After the Battle of Hefei, the release of prisoners by the People's Party was divided into two stages, the first stage was the collective release of the unwounded Hubei New Army after the war. The second stage was the collective release of the injured Hubei New Army after treatment before the start of the second anti-encirclement campaign. Since some of the wounded Forces nouvelles had become permanently disabled, the People's Party informed the Hubei side that they would be able to send a boat to pick them up.

The BJP's preferential treatment of prisoners dictated that such a method was possible. Therefore, the officers and men of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did not expect that the attitude of the Hubei New Army towards the wounded soldiers was completely distrustful.

After the officers of the full battalion who had mixed into the ranks of their families in makeup were identified, they looked at the soldiers of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army with fear in their eyes, but when they turned to the wounded soldiers of the Hubei New Army, they immediately raised their toes. Naturally, the officers and men of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did not care about this, and Zhang Yu ordered that there should be absolutely no bloody clashes during the release of the prisoners. In order to avoid accidents, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army strictly searched the families of their families, confiscated illegally carried weapons, and strictly controlled the temporary housing camps. Although the battalion of officers had their own ideas, he did not dare to attack the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army with other bare-handed men.

Chen Duxiu even strictly ordered the people of the Yue Wang Association not to use force, not only that, but Chen Duxiu also mobilized the people of the Yue Wang Association to stand behind the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. If the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army does not move, the Yue Wang Association will never take the initiative. Chang Hengfang disagreed with this, he said: "Dashuai, why is this so. ”

Chen Duxiu knew that he couldn't speak clearly in a short period of time, so he asked rhetorically: "Are you going to disobey the military order?" ”

Yue Wang Hui has strengthened discipline since he returned to Anqing, Chen Duxiu asked this, Chang Hengfang didn't dare to say anything, he shouted: "The comrades of Yue Wang Hui line up and follow me." "After all, after a month of serious training, the troops almost habitually lined up and left the place of right and wrong.

Seeing that no one was stopping him anymore, Manqing's pipe band looked a lot more relaxed, "Everyone, you hurry up and line up and follow us back to Wuhan." ”

The newly released officers and soldiers saw that an officer was giving orders and were about to lean over, but they were only dragged by their relatives and said, "Follow me home." We're not soldiers anymore. ”

The new officers and soldiers were stunned, they did not understand what their relatives meant.

Seeing that their relatives were stupidly going back to Wuhan with the officers, and they couldn't care so much about it anymore, some people shouted, "Do you know what happened to the last group of people who were released?" Many of them were killed. ”

Hearing this, all the officers and soldiers who were released were stunned.

Someone took the lead in telling the truth, and the families of the new army naturally stopped caring about it. More family members have already grabbed their relatives and shouted: "Don't go back to the new army, hurry home." ”

Seeing that their relatives were so anxious, the officers and men of the New Army also knew that something was wrong. And the families began to explain to them what had happened.

The first batch of prisoners of war released by the People's Party naturally did not choose to join the revolution, let alone defect to the "Anhui Yankees", and they all chose to return to Hubei. These Hubei New Army knew that what awaited them would naturally not be welcome. However, they never expected that after returning to Hubei voluntarily, Hubei did not feel that these people were loyal, on the contrary, both the military and political sides in Hubei began to start a large-scale investigation of the first batch of prisoners.

The defeat in the Battle of Hefei made Zhang Zhidong feel extremely dissatisfied, and as the Minister of Military Aircraft, he actually suffered a crushing defeat when he contributed to the country. If the People's Party had killed all the prisoners of war, the Hubei New Army would have been able to say that "they would fight to the end and be fully loyal," but the People's Party had released all the prisoners of war, and this kind of "loyalty" could not be used. It was a tradition in the history of the Manchus to kill prisoners of war, and since these Hubei New Army were not "loyal," the Hubei authorities had to "figure out" why these Hubei New Army were so "disloyal."

So the first prisoners of war to return suffered. First of all, they were paid for their military salaries, and then there were all kinds of interrogations and tortures. The first batch released two or three thousand people, which is a very large number. In order to interrogate these people, they exhausted the Hubei side. During the interrogation, the Hubei side had to take advantage of some special people, that is, the "full camp". Since 1904, the Jingzhou Garrison Eight Banners have been soldiers in the Hubei New Army, and they are mainly concentrated in the 30 Banners of the Eighth Town, and their commanders are also banner people. After the first Battle of Anqing in early 1907, Beijing sent many bannermen to various places to the new army. These people play the role of "supervising the army" and "secret agents".

Zhang Biao, the commander of the Eighth Town, originally thought that he would just interrogate the new soldiers and send them home, but these bannermen thought that they should be investigated to the end. Although Zhang Biao did not personally lead the troops, he was the commander-in-chief of the Hubei New Army, and after this defeat, he could not say anything more. So the flag camp took on the work of interrogation. Originally, these people wanted to gain credit by "finding out the revolutionary party". Now that there is an opportunity, the bannermen are naturally trying to prove that these "disloyal captives" are in collusion with the revolutionary party. For a time, there was a bloody storm in the Hubei New Army. More than 300 captured officers and soldiers who had had a holiday with the Manchurian camp became a "chaotic party."

What added fuel to the fire of this action was that the Hubei side sent the first batch of telegrams to Beijing to "denounce the chaotic party," which was greatly praised by the War Department. Moreover, the War Department issued a circular to Hubei that anyone who reported 10 members of the party who had rebelled and the evidence was conclusive could be promoted to the next rank. The War Department is simply encouraging this practice of reporting and disrupting the party. However, when this telegram reached Wuhan, it was really necessary to "report the 10 rebels," and it was sure that the evidence would be conclusive.

Ten heads can be exchanged for a promotion, and two or three thousand captured recruits can make two or three hundred people promoted to one level. No one can resist such temptations. The battalion immediately worked overtime to fabricate accusations, and they tried their best to induce confessions from the captives, and as long as they obtained "confessions", when the prisoners were taken into custody, they immediately took the prisoners and put them on death row, and after a certain number of them were gathered, they were executed en masse.

By the time Zhang Biao, the commander of the eighth town, found out that something was wrong, more than 700 captured new soldiers had already died. Zhang Biao was also decisive, he immediately led people to rob all the captured New Army, and then drove them out of the New Army on the charge of "disloyalty". Zhang Biao is not completely out of justice, if the battalion is allowed to do so unscrupulously, after killing the captured and returned personnel, God knows what else they will do.

After listening to the accounts of their families, the new soldiers who had been healed from their injuries turned pale with fright. These family members who can come to Anqing from Hubei to greet their relatives are not poor, they have seen more, they have actually discussed it these days, and the relatives all understand one thing, it is not normal to provide free treatment these days, let alone provide free treatment to the enemy.

The People's Party treats the wounded soldiers of the Hubei New Army, and the families are worried about what the People's Party has done to the wounded soldiers. Even if the People's Party really heals and saves people, then these wounded soldiers are even more unclear now. The wounded soldiers have now received great kindness from the BJP, and without the BJP's treatment, they would not be alive now. In this era, the government ordered the new army to "die and die", and the government also knew in its heart that the grace of saving lives was greater than the kindness of the government. After these wounded soldiers returned to Hubei, they would never have been spared.

Hearing what their families had to say, many of the wounded soldiers were already trembling with fear. They knew that they had not joined the BJP at all, but now they were really indistinguishable. "I'm going home, I'm going home. I'm no longer in the army. Already the wounded soldiers were so frightened that they shouted repeatedly.

The commander of the full battalion did not expect that the families of these wounded soldiers would dare to tell the truth directly. But now that he had told the truth, he knew that he couldn't easily bring these wounded soldiers back. The commander hurriedly shouted, "Brothers, this is all misinformation. We are all brothers of the new army, who wants to kill whom? Isn't it normal for the commander to ask questions after returning to the camp? Don't say that the commander wants to ask questions after you fight, don't the commanders ask questions on weekdays? ”

The new officers and soldiers also felt that this was reasonable, but how could the family members let their relatives go back and die in vain? Immediately someone shouted: "We are not soldiers and we will not eat food." ”

The commander of the full camp suddenly sneered, "I have come to greet you at such a great risk, but you must suspect that I have any bad intentions. You know the rules of our Hubei New Army, and each family must jointly protect it. But if you don't go back, I won't say much. ”

After saying that, the commander of the full battalion beckoned his men and left like this.

Most of the new army in Hubei are children of good families, and they need to be jointly protected by the township to serve as soldiers and eat food. This was originally a method adopted by Zhang Zhidong in order to wash away the old atmosphere in the new army, but now when it is used as a threat, both the officers and soldiers of the new army and their families are frightened.

Seeing that there was no possibility of a mutiny in the New Army, the officers and men of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army began to return to Anqing with their troops. Chen Duxiu saw that the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had moved, and he did not make his own decisions, and withdrew to the city with Yue Wanghui's troops.

As soon as they entered Anqing, the troops immediately closed the city gates. And Chen Duxiu went to the municipal party committee to report to Zhang Yu.

After introducing the situation and what he had heard, Chen Duxiu asked, "Mr. Zhang, are you going to let it go when the time is right?" ”

Zhang Yu knew what Chen Duxiu was referring to, and he smiled: "Mr. Chen, does he want to launch these new armies?" If you want to go to Hubei for development, I have no opinion. ”

"At this time, if you raise your arms and shout, I am afraid that these Hubei officers and soldiers will rise up against the Manchus for the sake of their own life and death." Although he really wanted to do this in his heart, Chen Duxiu had already made up his mind, and he would never do anything that the People's Party would not dare to do.

Looking at Chen Duxiu's eagerness to try, Zhang Yu asked: "Mr. Chen, the revolutionary comrades we want to unite cannot be people who are greedy for life and afraid of death. At least those who dare to fight back because they don't want to die. Even if we kill the full battalion now, and then incite these people from the Hubei New Army. So what? They are just sheltering us, and those people are not just thinking about their own lives, they really want us to save their families who are in danger of being killed. Do we have the strength? ”

Chen Duxiu was silent, although Zhang Yu's words were a bit of a philistine, but these words did give insight into the sincere thoughts of the Hubei New Army. If the People's Party is unable to save the families of those Hubei New Army who have defected to the People's Party, then once these Hubei New Army learn the news of the death of their families, they will naturally resent the People's Party. Although they are now watching the Hubei New Army go to death, the Hubei New Army will not transfer this grievance to the head of the People's Party.

Zhang Yu is only in his twenties, but he can be so untempted by the small profits in front of him, this steadfastness and coldness makes Chen Duxiu have to admire. "No wonder Chairman Chen appointed Mr. Zhang as the mayor of Anqing City, I am indeed inferior."

Regarding Chen Duxiu's praise, Zhang Yu asked as if he hadn't heard it: "Mr. Chen, the Hubei New Army will come to fight Anqing in a short time, and we may retreat, and I hope that Mr. Chen will prepare in advance." ”

"Where to retreat?" Chen Duxiu asked.

"It's near Anqing. If the Hubei New Army is not satisfied after occupying Anqing and wants to continue to attack the base area, then we will have to fight them. They must not be allowed to continue north. ”

Chen Duxiu knew that the People's Party did not care about Anqing, and after the last time Anqing was defeated, the People's Party said to leave. It is not an accident that Zhang Yu gave up Anqing this time. However, he didn't expect that Zhang Yu was only going to give up Anqing City. Chen Duxiu asked, "Mr. Zhang, since you have given up Anqing, why don't you withdraw to other places that are conducive to entrenchment?" ”

Zhang Yu replied: "This is my task. The Hubei New Army must not be allowed to move north. ”

Seeing that Zhang Yu replied to himself so categorically, although he still didn't understand Zhang Yu's thoughts, Chen Duxiu asked, "Then what can I help?" ”

"If we abandon Anqing, then we need to have other strongholds where we can station troops. Mr. Chan is a local, and I would like to ask Mr. Chan if there is any information that he can provide. We don't have to hold out for too long, once the new army in Hubei occupies Anqing, we only need to be able to use those places for two months. ”

Chen Duxiu was confused by Zhang Yu's statement.

At this moment, a messenger ran in, he saluted Zhang Yu and said, "Captain Zhang, there are dozens of officers and soldiers of the Hubei New Army who want to see you. ”

Zhang Yu knew that there would definitely be wounded soldiers of the Hubei New Army who refused to go back, but he didn't expect that someone would make up their minds so soon. "Bring them the lead." Zhang Yu said.

Naturally, it was impossible for the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to let dozens of people go to see Zhang Yu together, and not long after, the three soldiers of the New Army had already arrived in front of Zhang Yu, and they all looked excited, "Lord Zhang, my life was saved by the People's Party." If it weren't for Chairman Chen Ke's blood transfusion for my brother, my brother would have died. Now, if we go back to Hubei, we will definitely die. Master Zhang, I have dozens of brothers who please take me in. Can you write a booklet and say that we didn't survive. This will keep our family safe. ”

"Are there any of you who are seriously injured and unable to move?" Zhang Yu asked.

"No, not one." The soldiers of the Hubei New Army hurriedly replied.

Zhang Yu replied, "Then there is no name for you." We don't have a boat to transport these people who are not able to move. So we just informed the Hubei side of their names and the total number and asked them to send a boat to pick them up. As for the others, we have not made a book. If you want to pretend to be dead, I can hide it for you, but if you ask us to write a letter to Hubei, it will not be a cover-up. ”

The officers and men of the New Army felt justified, but they could not fully trust Zhang Yu. Seeing this, Chen Duxiu next to him had to agree that Zhang Yu's judgment of the matter was indeed very correct. But he also felt that it was a pity that if he could incite the new army, Hubei might not be so difficult to take.

Chen Duxiu was actually not wrong, the Wuchang Uprising in history did break out because of such an unexpected reason.

Historically, in 1911, October 10 began with an ominous sign for the Hubei revolutionaries – Liu Yaocheng and two other young revolutionaries were shot early in the morning.

While the citizens speculated about the nature of the Manchu raids, rumors spread in the markets and barracks. Most people are convinced that the authorities have mastered the roster of revolutionaries and will slowly arrest those who are on the roster. It is believed that the officials were compiling a fake roster of all Han soldiers. Even more widespread is the rumor that anyone who does not have long braids must be arrested and beheaded in accordance with the law. The fact that Liu Yaosheng and the other three people who were killed that morning did not have long braids made this story more believable.

The rumours that were spread in the gale made the leaders of the revolutionary grassroots organizations realize that it was necessary to carry out the plan of the uprising, which had been aborted the day before, once again that night. Unless action is taken quickly, the manhunt will eventually fall to you. In this way, the revolutionary cause and even his own life will come to an end.

At a time when rumors were spreading, any Han soldier in the New Army, especially those who had removed their braids during the braid-cutting craze at the beginning of the year, was apt to believe that it was less dangerous to go out and join the revolution than to simply sit back and wait for death.

The fact is that the revolution was ripe in Wuchang. The measures ordered by Ruizi were carefully considered and very wise, but they could not stop the torrent.

They took measures such as the arrest of the revolutionary organs, the closure of the city gates, the abolition of the system of leave of absence from the troops, so that the revolutionaries would not be able to communicate with each other, and they tried to avoid irritating arrests among the soldiers. But these minor palliative measures were also enough to create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust, and to create the idea that the Manchurians were indiscriminately arresting and massacring Han Chinese.

For soldiers and civilians who do not know the size of the Wuchang revolutionary party, the arrest of 32 people and the execution of three people create a massive and retaliatory terror that threatens you whether you are guilty or not. The mood in Wuchang on October 10 was a mixture of fear and sympathy (sympathy for the young men who died under the Manchu repression).