Previously, the Qing court had announced the dissolution of the royal cabinet. After Yuan Shikai arrived in Beijing in a hurry, he immediately announced the organization of a new cabinet, with Liang Guoyan as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Bingjun as the Minister of Civil Affairs, Yan Xiu as the Minister of Du Branch, Tang Jingchong as the Minister of Education, Wang Shizhen as the Minister of Army, Sa Zhenbing as the Minister of Navy, and some ministers and deputy ministers of various departments all appointed. The Beiyang clan and the Beiyang clan had the majority of the people, and the actual power of the Qing court had completely fallen into the hands of Yuan Shikai. Now the Qing court not only had to look at the face of Zhenguo Army, but also Yuan Shikai's face, and it was left to fate.

Yuan Shikai's mentality at this time was also very complicated. Before Nanjing fell, Yuan Shikai still had high hopes for responding to the current situation through military means. However, after the Qing soldiers in Nanjing turned against each other, Yuan Shikai was shocked like Empress Dowager Longyu and Zaifeng and others, and had lost the confidence to suppress the revolution by force.

The situation has changed too quickly in the past few days, so fast that it is almost breathless. However, this cunning man who has a strong ability to respond to changes has always been able to rely on various means such as light, dark, good, and bad at any time, and has his unique and extraordinary means.

Yuan Shikai is not comparable to ordinary people. In this rapidly changing pattern, he has begun to use his magical powers and adopt various means to benefit him to gain more benefits from this chaos. In addition to considering more personal interests, he has regarded everything else as conditions that can be sacrificed. Whether the Qing government still needs to continue to exist? In Yuan Shikai's view, it is already a very flexible issue. For him, this principle issue can also be made at any time.

On October 9, Li Tiancheng held a pre-war military meeting in the military camp of the Central Army outside Huzhou City. At the meeting, some military deployments were made and the military routes and related strategies for the Central Army to attack Anhui were formulated.

According to Li Tiancheng's plan, the middle army would advance towards Xuancheng and Wuhu in Anhui, and then faced two choices. One was to go south along Tongling, Anqing and Jiujiang toward Wuhan; the other was to force the army into Chaohu and Hefei, and then occupied Lu'an, and advanced all the way westward into Xinyang, Henan, and occupied Wusheng Pass, a military important military location at the junction of Xinyang and Guangshui, Hubei.

Wusheng Pass is a military important military location from Henan to Hubei. It is located 35 kilometers south of Jigong Mountain in Henan. It is one of the nine famous passes in China. It is called a treasure land that "Qingdivides Henan and Chu, and crosses the three rivers". For thousands of years, it has been a place that must be fought for by military strategists. It has always been a saying that the south is locked in Ezhou, the north is facing the Central Plains, and the north is controlled by the throat of the north and the south.

Wusheng Pass is located at a dangerous pass. The nearby mountains are stacked and interspersed, and the peaks are continuous and intersected together. The pass is made of mountains as a barrier and makes a pass. In ancient times, "cars cannot be squared, and horses cannot be ridden together" was used to describe its steepness. It has always been a place for the north and the south to compete, and it is a must-do way for teachers to do so.

If the Central Army advances along the Anqing and Jiujiang routes, it is planned to join the South Army in Jiujiang and then go straight to Wuchang. This will allow the South Army to obtain strong support and the attack will be smoother. The South Army can divide some of its forces from Nanchang to the southwest troops to Xinyu, Jiangxi, and then head straight to Zhuzhou and Xiangtan, Hunan, and arrive in Changsha. Then, then head north to Yueyang and Wuhan, support the civilian army from the east and south directions, and launch an attack on the Beiyang Army.

There is one disadvantage in this way that the remaining two Qing troops in Wuhan, after the Zhenguo Army arrived in Wuhan, could choose to persist in fighting or give up Wuhan. If they gave up Wuhan, they could easily withdraw back to the north, because Henan was still the sphere of influence of the Qing troops at this time.

According to another combat plan, the Zhenguo Army's central army marched towards Hefei and then headed straight to Wusheng Pass in Xinyang, Henan. This way, it could lock this important north-south transportation route, leaving the Qing army unretreated, surrounded by the Zhenguo Army in Wuhan, and then fell into a three-sided encirclement and was easily defeated.

This plan also has disadvantages, that is, without the support of the Central Army going south, the Southern Army will be more difficult in Jiangxi and Hunan's attack. Moreover, the gap between the two armies is too large. Qing soldiers can also conduct intersecting battles from the Central Army and the Southern Army. For example, Qing soldiers can intersect from the Dabie Mountains to Anqing and other places in Anhui, and then cut off the Zhenguo Army and block the connection between the Central Army and the Southern Army.

But at this time, the Qing army had only more than 20,000 soldiers in Wuhan, and the Zhenguo Army's central and southern routes had more than 30,000 soldiers, with an advantage in terms of military strength and equipment. Moreover, it was not easy for the Qing army to pass through the dangerous areas of the Dabie Mountains. After they arrived in Anqing, the Central routes could kill and retaliate and encircle the Qing army in southern Anhui with the Southern Route Army. The situation of these two main forces of the Beiyang Army would be very difficult. Then they would not be able to march south alone, otherwise they would be surrounded by the Southern Revolutionary Army layer by layer. The consequences can be imagined. They could only break through the Zhenguo Army's defense line to the north, and then go north to Henan and northern Anhui to declare a successful breakthrough.

In doing so, the Qing soldiers would rather retreat northward from Hankou and retreat to the hinterland of Henan through Wusheng Pass. Therefore, once the Zhenguo army advances in the direction of Hefei, the Qing soldiers will surely retreat towards Wusheng Pass before the Zhenguo army arrives, so that they can escape from danger and retreat unstoppably.

Therefore, if the Zhenguo Army wants to block Wusheng Pass, it must send a quick response force to arrive at Wusheng Pass first, block the pass, and block the retreat route of the Qing army. Before the main force of the Zhenguo Army’s central route army arrives, it is difficult to say whether this quick response force can resist the attack of the Qing army. It is difficult to defend Wusheng Pass. This force needs to be composed of cavalry and infantry transported by helicopters. They must advance lightly, so it is impossible to carry heavy artillery and other heavy equipment to guard Wusheng Pass. Faced with an army of more than 20,000 Qing soldiers, they will not be able to hold on for too long. It is also unknown whether the main force of the central route army can reach Wusheng Pass during this period. Therefore, it is not very clear that the blockade of Wusheng Pass and cut off the Qing army’s retreat route.

The above assumptions are based on the idea of ​​the smooth situation of Anhui and Jiangxi. If Anhui and Jiangxi are stubbornly resisted by the Qing soldiers and there is no situation where multiple parties turn against each other and turn against the Zhenguo army, the possibility of these strategic plans being realized is even lower. There are many uncertainties in whether they can occupy Hefei and other places as soon as possible. They need to develop according to the specific form and make further strategic adjustments.

At this time, more than 10,000 new recruits in Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and other places had been recruited, and the revolutionary craze of the people has not diminished. This 10,000 people have formed the 10th Reserve Division of the Zhenguo Army. This division is responsible for the defense of Shanghai and Zhejiang. A brigade of 5,000 people were stationed in southern Zhejiang to defend all important places in southern Zhejiang to prevent the Qing soldiers from heading north again. However, in the current situation, there are also signs of riots in Fujian and other places. Therefore, whether the Qing government can mobilize the Qing troops in Fujian at this time is a problem, so the pressure from the rear of the Zhenguo Army has not yet appeared.

These reserve recruits do not have strong combat effectiveness at present and cannot be used on the front line. During the Anti-Japanese War, the combat effectiveness of the Kuomintang troops was generally low, and some troops collapsed in one blow. Therefore, after the Battle of Wuhan, Chen Cheng summed up the lesson of not sending untrained troops to the battlefield.

Li Tiancheng can only leave these new recruits in the rear as reserve forces for the time being. It will take at least several months of strengthening training before it can be sent to the front line for training. When he arrives at the front line, he can only be used as auxiliary support forces of the main force.

At this time, the angry Qing government showed great decline, but they were still unwilling to give up and were still surviving. It would be more appropriate to use the word "rush to jump over the wall" on them at this time.

The Qing government ignored the threat of the shore defense artillery fire of Zhenguo Army and issued a death order to let Navy Minister Sa Zhenbing lead troops to enter the Yangtze River along the estuary of the Yangtze River to support the war between defenders along the Yangtze River. Sa Zhenbing was not very sure of breaking through the defense of Zhenguo Army and advancing the Anhui section of the Yangtze River, because he heard that Zhenguo Army's arsenal could not only produce large-caliber coastal defense artillery, but also produce weapons and equipment such as mines that pose a great threat to ships. Once these equipment are used on the Yangtze River channel, the Qing army's warships will be difficult to pass smoothly, and if they are not done well, they will suffer heavy losses.

At this time, the Qing government had no more power to rely on. They knew that although the navy had little effect, it was a restraining force for fighting against the enemy. If it was not used at this time, there would probably be no chance in the future. The Qing court had never considered the life and death of Sa Zhenbing and others, and ordered them to forcefully break through the blockade line of Zhenguo Army immediately.

After Sa Zhenbing led his team into the Yangtze River in history, he soon turned to the Revolutionary Army and announced an uprising, so he had long become the key target of the Zhenguo Army. For those in history who quickly turned to the Revolutionary Army or hesitated, and also turned to the Revolutionary Army, Li Tiancheng regarded them as an important target of the fight and appointed a large number of special personnel to communicate with them, prompting them to change their positions as soon as possible. For a group of stubborn elements such as Tieliang and Zhang Xun, Li Tiancheng made plans to focus on military strikes, and political inducement of surrender as an auxiliary means.

Sa Zhenbing is a descendant of the Seme people, but his ancestors lived in Fujian for a long time and had basically integrated with the local Han people. He studied astronomy and driving, and ranked first in the grades when he graduated. His attitude in the early days of the Xinhai Revolution was volatile, but under the advice of his student, Li Yuanhong, the governor of the uprising army, he eventually turned against him and announced the uprising.
Chapter completed!