The sound of artillery gradually became denser, and the attacking troops had arrived on the other side and contacted the Qing army. Although the battle situation on the south bank was not visible on the north bank, every officer on the north bank looked south. If the commando succeeded, then the main force could cross the river safely, attack Jiujiang City, pull out the nails on the Yangtze River, and then send their own troops to nail them here, use the cannons on the fort to block the Yangtze River waterway, prevent the Qing army's gunboats from sailing, ensure the smooth advance of the Western Expedition troops, and cut off the contact between the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the lower reaches of the Qing army.

It can be said that whether Zhao Bei's Western Expedition strategy can be implemented smoothly depends on this battle.

Zhao Bei had the confidence to win this battle. This confidence not only comes from his familiarity with history, but also from the belief in his heart: history will be written by him!

"Report!" A staff officer rushed over.

"Say!" Zhao Bei did not look back, but still stood on the huge rock and looked south. In the distance, the dark sky was already flashing red light, and the battle became more intense.

"A leader of the sect asked for a meeting." The staff officer walked up the huge rock and handed over a Mingla. "It was him who led the wooden boats to us."

Zhao Bei took Mingla and looked at it, and couldn't help but be stunned: "Gong Chuntai? Why is this person's name so familiar?... Please give me a look!"

The staff officer led several burly men to come. The man in the forties was about 40 years old and had a pretty face. He didn't look like a leader of a gangster who ran around the world, but like a rural tutor.

"I am Gong Chuntai, pay homage to you." The man clasped his fists at Zhao Bei, but he was very angry.

Zhao Bei jumped off the boulder, clasped his fists, and said, "Mr. Gong's name sounds familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it."

Gong Chuntai smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest, I am the leader of the Liulong Mountain Hongjiang Association. In the 32nd year of the Guangxu period, the Pingliuli Uprising that caused a sensation in the world was instigated by me. Gong Chuntai was just my pseudonym. His original name was Xie Zuiying and Haoyuelou. He was a native of Liuyang, Hunan. He was a firecracker worker in his early years. Later, he joined the Brothers Association and became the leader. Later, he changed his name to Hongjiang Association to facilitate contact with revolutionary comrades in Hunan."

Zhao Bei suddenly realized that the uprising was also quite famous in history in the late Qing Dynasty. In 1906, the Yangtze River flooded, and hunger occurred in Hunan and other areas, and the civil wars began. The Tongmenghui decided to take advantage of this favorable opportunity to launch an uprising in Hunan, contact the Gelaohui and Wu Teachers Association in Pingxiang, Liuyang, Liling, and other Jianghu Associations. In the winter of that year, it announced the establishment of the "Chinese National Army", divided the troops and plundered the land, and the momentum was huge. The Qing court was panicked and had to mobilize the new troops of various provinces to suppress. Due to the various defects of the armed forces of the association and the huge difference in the power between the enemy and us, the uprising was soon submerged in a pool of blood by the Qing army, and ended in failure, and indirectly led to the dissolution of the new army revolutionary organization of the Hubei New Army.

"It turned out to be Gong Longtou, who was disrespectful." Zhao Bei was kind-hearted. "After the failure of the uprising, the governor of Hunan searched and killed revolutionary comrades. Gong Longtou was able to escape unscrupulously, which shows his skillful means."

"Sir, I'm too proud." Gong Chuntai sighed. "As big Hunan, there are only a few who have escaped. I'm lucky. A disciple died for me. Otherwise, my head would have to be hung on the Liuyang Gate in Changsha for public display. Where is the place where today?"

"Gong Longtou doesn't have to be discouraged. This time, Zhao led his army to revolt to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and avenge the dead revolutionary comrades." Zhao Bei signaled his men to bring a hat and handed it to Gong Chuntai. "In addition, I dare not be the word "master". We do the revolution to eliminate feudal bad habits. Therefore, there is no need to say this "master" and "bad man" in the future. If you don't mind my own value, call me "commander-in-chief"."

Since leading his army to leave Huangni Port, Zhao Bei has asked everyone to change their name. Since then, he has been the "commander-in-chief" of this army.

"Dare you ask the commander-in-chief, are you going to fight Guangdong or Hunan?" Gong Chuntai put on a hat and said, "When the Tongmenghui invited us to rebellion in the Liulong Mountain Hongjianghui, we agreed that if Hunan was defeated, we would run to Guangdong. If their people were to take the initiative there, it would not work, so we boarded the boat and retreated to Vietnam. However, we were broken up before we left Hunan and did not go to Guangdong."

Zhao Bei touched his forehead and said, "Whether to fight Guangdong or not, we have to wait until Jiujiang City conquers it. As for Hunan, if the march goes smoothly, we will definitely go there. But for now, we have to take Jiujiang first."

After hearing this, Gong Chuntai said, "In this way, I sent someone to collect ships. When I took Jiujiang, we would take a boat south, first enter Poyang Lake, then fight south along the Ganjiang River, then go south, turn south, turn into Jinjiang, go west to Shanggao, abandon the ship and land, divide the troops, go to Guangdong, and attack Hunan by land. I will send people to sneak back to Liuyang, and once the army arrives, capture Liuyang, seize the Pingli Railway, and then go west to the west. As long as Changsha is occupied, Hunan will be our world."

Zhao Bei was not interested in Gong Chuntai's offensive plan. Apart from the Pingli Railway and coal mine, Hunan in this era had almost nothing, far less important than Hubei. Therefore, even if Hunan needs to be put into the entire strategic plan, it can only be left until after Hubei is restored. However, another information revealed in Gong Chuntai's words attracted Zhao Bei's attention.

"How many ships can you collect?" Zhao Bei asked.

"The Commander-in-Chief doesn't know that the people who run boats on the river in this area are our Hunan Gang. Although I am not a boatman, I have been running around the river for a long time. There are many boat gangs in Huguang and Jiangxi. Brother Lao will have a strong influence in the boat gang. As long as I give orders, it will be fine to gather thousands of boats within a few days." Gong Chuntai said proudly.

Zhao Bei walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, stood still and asked, "Will your brother have any power in the Qing army naval division?"

Gong Chuntai was slightly stunned, then nodded and said, "We don't know about the navy from other places, but there are indeed our people in the navy ships that are patrolling along the river. The commander-in-chief means..."

"Can you instigate the navy's gunship uprising? If you can't instigate it, just find a way to sink the gunship!" Zhao Bei waved his fist.

Gong Chuntai pondered: "This is not easy. But you can try it."

Zhao Bei ordered a staff officer to bring paper and pen, spread it on the ammunition box, and wrote a letter of appointment under an oil paper umbrella:

"I hereby appointed Gong Chuntai as the Yangtze River Inspection Commissioner to be in charge of all water military affairs on the Yangtze River!"

With his own "pioneer" guard, Zhao Bei picked up the appointment letter, blew it, and handed it to Gong Chuntai, saying, "Then I'm sorry Brother Gong will run along the riverside. If you see the Qing army's gunship, try to instigate him. If you succeed, you will make a great contribution to the revolution."

Gong Chuntai hesitated for a moment, took the letter of appointment, patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, even if I can't instigate the gunship, I will definitely sink a few of them."

Zhao Bei took off his pistol and handed it to Gong Chuntai solemnly, saying, "Brother Gong is a man of temperament. Zhao only regrets that he meets too late and cannot fight side by side with his brother in Hunan. This pistol was seized during the Anqing Uprising. It is quite a good idea to use it. I will send you some people to go with you when you set off and give you some bullets."

"In this way, Gong is not polite." Gong Chuntai took the pistol and hugged his fists. "The commander-in-chief's great achievements are enough to be famous in history. If you want to join the association, Gong is willing to be the guarantor and hand over the position of the leader."

"No, no!" Zhao Bei waved his hands repeatedly. "I can't sit in the position of the leader brother, so it's better for Brother Gong to sit in. In the future, the situation in Hunan will be maintained by Brother Gong. I believe in Brother Gong's prestige. As for the matter of summoning civilian boats, I have to rely more on Brother Gong."

Gong Chuntai was eager to make contributions and soon left with his subordinates.

"The association is still useful." Looking at Gong Chuntai's back as he walked away, Zhao Bei felt thoughtful.
Chapter completed!