When Yan Fu was a teacher at the Beiyang Naval Academy, he had been extremely serious. Although Li Yuanhong had entered the Beiyang Naval Academy in 1883, which was now twenty-four years ago from the current year of 1907, Yan Fu still vaguely remembered Li Yuanhong's appearance. Being a teacher yet having to personally destroy his own student gave Yan Fu somewhat mixed feelings.

Zhang Yu could roughly tell that Yan Fu's spirits weren't very high. While noting this down in his heart, he asked Yan Fu for instructions, "Commander Yan, shall we continue the pursuit?"

In the distance, four sailing ships had hoisted all their sails and were fleeing desperately towards the south. Around Yan Fu's command ship, over a dozen Hubei New Army ships were either burning and sinking or had already been captured by the People's Party. The flagship Yan Fu was on was the largest sailing ship the People's Party currently possessed. A machine gun was set up on the centerline of the bow; the vast majority of the battle results were to the credit of this single machine gun.

"Hasn't the interception force already arrived? Signal them to intercept. We will pursue as well," Yan Fu ordered without hesitation. This was the first true surface battle Yan Fu had participated in for over a decade. The Water Detachment commanded by Zhang Yu had now been formally named the "China Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army Navy Inland River Fleet." Zhang Yu held the post of Deputy Commander of the Inland River Fleet, and in normal times he assumed the duties of Commander in his capacity as Deputy Commander. But when actual combat began, Yan Fu, the current Commandant of the Military Academy, temporarily assumed the post of Commander.

Some people privately guessed that Zhang Yu might be unhappy about this, but Zhang Yu actually wasn't that bored. When he was the Detachment Commander of the Water Detachment, the Water Detachment was actually a marine corps doing the work of the army. When it came to naval warfare, Zhang Yu had absolutely no intention of competing with Yan Fu for status.

After hearing Yan Fu's order, the captain of the Inland River Fleet's flagship immediately shouted in a resounding voice, just like the captain of a formal naval warship from an industrial nation in this era: "Hard to port!" The same resounding voice immediately came back from the helmsman's position, "Hard to port!" The flagship, which had already raised all its sails, began to slowly turn its fairly massive hull.

"Right oars, all down!" The captain did not rely solely on wind power; manual power was still very important in this period.

"Oar position one ready!"

"Oar position two ready!"

"Oar position three ready!"

"..."

Reports came quickly from the rowing positions. A moment later, the commander in charge of the right oars ran over, "Report, right oars are all ready."

The captain stood by the right gunwale and took a look, then shouted loudly, "Six strokes per minute, start rowing!"

A big ship had big oars. The soldiers serving as oarsmen, in groups of three, shouted chants and heaved the oars in unison with all their might. The oars kicked up splashing spray. After the ship's bow had turned about, the oarsmen on the left received the order to row, and the flagship's speed increased noticeably.

This kind of momentum was not at all comparable to the battleships Yan Fu had once experienced, but Yan Fu still felt the feeling of those years. Anhui had a rich water system, so there weren't many landlubbers. However, these soldiers had undergone Yan Fu's formal training for no more than half a year. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was full of vigor from top to bottom, always brimming with enthusiasm for mastering new technologies and new knowledge. In just half a year, the soldiers were already comparable to the officers and men of the Beiyang Navy who had trained for a long time. Although their education level before joining the army couldn't compare, all other performance was above that of Beiyang. As a military educator, faced with these two attitudes, Yan Fu also had to consider whether there had been problems with his own previous educational methods. Yan Fu had asked Chen Ke about this issue, and Chen Ke's answer surprised Yan Fu greatly: "Our soldiers adopt hard study in order to be able to win. The Beiyang Navy's goals and motives were impure. They thought too much about themselves."

Yan Fu naturally couldn't accept Chen Ke's words, "Wenqing, it is of course common sense for people to think of themselves, which is why we need discipline, order..."

Chen Ke interrupted Yan Fu, which was rare for him, "Mr. Yan, those traditions of honor and glory, the so-called 'white gloves' of the navy, do not fit the needs of the people's revolution at all. The people don't need that set of theories. To put it plainly, the navy's own so-called glory is built on the foundation of relatively high salaries. To support their families, to earn more money, ordinary sailors from common backgrounds have to play along with you blowing your own horns like coaxing children. That stuff is fundamentally nonsense."

Yan Fu knew Chen Ke looked down on the Manchu Qing army, but Chen Ke's "prejudice" actually extended to naval traditions, which Yan Fu found particularly jarring.

Since the conversation had reached this point, Chen Ke didn't hide anything either, "Mr. Yan, let me ask a question. Why must the deck be scrubbed to such a clean degree?"

"The navy needs such a style. This should be the tradition of naval servicemen," Yan Fu answered almost without thinking.

"Mr. Yan, if you say that, I can only say you are telling lies. Or that you aren't telling the truth. To put it even more unpleasantly, your attitude is unscientific," Chen Ke immediately refuted Yan Fu's answer. "In the earliest times, because navigation paid no attention to hygiene and the lifestyle was unscientific, diseases spread on ships and the death rate was very high. Later, hammocks were invented, hygiene was emphasized, decks had to be scrubbed frequently, and there were many other hygiene requirements, so the problems of sickness and death were largely solved. If we don't explain these things clearly to the comrades in the navy, but just blindly talk about some tradition and honor, isn't that all bullshit! No one wants to get sick, no one wants to die of illness. After explaining the scientific principles clearly, and then telling everyone why such a strict naval system must be established, everyone will be able to understand. If they understand, they can execute it. Even if there are problems in execution, when they are criticized, the comrades will know right from wrong. Isn't this much better than empty talk?"

Yan Fu was indeed an educator. His official duties were busy and his schedule was extremely full, so he had never been able to get involved in basic education. Hearing Chen Ke's evaluation, he finally had a sudden realization. No wonder the People's Party navy performed much better in terms of hygiene than the Beiyang Navy; Chen Ke's words made Yan Fu understand the real reason.

"The officers of the Manchu Qing use these basic common sense practices as a way to maintain their status/identity. In reality, isn't it just because the living space is cramped, there are many people, the environment is warm and humid, and bacteria breed easily? Everyone doesn't want to get sick and doesn't want to die, so the navy has to be extra serious about cleaning, right? Let alone being a soldier, even as a commoner, don't you still clean your own house? To put it plainly, the officers are either doing it for selfish reasons or they are lazy and want to be oppressors, so they turned a simple division of labor system into a system of exploitation and oppression. Then they concoct a pile of so-called tradition and honor bullshit to fool people. The masses, and the officers and soldiers, aren't stupid. Do you think people who do work are stupid? Those who personally do the work understand best how hard the work is. If you use a pile of bullshit to trick the people doing the work, can you trick them? Won't they just slack off on you? On normal days the officers and soldiers aren't of one heart, and at the critical moment, the officers expect the soldiers to be of one heart with you? This joke is a bit too big."

After this frank conversation, Yan Fu suddenly saw the light. He finally understood why the People's Party could have even stricter discipline. Since the officers taught knowledge to the soldiers, and through microscopes and modern medical education, the soldiers already understood that the purpose of this strict naval discipline was for everyone's health, plus the officers worked hard together with everyone, no one would oppose obeying discipline. You say lazy? Everyone is lazy. In this regard, officers and soldiers are equal. So select those who can be not lazy in normal times and have a scientific attitude to be officers, and the soldiers naturally won't oppose it. Moreover, inside the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, officers couldn't cover the sky with one hand; there were political commissars above and soldier committees below. If officers couldn't prove their ability in military command, their status would also be precarious.

Under the new military system, officers had to prove their qualifications by learning scientific knowledge, by establishing a more scientific attitude, and by improving their sense of responsibility and professionalism. This positive cycle greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. And the outward manifestation of this improvement in internal combat effectiveness was a kind of "increasingly professional" excellent performance.

The Inland River Fleet's flagship had large sails and many oars; it didn't take long to catch up with the four small fleeing sailing ships. Yan Fu saw that the figures of the interception fleet had already appeared ahead. Although only People's Party fleets could possibly be on the lake surface right now, Yan Fu still raised his telescope and observed carefully. As the commander of the fleet, since Yan Fu required the officers and men to be scientific, he himself had to have a scientific and cautious attitude even more; taking things for granted was unacceptable. Sure enough, the distant fleet was flying the flags of the People's Party.

"Signal them and ask," Yan Fu ordered.

The signalman began to wave the signal flags in his hands. After a while, the observer reported nervously, "Commander Yan, opposite us is the interception fleet. They say they arrived to intercept according to plan. However, news came from the Chaohu Canal side an hour ago that two steam launches coming from the direction of the Yangtze River wanted to pass our interception line. They have been captured after we damaged them. As for the specific situation, they aren't too clear either. The fleet asks us to be careful, as there may be new enemy fleets attacking the base area."

"What?" Yan Fu was actually startled. These two steam launches were very likely here to deliver orders. The Manchu Qing navy had very few ships of their own; reasonably speaking, the Manchu Qing navy couldn't possibly commit too much naval strength to a battle so far from the Yangtze River. Calming himself, Yan Fu quickly made his decision: wipe out Li Yuanhong's troops first. He shouted to the communications officer: "Let the interception fleet participate in the battle to capture these four ships first. The enemy must absolutely not be allowed to escape."

The battle itself was nothing special. After the machine gun on the Inland River Fleet's flagship shot the sails of the four ships full of holes, the people on these four ships immediately chose to surrender. The New Army navy soldiers served to eat rations. At a critical moment, since the People's Party allowed them to surrender, no one was willing to be buried along with the Manchu Qing.

By the time Yan Fu's main fleet rendezvoused with the interception fleet and then rushed back to the confluence of the Nanfei River and Chaohu Lake, the silhouettes of Li Yuanhong's navy steamships were also faintly visible.

The People's Party had a whole day to prepare for this interception, so everyone's preparations were extremely sufficient. Several ships had been sunk directly in the deepest part of the river channel, and quite a few cement blocks and sandbags were piled up on both sides of the river channel. Yan Fu believed there was no need to build any dam. To attack water targets, the People's Party's "Heartless Cannons" used specialized waterproof ammunition packaging. Tests had shown that this kind of ammunition, sealed with multiple layers of silk and tung oil, could explode underwater as well. In such a narrow river channel, the damage to the ship hulls from shells exploding underwater would be equally significant. As long as they could sink a few more enemy ships, the river channel would naturally be blocked dead.

If one were to talk about the magnificence and beauty of artillery duels in fierce "naval battles," the People's Party's forces could be described as "rustic to the core." If Yan Fu were to evaluate it with a scientific attitude, the People's Party represented the "limit of practicality" built on a foundation of complete understanding of water warfare.

Sure enough, the Hubei Navy initially didn't think the People's Party's crude facilities could stop them. When the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army used large loudspeakers to demand their surrender, the navy responded with naval gun fire. Furthermore, fast boats and small ships began to charge first. The artillery positions ambushed in the reed marshes immediately fired according to the firing data measured long ago, and the small ships were soon all sunk.

The artillery units immediately shifted positions and adjusted parameters according to new firing data, just waiting for the Hubei Navy's large ships to begin their assault. As long as they could sink one large ship, the entire river channel would be completely blocked. To achieve this goal, in this round of shooting, the primary targets were the large ships, not the small ones. The officers and men of the artillery units all had their lips pressed tight, their gazes constantly patrolling between the signalman and the gun bodies. Everyone was waiting for the decisive order. It was just that the waiting time this time was a bit too long.

"Li Yuanhong requests to surrender?" Yan Fu looked doubtfully at the New Army naval officer standing before him.

"Yes, Mr. Yan. Brigade Commander Li is preparing to surrender." The New Army naval officer looked at Yan Fu worriedly. "However, Brigade Commander Li said that you must personally come to our fleet to prove your sincerity. Also, you must guarantee our safety, and then we will surrender."

"Acceptable," Yan Fu answered without even thinking.

"Mr. Yan, do you really dare to come?"

Yan Fu laughed, "Before four o'clock this afternoon, you must surrender. If you don't surrender, we will launch an attack. If I alone can save so many lives, what wouldn't I dare? Don't think that our navy can't function without me. Even if I am on your ship, when it's time to attack, our troops will still attack."

Li Yuanhong also hadn't expected his teacher Yan Fu to arrive on his ship so quickly. Seeing his own teacher and opponent, Li Yuanhong felt a bit caught off guard. He currently had absolutely no desire to fight anymore. The complete annihilation of the land forces had already scared the wits out of Li Yuanhong. Now seeing that large expanse of sails on the lake in the distance at the river mouth, and the obstacles on the river channel, especially those sunken ships in the water with only their masts showing, Li Yuanhong knew he had completely fallen into the People's Party's trap. The only thing Li Yuanhong worried about now was his own life and death, which was why he sent a small boat flying a white flag to request a meeting with Yan Fu. Actually, Li Yuanhong didn't require Yan Fu to board the ship personally; even if they could bring back a verbal message from Yan Fu guaranteeing his safety, Li Yuanhong would surrender. Surrender or whatever, anything was fine, as long as he could escape this hellish war, Li Yuanhong could accept anything.

After choosing his words for a moment, Li Yuanhong stood at attention according to the rules of the Beiyang Naval Academy back in the day and said, "Instructor Yan, I request to surrender."

Yan Fu stepped forward and held Li Yuanhong's hand, "Songqing, surrendering is good for everyone. Since it has reached this point, there is no need to let everyone throw away their lives for nothing."

Li Yuanhong knew Yan Fu was a man of his word. He said anxiously, "Instructor Yan, after we request surrender, everything is left to you, Instructor Yan."

Yan Fu spoke completely in accordance with the People's Party's regulations: "Our army treats captives leniently. We will not snatch everyone's personal belongings, nor will we insult or beat everyone. If you are willing to join our People's Party and participate in the revolution to overthrow the Manchu Qing together, we welcome you. If you are not willing, we will also release you."

"Release us?" Li Yuanhong and the officers around him thought they had heard wrong. They were fighting to the death just moments ago, yet they could be released after surrendering? Was there such a good thing in the world? Let alone that Yan Fu actually said personal property wouldn't be confiscated. These people had gotten quite a few good things from Anqing these past days; the amount of gold and silver carried on their persons alone was not small. That Yan Fu would actually let go of such a large fortune was truly unbelievable to these people. If it were Yan Fu falling into the hands of the Hubei New Army right now, Yan Fu definitely wouldn't need to think about such treatment.

Li Yuanhong had originally been bent on surrendering, but hearing these conditions, he actually got scared. "Mr. Yan, you aren't joking, right?" Li Yuanhong asked cautiously.

"Songqing, we of the People's Party have our People's Party military discipline. Everything I said above is our military discipline. Since such discipline has been set, we naturally must abide by it. Moreover, you traveled entirely by water on your way here and didn't harm the common people in the base area. If you had harmed the common people, then we couldn't release you so easily. You would have to pay back the debt owed to the common people first."

"Mr. Yan, we didn't commit the slightest offense against civilians on the way, not the slightest offense," Li Yuanhong hurriedly explained.

Yan Fu smiled, "Relax, I know. You moved so rapidly on the way; we saw it all."

Hearing Yan Fu's explanation, Li Yuanhong finally relaxed. Having reached this point, although many in the Hubei Navy were unwilling in their hearts, they also refused to risk their lives anymore. With the famous Yan Fu personally coming to negotiate the surrender details, the crowd stopped saying much. The only thing that puzzled them was that Yan Fu requested the doctors in the fleet to assemble immediately and participate in the treatment operations. "Your army casualties are too many, and our doctors aren't enough. The military doctors in the fleet must hurry and go participate in the treatment for me. Save as many people as possible."

Although they didn't know why Yan Fu was acting so "compassionate," there was no way to pick flaws in this reason. What's more, these people had already surrendered now, so they dared not raise any doubts to Yan Fu. Of course, these people were still very unwilling in their hearts. If it weren't for the army fighting so poorly, how could their navy have been captured so easily! The crowd in the navy held a kind of completely egoistic indignation.

Taking in captives, handing over equipment. This was very tedious work, and it was barely completed by evening. Yan Fu first comforted Li Yuanhong and the other officers in the temporary camp for captives, and then took them to the headquarters located in Hefei.

Chen Ke did not receive Li Yuanhong. After wiping out Li Yuanhong's forces, Chen Ke set his next target on Anqing. The Hubei New Army had dispatched a total of seven thousand men when attacking Anqing and Chizhou. Li Yuanhong had brought out over five thousand men to attack Hefei. There were less than two thousand men left in Anqing and Chizhou. The Hubei New Army actually in Anqing numbered no more than one thousand five hundred at most. Yet such a small garrison was guarding a large amount of weapons, ammunition, and supplies. Even if just for these supplies, Chen Ke believed it was necessary to attack Anqing a second time.

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had attacked Anqing once half a year ago, so a surprise attack on Anqing again wasn't a problem. The problem lay in how to deal with Anqing after taking it this time. Anqing guarded the Yangtze River and was a very sensitive city. If the People's Party formally occupied Anqing, then they would be in a state of continuous war with the Manchu Qing. The Manchu Qing possessed an overwhelming advantage in naval forces up to now. Plus, Anqing was downstream from Wuhan; there was no guarantee the British wouldn't stick a hand in too. But if they didn't occupy Anqing, there would be just as many problems.

As soon as Yan Fu entered the conference room, he saw First Regiment Commander Yang Baogui and Second Regiment Political Commissar and Commander Xiong Mingyang arguing like fighting cocks. Yang Baogui had a sincere look on his face like a weasel paying respects to a chicken, "Your Second Regiment has already exerted effort in this charge, and you have the problem of large-scale re-equipping right now. Let our First Regiment go this time."

Xiong Mingyang also had a smile that wasn't a smile, "Regiment Commander Yang doesn't need to worry about us. Everyone has re-equipping problems. Look, the Third and Fourth Regiments also have to re-equip. Troops can't rely on training alone; they have to fight battles."

When Third Regiment Commander Ji Baixiong and Fourth Regiment Commander Mao Taiping heard Xiong Mingyang pulling a united front, they immediately expressed support for Xiong Mingyang. "Exactly. Isn't it just five hundred former New Army troops? If our two regiments go over, we can definitely win. You two have worked hard leading your troops. We can just happen to test the new equipment too."

Xiong Mingyang was quite dissatisfied with these two guys who "lived off the family but helped outsiders." This ability to climb up the pole was a bit excessive.

Ji Baixiong was not moved by Xiong Mingyang's dissatisfied look at all. "Our unit had few Hanyang rifles to begin with. Moving them back and forth like this would waste too much manpower. If our two regiments go, we can receive the equipment right after the battle. High efficiency."

The young people were full of vigor. Yan Fu just smiled after hearing this dialogue. Chen Ke, on the other hand, had a solemn expression, not looking like he had won a victory at all. Mao Taiping was more observant. He said seriously to Chen Ke, who could decide who would send troops, "Chairman Chen, our Fourth Regiment can definitely complete the mission. Please entrust this Anqing battle to us."

To such a sincere request for battle, Chen Ke answered with an equally sincere attitude, "Your Fourth Regiment only has one battalion equipped with rifles. Calculating strictly, it doesn't exceed one thousand two hundred rifles. The Hubei New Army defending the city has one thousand five hundred men. If only your Fourth Regiment goes, Regiment Commander Mao, don't you think the casualties will be too great?"

Hearing this, the four regiment commanders knew that Chen Ke actually already had his own ideas. No one dared to joke anymore, and they stood at attention almost simultaneously.

Chen Ke said, "The First Regiment and Fourth Regiment will go. Depart tomorrow. The Division Artillery Battalion will go with you. Your two regiments total eight thousand men. You must be fast. The faster you reach Anqing now and the fiercer you hit, the smaller our losses will be."

"Yes!" Yang Baogui and Mao Taiping answered at the same time.

"In addition, have you thought about who will guard Anqing?" Chen Ke asked next.

"This..." The four regiment commanders all fell silent. They had only thought about the war merit of seizing Anqing and hadn't considered what to do next after taking Anqing at all.

"I convened this meeting now precisely to discuss this matter. However, Regiment Commander Yang and Regiment Commander Mao don't need to participate. You hurry and go organize the troops for the march."