When the situation in Zhejiang was deteriorating, Sun Wen had already arrived in Los Angeles, he boarded the fastest cruise ship of the American White Star Company, and crossed the Pacific Ocean in seventeen days.

I don't know for what reason, Homer Li has always been enthusiastic about China's revolutionary cause, in the year of Wuxu he recommended himself to become an officer under Kang Youwei, Gengzi year, he even led the army as a royalist lieutenant general to hunt down Cixi to rescue Guangxu, and after that, his relationship with Kang Youwei began to deteriorate.

"Homer!" Sun Wen warmly hugged Homer Lee tightly, and after seeking help from Japan was politely refused, Sun Wen did not want to go to France, but went straight to the United States, and what he was looking for was Homer Lee.

"It's so nice to meet you, Sun! I can't believe it's true when I receive your telegram, you have occupied a province in China. It's amazing! Before Sun Wen's telegram, Homer Li Tong guò domestic newspapers learned about the revolution in China, and he was very excited at that time, and when he was about to leave for China, Sun Wen sent a telegram from Shanghai, which asked him to find a way to obtain the support of the American political and business circles for the Chinese revolution, and then he has been doing this for more than half a month.

"No, no. Soon there will be another uprising in Canton, China, and then it will be occupied by the revolutionary army. Homer, I'm here to ask for your help this time, now that the revolutionary army in Hangzhou has been blockaded, they desperately need rifles and bullets. This is the trickiest part! "Sun Wen had just gotten off the ship, and he still didn't understand that the situation in the country had changed dramatically. He only remembered that Cai Yuanpei mentioned that the revolutionary army was in dire need of arms.

Homer Lee, who was disabled, took Sun Wen into a carriage with difficulty, and then he gasped: "I know, I know." Grandchild. Before you came, I had already spoken to some of the big people who were very interested in the revolution taking place in China, and they also figured out how to support the Chinese revolutionaries. What Homer Lee said was good news, and when Sun Wen was about to smile, Homer Lee said again: "But." The support of the U.S. government was suppressed by the British, and Zhejiang was a British sphere of influence, and the president could not explicitly support the U.S. government in assisting the revolutionaries. Moreover, the big people did not know the difference between the League and the Renaissance, they did not know whether it was an organization or two different revolutionary organizations. ”

"Nope. Homer. In the past, the League and the Revival Society were two organizations, but this time the uprising was a joint effort between the two associations, and the army of the League was now preparing to fight the Qing army in Hangzhou. Sun Wen looked at Homer Li with a sincere face, and then said: "I agree with Mr. Cai Yuanpei of the Revival Society that only by uniting can we overthrow the rule of the Manchus. So, you can say to the big guys that the Revival and the League are the same organization. I, on the other hand, was the representative of the organization sent to the United States to ask for help. We want their help, and the rewards for that help are extremely good. ”

"That solves the big problem. Grandchild! Homer Lee had often been troubled by this problem when he went to meet with the big people earlier, but now that the League and the Revival are the same organization, many of the problems have been solved, and he said happily, "That's great." We now have a Red Dragon Project, and I am sure that it will be of great help to the revolution in China. ”

"Project Red Dragon? [Note] "Sun Wen literally didn't know what this plan was about, so he was very curious.

"Yes. It's the Red Dragon Project. Homer Lee emphasized: "My partner's name is Booth, he used to be a stockbroker in New York, he is now retired, but his classmate Allen is a big man, he is a big real estate developer in New York, he has deep connections in the Northeast, and he knows many powerful people, he can give us a huge loan, but the conditions are very harsh, only six months, and they also want spruce pulp, oil, telegraph and postal monopoly for fifteen years, and railroads, minerals, ......."

"Homer, now we have no other choice, the conditions do not matter if the revolution is to succeed." As soon as Sun Wen heard about the huge loan, he forgot about the rifle and bullets, and as for the conditions, he could only overthrow the Manchus, and he could agree to any conditions, after all, if the foreigners were just concessions, after a few years, these concessions could be completely recovered.

Seeing Sun Wen so eager, Homer Lee said, "Okay, then we'll go to Booth tonight, I'm sure he'll be very happy, and his friend Alan has come from New York and will be there tomorrow morning." ”

When it was dark in the United States, it was just dawn in China. On the wharf by the Qiantang River, beside the lonely wooden boat, Hu Yisheng grabbed Hu Hanmin's hand before boarding the boat and said, "Big man, when are you leaving?" The Qing army is about to fight, and Hangzhou can't keep it. ”

"I can't go, Mr. Zhongshan still has a task for me, you must be more cautious when you go to Chaozhou, don't rush to the front when shooting." If the revolution doesn't work once, you can do it next time, and the most important thing is to save your life! Taking advantage of the Chaozhou uprising, some of the backbone of the League were withdrawn from Hangzhou by Hu Hanmin before the war, including his cousin Hu Yisheng.

"Then I won't leave...... Hu Yisheng said as he put down his bags, "I don't have to be poor in the Revival Society, at least I have trained in Qingshan School." ”

"Stop messing around. Now the Qing army is a four-way pressure - even Jinhua is not optimistic, why stay in Hangzhou? Send it to death! Hu Hanmin said that he pulled Hu Yisheng's bag up, then tied him to his back, and finally pushed him onto the boat, and commanded uneasily: "Remember the words of the big guy." ”

When Hu Hanmin sent Hu Yisheng and returned to the Ministry of Government, Zhu Zhixin came mysteriously, and he showed a telegram and said, "Mr. Zhongshan has called." ”

"Oh. What does the gentleman want us to do? Hu Hanmin asked as he snatched the telegram.

"Sir is negotiating with the Americans, and he wants us to hold on in Hangzhou, especially to help the Revival Society to stay in Hangzhou. But I look at this shape shì...... "Zhu Zhixin first read the telegram, and what it said is difficult to achieve in view of the situation that Hangzhou is facing now.

"Oh......" Hu Hanmin quickly finished reading the telegram and returned it to Zhu Zhixin. said: "Now that the Qing army is besieging in several ways, there is still a way to make the Fuxing Society hold on." ”

"That's what I thought, too! But when you go out. The Governor also ordered everyone to pack up for twelve hours. Prepare for retreat. Zhu Zhixin actually came to discuss with Hu Hanmin, he knew that Hu Hanmin's brain was better than his own, and he might be able to think of a way.

"What! This...... How can this run away without a fight?! Where did they put the revolution in this way? Hu Hanmin was furious, it would be a big disadvantage for the Renaissance Association not to stick to the plan of the Alliance in Hangzhou, he pondered for a moment, and suddenly said: "No, I want to find Zhao Sheng." With that, he snatched the telegram from Zhu Zhixin's hand. I went straight out to find someone.

Zhu Zhixin thought that he was going to find Cai Yuanpei or Zhong Mei, but who would have expected him to go to Zhao Sheng, what does this retreat have to do with Zhao Sheng? But an hour later. Hu Hanmin took the reluctant Zhao Sheng to the Hangzhou General's Mansion, and he did not go to the capital governor Zhong Mei, but directly asked to see Cai Yuanpei.

"Mr. Heqing, are we going to retreat now?" Time is urgent. Hu Hanmin was not polite. As soon as we met, the problem was clarified.

Cai Yuanpei was stunned when he heard this, and then said: "That's true, now the tenth and ninth towns of the Manchu Qing Dynasty are approaching, and these two towns have a total of 20,000 people, and we can't hold Hangzhou, so we can only retreat." "Retreating was not what Cai Yuanpei wanted, but the situation was like this, and he was persuaded by Zhong Mei and others. also stopped staying in Hangzhou, and Hu Hanmin came to inquire at this time. Explained to him patiently.

Hearing that the retreat was true, Zhao Sheng, who didn't know the news, turned pale and hesitated a lot, while Hu Hanmin immediately said loudly: "Mr. Heqing, Hangzhou is the place of the first righteousness of the revolution, and it can't be lost." If Hangzhou is lost, then the revolutionary form of the whole country will be destroyed. Now the League is preparing for an uprising in Chaozhou, and if this move is successful, the morale of the Manchus will be weakened! ”

Looking at the anxious Hu Hanmin, Cai Yuanpei gently poured a glass of water for him and Zhao Sheng, and then said: "Evacuating Hangzhou is a last resort, and evacuating Hangzhou does not mean that there will be no revolution in the future, as long as we are still there, the fire of revolution will not be extinguished." Now the main force of the revival army is outside, and those who remain in Hangzhou are all untrained recruits, which is really difficult to hold. I don't know why, Cai Yuanpei used Zhong Mei's words to persuade him on Hu Hanmin, hoping that they would not be affected by Hangzhou's gains and losses like himself.

"Mr. Heqing, Mr. Zhongshan is negotiating with the United States to support the revolution, and withdrawing at this time will be very detrimental to diplomatic mediation." After Hu Hanmin finished speaking, he handed over Sun Wen's telegram, and then said: "Because the matter has not yet been negotiated, this telegram was only sent to us by Mr. Zhongshan, and after Mr. Zhongshan and the Americans negotiate tomorrow, the specific telegram will be sent to Mr. Heqing." ”

Sun Wen's strong advocacy to obtain foreign support is Cai Yuanpei's agreement, but the current situation is changing too fast, he can't wait for the support of the United States, he read the telegram and said: "Zhantang, we don't have time to wait for the news from the United States, now it is not one town of the Qing army, but two towns, if the tenth town can still fight a dozen, then the ninth town in the south can't be stopped." I will personally telegraph back to Mr. Sun in a moment, and inform him of the situation here......"

Seeing that Cai Yuanpei still didn't agree to stay in Hangzhou, Hu Hanmin was so anxious that he could only push Zhao Sheng secretly, Zhao Sheng was thinking about how to deal with the current situation at this time, but he didn't want Hu Hanmin to push himself violently, and when he looked at him again, he saw him looking at himself with sharp eyes, so after he muttered, he said decisively: "Mr. Heqing, I have a way to deal with ...... in the ninth town."

Cai Yuanpei didn't know Zhao Sheng, and when he said that he had a way to deal with it, he couldn't help but turn his head. Lying was not what Zhao Sheng wanted, but thinking of the "plan for the revolution" that Hu Hanmin emphasized to him before, he had to bite the bullet and said: "Mr. Heqing, I was the thirty-third standard commander in the ninth town before, and I and Xu Shaozhen, the commander of the ninth town, have been brothers, he was the fourteenth grandson of Xu Da, the founding general of the former Ming Dynasty, and he is known to be anti-Qing Zhizhi, and there are many soldiers and low-level officers in the army who are inclined to revolution, Mr. Heqing, I can go and say to surrender him, so that the offensive of the Qing army will not only disappear, but we can also get a strong army in a town." ”

"What?!" Cai Yuanpei was shocked when he heard this, only thinking that he had heard it wrong, he stared at Zhao Sheng and asked eagerly, "What you said is true?" ”

Zhao Sheng's plan to surrender became a turning point in the battle of Hangzhou, in the claustrophobic war room, Zhong Mei, Zhang Chengyue, Lin Wenqian, and Zhou Sixu were silent after looking at the excited Cai Yuanpei, and Cai Yuanpei looked at the people: "Am I not right?" If Zhao Sheng said that Xu Shaozhen was lowered. Then the siege of Hangzhou is solved, and we can still ......"

"Sir, what can we give Xu Shaozhen?" Ben didn't want to interrupt Cai Yuanpei's words. But considering the morale of the army, Zhang Chengyue still spoke up.

"What can I give Xu Shaozhen?" Cai Yuanpei didn't understand what Zhang Chengyue meant.

"Sir, Xu Shaozhen is now the commander of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and his salary alone is 1,000 taels, which is more than the sum of your and Mr. Jingcheng, Mr. Uncle Mei, and Mr. Xiao Xu for a year. Moreover, now that the Manchu Qing Dynasty is encircling and suppressing us, Xu Shaozhen is known as a soldier, it is impossible for him not to know our current situation...... "The treatment of the low-level personnel of the Revival Association is not bad." On the contrary, the salaries of high-level executives are not much, such as Yang Rui, Cai Yuanpei, etc. It does not exceed 25 yuan per month, which is still due to the fact that in today's society, men mainly go out to work, rather than both men and women go out to work as in later generations.

But he is the fourteenth grandson of Xu Da, and he has always been anti-Qing. If you send an acquaintance to say surrender. Then there is a good chance that he will revolt. Cai Yuanpei was most shocked by Xu Shaozhen's life experience, he thought that Xu Shaozhen, who had such a background and had always been anti-Qing aspirations, rebelled or not rebelled was just a matter of thought.

"Sir, he would have rebelled a long time ago, and he won't wait until today." Zhang Chengyue still insists on his own opinion, according to the curriculum of political science and engineering, people's behavior is closely related to his situation and growth environment, a person who is already forty-five years old. When you are in high spirits, you can never be like a young man. After reading "The Revolutionary Army" twice, he became disgusted, he would consider it more practical than anyone else, and even Zhang Cheng opposed the infiltration plan of the officers of the Manchurian New Army. Because people are realistic, if they really find a place in the new army, then the former revolutionary oath will be forgotten completely. What is a revolution, a revolution is a future for most people.

Zhang Chengyue's insistence made Cai Yuanpei very uncomfortable, he only felt that these students had become completely strange after three years of revolution, although their appearance had not changed much, but what they thought was different from before, or rather, they had matured, and Cai Yuanpei, the teacher commander, only felt that he was old when facing these students who had the courage to express his opinions, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss. When he was at Nanyang College, he said it with great interest, and the students listened to it with admiration.

When Cai Yuanpei was lost, the atmosphere in the war room suddenly became awkward, but fortunately, at this time, the signal corpsman knocked on the door, "Report, telegram from Shanghai." ”

Zhong Mei took it, read it and gave it to Cai Yuanpei, and then said: "Sir, Xiao Bing in Shanghai called, he thinks that according to the previous information, Xu Shaozhen does have a good impression of the revolutionaries, and Zhao Sheng's propaganda of the revolution in the army is also because he was dismissed because of his efforts, but it is uncertain whether he will rebel; In addition, most of the soldiers in the ninth town were scholars, so the revolutionary ideas were accepted quickly, and the 33rd target revolutionary party was the most, and there were also members of the association...... However, in today's situation, it is difficult to judge whether Xu Shaozhen will be opposed. ”

Wang Jitong was not there, this telegram was sent by Yu Ziyi, as Wang Jitong's assistant, he was more familiar with the situation of the Qing army in various places, but he didn't know about the people in it who were reviving members. However, these are enough for Cai Yuanpei. He got up and said, "Let it be decided." Those who want to withdraw can withdraw first, but I will wait here for news of the surrender. After he finished speaking, he went out, and Zhong Mei saw this and hurriedly followed.

"You can't wait here, sir. Now that the ninth town has passed Hengtang, you can arrive at Tangqi at night......" Zhong Mei chased Cai Yuanpei behind, still wanting him to change his mind.

"Even when you arrive in Tangqi, it is more than sixty miles away from Hangzhou, Bu Jin, are you so afraid of the Qing army?" Cai Yuanpei was unmoved by Zhong Mei's persuasion, and in turn provoked Zhong Mei, he was talking here, he didn't want Cai Guoqing and others to come over, as soon as he saw Cai Yuanpei, he said: "Widow, we can't withdraw!" Now as long as you say that the ninth town has been surrendered, Hangzhou can not only hold it, but also have one more town to strengthen the army. ”

After Hu Hanmin looked for Cai Yuanpei, he hurriedly went to Cai Guoqing, Minister of Political Affairs, and when Cai Guoqing was agitated, he sent people to cross the river to find Tao Chengzhang and Qiu Jin. What he is doing now is to make those fanatical revolutionaries have expectations of surrender, and he believes that these people will cling to the straw of surrender like people who have fallen into the water. And Zhao Sheng, who conspired with him, was not so pessimistic about the outcome of the surrender. Although he is not Xu Shaozhen's sworn brother, although Xu Shaozhen may not be the fourteenth grandson of Xu Da in the former Ming Dynasty, he relied on Xu Shaozhen's care for himself and the revolutionaries in the army in the past. As well as his own relationship in the army, he still feels that this matter has a lot to do.

In anticipation of surrender, the junta held another meeting at noon that day, and finally decided to wait another day, considering that the enemy army was far away, and according to Zhong Mei's words, waiting another day would be a critical point of life and death. The Ninth Town arrives at Tangqi. Sixty miles of gritted teeth can be completed in one day, so that they will be in Hangzhou tomorrow night, if they go in two days. Then the day after tomorrow, it will enter Hangzhou City; The tenth town on the east bank of the Qianjiang River has already passed Shaoxing, and after arriving in Xiaoshan today, it will be able to cross the river tomorrow. If you don't withdraw tomorrow, then everyone will have to explain here.

After drinking Zhuangxing wine in the afternoon. Zhao Sheng rode his horse north. The people who saw him off looked at him and had different thoughts, Zhong Mei glanced around at everyone, and went back without speaking, at this time the Hangzhou General's Mansion was empty, and he didn't want to be as lively as more than 20 days ago, those members of the parliament left, and the people from various departments also left, and now only the guards of the headquarters and his adjutant are still there. He didn't go into the house. Instead, he walked straight under the two flagpoles in the courtyard and looked up. On the lead cloud-covered sky, another rain is about to fall, and the military flag on the flagpole stands still as if it is lifeless, only waiting for him to look up for a long time, at the same time as the raindrops fall, the wind rises in the sky, and the hanging military flag seems to be moved by something, slowly stretching and fluttering in the rain, bright red like a thick blood.

"Governor, it's raining." The adjutant behind him said, motioning for Zhong Mei to hurry in.

"You also call me the Grand Duke." The adjutant is a little ghost that Zhong Mei received when he was in Jiaxing, and he used to call Zhong Mei the chief.

"I ...... Everyone is shouting the Governor. The little ghost looked confused, he didn't know what the Metropolitan Governor was, but he only felt that these three words were much more majestic than the chief shouting.

When it rained, Zhao Sheng had already gone out of Genshan Gate, when the accompanying guards asked him to hide from the rain, he shook his head and refused, now the enemy situation is critical, the tenth town will cross the river tomorrow, he can't wait to fly to Xu Shaozhen now, and then a word asked him to take all the officers and soldiers of the ninth town to revolt together.

It's just that the sixty-mile distance is not a short time, and it rains during this time, and the muddy road is very difficult to navigate, and when he approaches Tangqi, it is the middle of the night. Now that he arrived at the place, he had nothing to hide, all the horse lanterns he carried with him were lit, and sure enough, before he got close to Tangqi, there was a sound of pulling the bolt in the dark night, and a Zhenjiang accent shouted: "What person? ”

Zhao Sheng's heart was hot when he heard this, he could almost guess who was shouting, and he also used Zhenjiang dialect to say at the moment: "Lao Tzu is Zhao Sheng, don't you recognize it?" ”

As soon as Zhao Sheng spoke, the person on the other side was a low voice, and a voice asked eagerly: "Is it Brother Bai Xian?" ”

Zhao Sheng was relieved when he heard this, and laughed and said: "Gong Shifang, I can't recognize my voice, I will reward you with twenty military sticks when I turn around!" ”

Zhao Sheng smiled here, and a row of people with guns appeared in the dark, and Gong Shifang, who was the leader, looked at Zhao Sheng who was carrying a horse lantern, and said in surprise: "It's really Brother Baixian!" After speaking, he hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his hand, and then said, "Quick, quick, put out the lantern." ”

As soon as he said this, Zhao Sheng was also very vigilant, and hurriedly said to his people, "Quick, put out the lights." ”

As the lanterns went out, Zhao Sheng held the hand of the visitor and said, "Shifang, how is the situation in the army now?" This time I came to Hangzhou, was it Xu who led the army? "Gong Shifang is an anti-Qing activist in the army, and Zhao Sheng still trusts him very much.

"It's Xu who leads the army." Gong Shifang nodded in the dark and said, "After you leave, Duan Fang still wants to take down those pipe bands with revolutionary tendencies and replace them with his own people, but Commander Xu won't let him, and in the end, this matter will be over." ”

When Zhao Sheng heard this, he was immediately overjoyed in his heart, and said, "That's good!" That's good! ”

Gong Shifang said again: "Brother Bai Xian came to lead us to revolt this time?" ”

Zhao Sheng patted his hand and said, "That's exactly what I mean, go, take me to see Xu Tong, our ninth town is going to revolt before the battle!" (To be continued......)

PS: Note: The Red Dragon Project was planned by Homer Lee and Boothe (Charles Beach Boothe) in 1908, and the first collaborator they found was Kang Youwei, then Yuan Shikai after Shimono, and finally when it was Sun Wen's turn, it was already Red Dragon Project 2. Source: LiberalImperialism: TheRiseandFallofLiberalInternationalisminU.S-ChinaRelationsandtheOriginsoftheColdWar, 1898–1945