Time had flown to February 1912, and great news came from Beijing that the wise and powerful Xuantong Emperor had officially announced his abdication. The north and south were finally united as a republic. Suddenly, firecrackers and drums filled the sky, and the entire city of Nanjing became extremely lively. Tens of thousands of soldiers and citizens chose to temporarily forget their recent hardships and celebrated this joyful news with all their hearts. (It was indeed good news - with the emperor gone, they were no longer considered rebels, and their lives were now secure.)

  To most people, all the hardships of this country came from that damn Qing Empire. Now that the emperor has abdicated, it's time to have good days ahead. In the barracks, Wang Zhenyu was standing on the balcony, coldly watching his subordinates wildly celebrating on the playground. Although he knew from the future that the abdication of the Qing Emperor was not the end of hardships but the beginning of a new round of hardships, he wasn't stupid enough to come out and pour cold water on everyone at this time. On the contrary, he had just ordered the cook to add a meal tonight to celebrate this great victory.

  Since the emperor was gone, the plan for the Northern Expedition was naturally cancelled as well. Wang Zhenyu immediately became idle and began to pay attention to the situation in his home province of Hunan.

  Strictly speaking, after Tan Yankai became the governor of Hunan, he faced a very complex situation in Hunan. Various forces were eager to try their luck, and in this chaotic situation, a crucial point was that Tan Yankai himself did not have control over the military, simply put, he lacked reliable military protection.

  It was under such extremely unfavorable circumstances that Tan Yankai's extraordinary abilities were revealed.

  Don't look at Tan Popo, who is only thirty years old, but his wrist is alive and his city is deep. He first reached a mutual understanding with the Alliance, sent people to comfort the families of Jiao and Chen, the two governors who were killed. At the same time, he also thanked Mei Xing for supporting himself to take office, appointing him as the commander of the 5th Division of the Hunan Army and the governor of Changba Town. As for the troops left by Jiao Dafeng and Chen Zuoxin, Tan Yanxin naturally had a way to deal with them. First, under the pretext of assisting the revolution in Hubei, he successively transferred these troops to the front line in Hubei. Before leaving, he also instructed each department to be brave and sacrifice for the revolution, without looking back.

  To put it bluntly, you all die in Hubei and never come back.

  For the remaining dissidents in the province, Tan Yankai borrowed power to kill, instructing Mei Feng's troops to openly slaughter. Through covert enticement and open suppression, both methods were used simultaneously, quickly eliminating local forces such as the Baoqing Military Government Division.

  As for Wang Long bringing his troops back to settle the score, it was even more wonderful. Tan Yanqing first used Wang Long's prestige to scare away Mei Xian, who was entrenched in Changsha and controlled him. Then, he appointed Huang Yuanming, the former commander of the 49th Regiment, who was not in Changsha during the revolution because he participated in the autumn exercise, as the head of the Military Department of the Military Government. After Huang Yuanming ran to Wang Long's place and gathered his old troops with his former prestige, he told everyone not to act rashly again, and Wang Long ultimately lost the opportunity to compete for the position of governor.

  Tan Yanqian utilized his connections to effortlessly resolve a huge crisis. Afterwards, Tan Yanqian also brought in Chen Qiang, the former commander of the 2nd battalion of the original 49th brigade who had participated in the autumn maneuvers alongside Wang Zhenyu. He appointed him as the commander of the 8th brigade of the 4th division of the Xiang Army, taking over half of Wang Long's troops.

  Tan Yanqian is now pulling connections everywhere, finding familiar people, and preparing to form a more reliable army.

  These were all written by Lu Diping to himself, and Lu Diping was a straightforward person who told himself that he had also accepted Tan Yanqing's pull, and most of the officers under Wang Shizhong had already been pulled over.

  Wow, this Aunt Tan really knows how to build relationships! Wang Zhenyu couldn't help but exclaim after finishing the letter.

  There is a saying that fits the national condition very well: how high an achievement a person can attain has little to do with ability, but mainly depends on what level of people you can get to know.

  It's just pulling strings, I can do it too.

  Wang Zhenyu had this idea, and immediately let Ma Xicheng and Zhao Dongsheng send out invitations everywhere. Now that he is also a lieutenant general of the land army, there is still some face to invite people to dinner.

  Someone invited him and someone ate, plus Wang Zhenyu was generous with his hands, spoke well and was very pleasant to like, so there were more people who came to support him.

  There are two people who often come here and are very familiar with Wang Zhenyu.

  One was the third army commander Wang Zhi-xiang, a straight-laced person from Hebei province, over 50 years old. Before the revolution, he was the governor of Guangxi province, in charge of the troops and horses in the Guilin area. Later, through the persuasion of his brother-in-law Liu Ren-jun from Hunan province, he joined the revolution and became the deputy commander of Guangxi province. However, he did not get along with another deputy commander Lu Rong-ting, and was forced to bring his troops to Nanjing to prepare for the Northern Expedition. Unexpectedly, the Qing emperor abdicated, and the Northern Expedition was cancelled. Now, returning to Guangxi is not allowed by Lu Rong-ting, and he is stuck in Nanjing, where even a single cent of military pay cannot be given out. Faced with the mouths of his 10,000 troops that need to eat, Wang Zhi-xiang feels at a loss for what to do, so every day he comes to drink with Wang Zhen-yu.

  Another one is Tian Yingjiao, the leader of the 20th Route Army, a fellow Hunanese and old acquaintance of Wang Zhenyu. He's thirty-five years old, and his family background is quite impressive. When it comes to the bandits in western Hunan, everyone might have heard of them, but actually, these people weren't originally bandits. Their formation has historical reasons. During the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Tian Xingxu, a man from Fenghuang, Hunan, led his troops into the Xiang Army and later followed Zuo Zongtang to Xinjiang to fight against Russia. After many battles, he became the governor of Guizhou. Like the Huai Army under Feng Zicai, Tian Xingxu had the Gan Army, which wasn't disbanded by the imperial court but continued to exist as a militia group. Later, it became an armed force in the local area. The famous Gansu Ma family army was also formed in this way. Therefore, the origins of the bandits in western Hunan weren't actually bandits, but rather the remnants of the Qing dynasty's Gan Army militia (temporary workers without official status). However, after liberation, due to their resistance against the rough reorganization by the southern cadres, they took the "wrong path" and opposed the people's government. Naturally, according to their political orientation and propaganda needs, they became bandits who ate human flesh and drank human blood. By the way, the Gan Army also produced a famous writer named Shen Congwen, but that's not relevant here.

  This guy Tian Yingkui was the third in line, liked to keep an eight-character beard, and was nicknamed Tian Hu Zi. He didn't live for a few years before his father died, and his mother spoiled him, belonging to being a bad student from childhood. Later, he entered the Hunan Military Academy through connections, but was expelled for beating up foreign teachers, so he had no choice but to go abroad to study in Japan, as a result, he was assimilated by the revolutionary party. After returning home, Tian Yingkui actually became Wang Zhenyi's teacher at the Army Primary School, but Wang Zhenyi doesn't remember having such a teacher, anyway, the two are now wine and meat friends.

  When attacking Nanjing's Yuhuatai, Tian Sanlang volunteered to be the vanguard and achieved a great feat. Huang Xing appreciated him and appointed him as the commander of the 20th Division.

  Tian Yingzhu liked Wang Zhenyu, this straightforward and refreshing little fellow villager, and even invited Wang Zhenyu to smoke opium with him, saying it was top-grade Yunnan opium soil, very rare. Wang Zhenyu was shocked, this revolutionary also smokes drugs?

  But thinking about it, it's understandable. Just like the second-generation officials and rich kids of later generations who liked to take drugs for thrills, the aristocratic class at the end of the Qing dynasty was also fond of opium smoking. After all, only those with power and influence dared to indulge in such expensive habits. One notable example is Liu Kunyi, the governor-general of Liangjiang. This dignitary was a brave general in his youth but became an opium addict in old age. During the First Sino-Japanese War, he was ordered to lead the Xiang Army to fight against Japan in Northeast China. However, his addiction was severe, and he spent most of his time in a daze, only able to attend to official duties for a few hours a day. This was truly a case of a lion turning into a pig, with this leader commanding the Xiang Army, which was once a proud force. The outcome was predictable. With such an incompetent commander, the Xiang Army naturally had no achievements to speak of in Liaodong and could only suffer defeat after defeat at the hands of the Japanese. In the end, Liaodong fell, and all that was left for the people of Hunan was to lament and regret the mistakes of their fellow provincials.

  This Tiantian Shao Ye is a genuine official second generation plus military second generation in the later generations, and it's normal for him to like taking drugs. Unfortunately, Wang Zhenyu doesn't want to be Zhang Xueliang, and he doesn't plan to live to be 105 years old either, so he naturally declines with thanks.

  Having stayed in Nanjing for a while, Wang Zhenyu had handed over all the training to his subordinates and was idle. He thought that since he had come to the Yangtze River Delta, one of the richest places in the country, he should do some business.

  If you want to make a name for yourself in the future, both talent and money are indispensable.

  In Wuhan, he had Ye Zuwu as his comprador, this old fellow was quite conscientious in all matters. But if a person wants to stand firm, relying solely on one leg is absolutely impossible.

  I still need a leg, but Ye Zuwen will come to Nanjing soon, maybe he can find another leg for me!

  Wan Yaohuang (1891-1977), also known as Wan Qi, courtesy name Wuqiao, Diqi, and self-proclaimed Yanshan Old Man in his later years. He was a two-star general of the Nationalist Party's army. At 17, he dropped out of Two Lakes Normal School to join the military, and subsequently enrolled in Hubei Military Primary School, Third Army Academy, Army Officer Academy, and Army University, receiving comprehensive modern military education. During his studies, he participated in the Daily Knowledge Society, Alliance Society, Nationalist Party, and took part in the Xinhai Revolution, anti-Yuan Shikai movement, and the Jingzhou-Zhongxiang self-governance campaign. After graduation, he served as chief of staff for the Hunan-Hubei Garrison. From 1926 onwards, he participated in the Northern Expedition, suppression of warlords, and resistance against Japan, rising through the ranks from deputy division commander to division commander, army commander, and army group commander before becoming a general. During the War of Resistance, he served as head of education at Army University and Central Military Academy, and after victory, he became chairman of Hubei Provincial Government and later head of education at Central Training Regiment.