angrily, "What are you afraid of? Aren't our troops defending the West City? There are New Army brothers at other key points. If the Hubei guys come to sneak attack, everyone just needs to hold on for a little while, and our reinforcements can arrive."

The secret society leaders knew this was true, but they were still very uneasy in their hearts. A secret society leader named Zhou Xingchen said timidly, "Commander Chang, then let me guard the North Gate with Brother Diao. Brother Diao has many people, I have few. I want to guard the city with him."

More people could embolden courage; Chang Hengfang could understand Zhou Xingchen's thought. He adjusted the order of night watch, and the secret society leaders left one after another.

When only the cadres of the Yue Wang Society were left in the conference hall, Chang Hengfang said in a tragic tone, "Grand Commander, we can hold it."

"With no reinforcements outside, how long can we hold?" Chen Duxiu's voice seemed to be questioning, yet also seemed to be affirming. The people in the conference hall were silent after hearing this. Before facing the New Army's land forces head-on, everyone still had thousands of "scenarios." When the Hubei New Army's infantry lined up under Anqing city, all "scenarios" were ruthlessly dispelled by reality. When the eyes of these people were forced onto this only path, every one of them suddenly discovered that the end of this path was very likely complete destruction. Many in the Yue Wang Society had to face such a reality: "Perhaps they knew this result long ago, but they always averted their gaze to avoid facing it."

In such a miserable atmosphere, Xiong Chengji stood up and said, "Grand Commander, comrades, we have also drilled diligently for more than a month. Our backbone can fight. The only problem is just that the secret societies don't listen to orders. Anqing city is too big; without the secret societies, we can't defend it completely. We place our own elite troops inside the city. Once the New Army attacks the city, we will transfer troops to where the New Army attacks. Presumably, we can hold it."

Xiong Chengji was a professional military academy graduate after all; his suggestion was not bad. Hearing this, Chang Hengfang was the first to agree, "Indeed so. The New Army can fight against secret societies. But there are also quite a few New Army veterans in our troops. Everyone is New Army; what is there to be afraid of? Do the Hubei guys have three heads and six arms?"

Encouraged by these two young military men, the conference hall gradually gained some vitality. Many people were still uneasy in their hearts, but they were young people after all and had a spirit of refusing to admit defeat. The performance of the secret societies these days had proved that they couldn't fight at all. But when both offensive and defensive sides were New Army, the Anqing side had the city wall as a reliance. Being in a high position looking down would be much better after all. It was uncertain who would win.

If he hadn't met Lu Zhengping, Chen Duxiu would also have been inspired by the enthusiasm of the young comrades. But he couldn't forget the conversation with Lu Zhengping last night. "The secret societies are unreliable. The New Army comrades are insufficient in number. Anqing is so big. Even if we beat back the first few attacks of the Hubei New Army, once the Hubei New Army increases troops, or the Nanjing New Army increases troops, this Anqing still can't be held. Since this is the case, why must we defend to the death?"

Chen Duxiu agreed relatively with Lu Zhengping's view, but commanding the retreat of several thousand people wasn't an easy task either. The retreat plan provided by Lu Zhengping was to first prepare dry food and send people to scout the path. Then disband the secret societies, let the core troops daring to fight attack the Hubei New Army fiercely, and suddenly retreat when the Hubei New Army thought Anqing wanted to go out of the city for a decisive battle. This could both buy time and improve efficiency. Chen Duxiu also agreed deeply. The problem was that Chen Duxiu was a revolutionary, or more accurately, Chen Duxiu was a literati and revolutionary theorist. He lacked the ability to fully execute this plan, and even more lacked the boldness to persuade comrades to execute this plan.

Thus, amidst everyone's chaotic thoughts, Chen Duxiu almost drifted with the current and wasted a day with everyone. Now seeing the comrades so enthusiastic, Chen Duxiu didn't know how to bring up the matter of retreat even more.

Chang Hengfang had already made up his mind to fight a decisive battle. Seeing that other cadres had reached a consensus, he said to Chen Duxiu, "Grand Commander, if there is nothing else, I will go organize the night watch."

"Mn..., good. Let it be so for now." Chen Duxiu responded.

Chang Hengfang took Xiong Chengji and others out together. Only Bai Wenwei was left in the conference hall. Chen Duxiu suddenly realized that he had lost another opportunity to persuade comrades to retreat at this time.

"Strictly guard the camp; beware of rebel sneak attacks." Li Yuanhong issued an order.

"Yes, Brigade Commander. Commander, what is the password for the camp tonight?" The staff officer asked while answering.

Li Yuanhong looked at the dishes on the table in front of him. He wanted to use a dish name as the password casually, but he couldn't help remembering Cao Cao's password "Chicken Ribs." Suppressing the urge to use a dish name, Li Yuanhong said, "Let's use 'Night Raid Anqing' as the password."

"Night Raid Anqing." The clerk hurriedly wrote down the password. After presenting it to Li Yuanhong for review, he applied the seal.

After the staff officers went out, Li Yuanhong ate a few mouthfuls of food boredly, and let the personal guards take the leftovers away. The staff officers dared not eat at the same table with Li Yuanhong, so the big tent was quiet. After the personal guard brewed tea, Li Yuanhong took a casual sip, and his brows couldn't help but frown.

This wasn't because the tea wasn't tasty; Li Yuanhong had his own worries. In the afternoon, Li Yuanhong personally interrogated the captured rebels. But he found that the rebels were simply a mob. These people were beaten severely after being captured. When they were brought to Li Yuanhong, every one of them had wounds all over their bodies and faces. There was no arrogance to speak of. Li Yuanhong's inquiry was very smooth. These people explained the situation inside the city in full detail. These circumstances not only didn't make Li Yuanhong feel relieved but made him feel even more confused.

When Anqing fell more than a month ago, it truly shook the world. Anqing was a provincial capital and a famous city. The fact that it was captured in a single day made many people pessimistic about the court even think that the comprehensive collapse of the Great Qing was about to begin. Regarding exterminating the Anqing rebels, opinions within the court were clearly divided into two factions. One faction advocated immediate suppression, while the other advocated finding out what happened first.

Officials advocating immediate suppression upheld the court's consistent attitude over the years: ruthless measures must be taken against those who dare to rebel to deter rebels. But those advocating finding out first were some more prudent ones. Although the Anhui New Army was not a unit good at fighting among the New Armies, it was a whole Brigade of New Army. Being wiped out in one day showed that the rebel forces were far beyond imagination.

Party struggles were fierce in the court, but there was no party politics in Hubei. The officers of the Hubei New Army thought that with nearly ten thousand people including New Army and officials at all levels in Anqing city, someone should have been able to run out to report the news. Unexpectedly, the Hubei New Army waited for half a month and didn't wait for any news to come out. In the past half month, the Hubei New Army also sent many spies, but the results were very different. Various diametrically opposed intelligence reports were numerous, yet when summed up, they couldn't piece together a decent general situation.

What the Hubei New Army knew was that the Yue Wang Society occupied Anqing, and the Restoration Society occupied Chizhou. This intelligence was better and could justify itself. regarding the Anqing New Army and the officials filling the city, the intelligence was varied. Some said all officials from En Ming down were killed by the revolutionaries; some said En Ming and others had defected to the revolutionaries; some said the entire Anhui New Army had defected to the revolutionaries. Anyway, the whereabouts and lives of the officials filling the city were unknown. This extremely strange matter made the Hubei New Army somewhat at a loss.

In a blink of an eye, the New Year passed. The Hubei New Army learned that because the refugees displaced to Nanjing and other places by the flood last year began to cause trouble, the court ordered the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Rui Fang, to appease them properly, and he was unable to send troops to Anqing at all. Moreover, after the fermentation of a New Year, various news became even more unpredictable. generally speaking, not only were the whereabouts of the civil and military officials filling Anqing still unknown, but it was also heard that a new revolutionary party, the "People's Party," had risen in northern Anhui. The sayings about the People's Party were even more varied. Some said the People's Party was subordinate to the Yue Wang Society; some said the People's Party was subordinate to the Restoration Society. Every statement seemed reasonable. Finally, Lord Zhang Zhidong, far away in Beijing, issued an order for the Hubei New Army to prepare to send troops. Lord Zhang Zhidong was now a Grand Councilor in the capital; presumably, his words would absolutely not be wrong. The Hubei New Army began to prepare for war, but there was no news from the court for a long time. It wasn't until ten days ago that the Hubei New Army formally received the court's order to send troops to suppress.

But through today's interrogation, the captives confessed that the one who conquered Anqing was unexpectedly not the Yue Wang Society or the Restoration Society, but some People's Party that was not in Anqing at all. Moreover, the People's Party was not a subordinate of the Yue Wang Society or the Restoration Society. According to the captives, the People's Party was a revolutionary party established long ago and now controlled the area of North Anhui. North Anhui suffered floods, and news didn't get through; even if there was news, it was bad news. Such a group of revolutionaries suddenly rose in the disaster area. With poor communication between North Anhui and Hubei, Li Yuanhong really didn't know if he should listen to the captives' words. Sipping tea, Li Yuanhong was really undecided in his heart.

But after thinking for a while, Li Yuanhong put down his worries. Although the captives mentioned such a People's Party, they all said that the People's Party had returned to Fengyang long ago. Fengyang was hundreds of *li* away from here, so there was no need to fear. As long as Anqing and Chizhou were retaken, it would be a great merit. Let the court worry about whatever People's Party in Fengyang.

After determining these, Li Yuanhong ordered, "Notify all battalions to cook at the third watch tomorrow (around midnight to 2 AM? Usually means early morning). As soon as it gets light, start shelling the West City of Anqing."

"Yes, Brigade Commander."

"Wait, go and instruct all battalions again to strictly guard against Anqing rebels raiding the camp tonight." Li Yuanhong still maintained the principle of caution first.