Zhao Bei led the staff to wander around the deck of the warship, ran into the cabin, touched the east and looked around. As a pseudo-military fan, it was a pleasure to be able to get close contact with the warships of this era.

However, no matter how excited it is, there are also worries. The navy is a technical branch. Unlike the army, the rifle is a soldier. The navy is also a noble branch. It is not affordable to be raised by a poor country. The Qing court dug around and finally raised a Beiyang fleet. However, later wars showed that the navy could dominate the ocean by buying warships. If it did not have the ability to continuously update the navy's technology, even the largest navy would become a living target for the enemy fleet.

To put it simply, it takes a lot of money to raise the navy, but now the Republican army does not have that much money.

Just as Zhao Bei was worried about the naval funding on the "Haichen", a gunboat with a dragon flag was slowly swimming downstream less than five miles away from him, and suddenly ran upstream and back downstream, looking very worried.

Navy Admiral Sa Zhenbing stood on the bridge, holding a telescope and looking upward at the "Haichen" upstream. His melancholy expression made him look much older.

"If the flagship was changed to the 'Haichen' in time, maybe 'Haichen' would not have left me." Sa Zhenbing was still upset about his slowness.

After all, it is one of the few main battleships in the Chinese fleet. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Qing court rebuilt the navy and finally accumulated five large ships, all of which were the word "sea". Three years ago, the "Haitian" ship had been lost, and now the "Haichen" ship left without saying goodbye. How can Admiral Sa not worry?

"Haichen" was originally Sa Zhenbing's ship, but it changed its flagship to a "Chu" gunboat after it was stranded. After the "Haichen" floated up, Sa Zhenbing was busy dealing with Yuan Shikai and failed to return to "Haichen" to take charge, and as a result, it made the revolutionary party cheaper.

Originally, after learning that "Haichen" had hung up the white flag in Qiligou downstream, some of his staff advised to shell "Haichen" and force him to turn around and return to sail, but this suggestion was rejected by Sa Zhenbing. The gunboat bombarded the cruiser, which was self-inflicted. Moreover, the essence of the Chinese navy is just a little bit, and you can't lose any more. If you lose any more, China really has no navy.

Sa Zhenbing recalled what he saw in Xiamen two months ago. At that time, the "Black White Fleet" of the United States traveled through Xiamen. Sa Zhenbing was ordered to lead the ship to welcome him. When he witnessed the American battleships that were anchored in the port, he suffered more than a heavy blow. The displacement of any American battleship exceeded the total displacement of the Chinese main fleet. The gap in national strength was so shocking. Even if the Beiyang Fleet was still there, I was probably sighing.

Although ships such as "Haichen" are so small than battleships, this is all the maritime force that China can rely on. When the Italian fleet came, they had to rent Sanmen Bay. If these Chinese cruisers were not on the high-profile battle, I am afraid that China would have drawn another country in the country on its territory.

Sa Zhenbing was worried, put down his telescope, sighed and asked the adjutant beside him: "Haichen hasn't replied to the signal yet?"

The adjutant shook his head and said, "There is no reply signal. It's already dark. They may not be able to see the flags clearly, nor do they respond with the light signal."

Of course, Sa Zhenbing didn't know that the backbone of the uprising on the "Haichen" was not the naval officers and soldiers, but a group of sects. He now knew nothing about the situation on the ship.

Sighing heavily, Sa Zhenbing ordered: "Send another signal and tell them, 'You should do it yourself'. If you change your mind, I will still wait for them in Qiligou, so I will never make things difficult for them."

The gunboat fired another set of flag words in vain, but there was still no reply, so he had to circle the river with regret, lengthen the sad whistle, and sail downstream in the twilight.

...

It was already dark, and the street lights in the British Concession in Hankou were lit up as usual. Although it was a war period, there were no traces of war in this country. There were many pedestrians on the streets, and most of them were war refugees. Although the war in Wuhan was over, the repatriation of these refugees took time and patience.

Wu Luzhen opened the window, looked at the policeman patrolling the street, took out a cigarette from the cigarette can and stuffed it into his mouth, but before the fire was lit, the door behind him rang.

Without waiting for his response, the door had been pushed open from the outside. A middle-aged man walked into the guest room and asked, "Shouqing, where are you going?"

Wu Luzhen smiled faintly and said, "Laochen, how did you know I was leaving?"

The man said in surprise: "You really want to leave? I saw Bai Lang packing your luggage for you just now. When I asked, he said you ordered, but he didn't tell me where you were going."

Wu Luzhen said: "I guess you have heard about the 'Haichen' too?"

"Hmph! Now the foreigners in the entire concession have gone to see the warships. How can I not know? These gangs of rioters are entitled to the court's salary, but they are in harmony with the revolutionary party."

"I know how to get in touch with you, and I won't lie to you. I want to join the Republican Army." Wu Luzhen said lightly.

"What? You...you want to rebel too?" The middle-aged man was shocked.

"Lao Chen, you are a member of the Red Band Banner Banner, so you are naturally in the same mind as the court. I am a Han Chinese and have a heart to restore the Han Dynasty. Now the revolutionary trend is in front of me, I will not miss it. In fact, when I was in Japan, I was in the revolution, and I was also a member of the Tongmeng. As early as the Gengzi year, I joined the Xingzhonghui and participated in the Self-Relief Army. If Zhang Zhidong had not destroyed the Self-Relief Army headquarters, I would have been a serious criminal who was wanted by the court."

"What? Are you from the Tongmenghui? You... You have hidden me so hard! Fortunately, I still intend to promote you." The middle-aged man was shocked and angry, and his face turned ashen.

This person is no other person, but Liang Bi, the "President of the First Army to Resist the Thieves" appointed by the Qing Dynasty. He was a bannerman of the Manchu Yellow Banner. He had a red belt, Jueluo, and his courtesy name was Laichen. He studied in the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School in his early years. He was one of the few military talents among the bannermen. As for Wu Luzhen, he was an alumnus of Liang Bi's Japanese Non-commissioned Officer School, but was the first class, and Liang Bi was the second class. Wu Luzhen was considered a senior of Liang Bi, and the two were close friends.

Liangbi was ordered to lead his army to fight against the Republican Army. Considering that the fourth and fifth towns of Beiyang under his command were both Yuan Shikai's direct subordinates, he was afraid that he could not control the troops, so he adopted the method of "using the Han to control the Han Dynasty" and transferred a large number of Han officers from the Army Department and the Beiyang Military Preparation Academy to join the First Army, trying to replace the original new Beiyang Army generals with them. For this reason, he specially transferred his friend Wu Luzhen to serve as chief of staff to plan the military reorganization. Unexpectedly, when he arrived in Huangzhou, Yuan Shikai rebelled. The fourth and fifth towns of the first army of the Qing army immediately responded to the order of the old master, and the patrol battalion was defeated, but the troops did not advance.

Seeing a mutiny, Liangbi failed to make the order, so he had no choice but to take a few confidants to leave the barracks overnight, board a British merchant ship to Hankou, and hide in the British concession. Because the Beiyang generals hated Liangbi to take the officers who replaced them, Wu Luzhen and others also fled to Hankou with Liangbi.

Liang Bi originally planned to hide in the concession for a few days, and then take British gunboats to Pukou. If he could not control the Jiangfang Army, he would turn back to Beijing. However, after staying for a few days, news came that the fifth town of Beiyang had been ordered to advance eastward to attack the governor of Liangjiang Chang Geng. Then the fourth town of Beiyang also used Hankou to go north to reinforce, and the British consul refused to send gunboats to escort Liang Bi. In this situation, Liang Bi's plan to return north was put on hold. When he was about to discuss with Wu Luzhen, he was surprised to learn from Wu Luzhen's horseman that Wu Luzhen was about to leave the concession, so he hurried to inquire.

"Liaochen, I know that you treat me sincerely." Wu Luzhen sighed. "But that is personal friendship and cannot replace justice."

"Justice? What is 'justice'?" Liangbi asked with a sneer.

"Justice is to create a republic and destroy the imperial system." Wu Luzhen changed his tone. "Do you know who the chief of staff of the Republican Army is? Lan Tianwei, the second batch of international students in the non-commissioned school, is your classmate. When I was teaching in Hubei General Academy, I also worked with him. It was not until the day before yesterday that I read the newspaper that I realized that Lan Tianwei was also a member of the Tongmeng. How many secret revolutionaries are there like me and Lan Tianwei? You don't know, I don't know, but one thing is clear, that is, the Qing court has been exhausted, the revolutionary party in the south revolts, Yuan Shikai rebelled in the north, and the people of the world are following. I listen to my advice. There is no need to bury this dynasty. Following the general trend of history is the right way. You are a bannerman, and the Republican Army may not be willing to accept it. Otherwise, I will definitely take you together when I leave."

"I was born in the Qing Dynasty, and died in the Qing Dynasty. I will never be with the rioters!" Liangbi punched the wall, looked at Wu Luzhen, turned around, waved his hand, and said, "Everyone has their own ambitions. Since you have made up your mind, I will not force you. You can walk on your Yangguan Road and I will cross my single-plank bridge. When we meet again in the future, we will be enemies. You can do it yourself!"

After saying that, he walked out of the room with great strides, and his roar came from the corridor: "I don't believe that our bannermen have been in the world for more than 200 years, so easily give up people!"

"You have to give in if you don't give in." Wu Luzhen leaned against the window, replied to himself, and then lit the cigarette.

A horseman wearing a Beiyang military uniform walked into the room with a suitcase and said, "Sir, are we leaving now? Several other staff officers also want to go with you, do you bring them with you?"

"Bring it with Bai Lang, give me that letter. Now Liangbi knows where I am going, so there is no need to leave a letter to him." Wu Luzhen snorted, walked to the door, pulled the light switch, and left the room with the horseman.
Chapter completed!