Chapter 38 Jiangbei No. 2: From the beginning of the revolution to the end of the mutiny

When the Wuchang Uprising broke out, the court and the press initially said it was a mutiny.But in the habits of ordinary people, a mutiny is not the same as an uprising.The mutiny has no political purpose. The reason for the change is first of all because of dissatisfaction with the boss, but this dissatisfaction is often related to money.So, to change, just grab a lot and then rush away, and go home with the stolen money, just like eating a sumptuous meal that you can eat and take with you.Unless there was an organized mutiny like the Beiyang Third Division in the first year of the Republic of China, they would return to the camp after the looting was over.But this is not the case for revolutions or uprisings. Like the Wuchang Uprising, from the perspective of the ruler, it is true that soldiers mutinied, but the soldiers who mutinied wanted to seize power, not grab money and divide it.Therefore, although the regime has changed color, the government's treasury silver and merchants' silver are all fine.Because the soldiers of the mutiny had ideals and aspirations, they did this kind of brain-dead thing not for money.However, after the revolution started, more people participated, good and bad were mixed, and discipline was unreliable, and some northern troops who also participated in the revolution were indifferent to revolutionary ideals, so they were even more unreliable.A revolution that took place in Qingjiangpu, Jiangbei, turned from a revolution into a mutiny.

Qingjiangpu, also known as Yuanjiang, is now the seat of Huaiyin City.Due to the important geographical location, the Qing Dynasty set up the Jiangbei Admiral here, and a mixed brigade of the Beiyang Army was stationed here.The rank of admiral is similar to that of a governor, and there are two admirals in one province, which clearly means divide and rule.The Admiral of Jiangbei has always been served by people from the Beiyang system.Therefore, although Jiangsu is under the jurisdiction of the governor of Liangjiang and the minister of Nanyang, the forces of Beiyang have already stretched a foot in.It's just that the infiltration of the revolutionary party in the late Qing Dynasty was like mercury leaking out of the ground, pervasive, and after the death of the Queen Mother, the Manchu relatives and nobles came to power, intending to destroy Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Mountain, which gave the revolutionaries an opportunity.Not only big figures like Wu Luzhen, Zhang Shaozeng, and Lan Tianwei entered the Beiyang Army and took power, but some small battalion commanders and company commanders below also accepted the propaganda of the Revolutionary Party.Together with the revolution, the revolution of the big men failed, but the small men still made troubles. The Luanzhou Uprising launched by a few small battalion commanders was an example.The 13th Mixed Brigade stationed in Qingjiangpu also has such a small battalion company commander.

At that time, Duan Qirui, the former admiral of Jiangbei, was transferred to Hubei because of Yuan Shikai's departure from the mountain.Xiliang is a good man, in his sixties, like most Manchu bureaucrats, he can eat, drink and have fun, but he just can't lead soldiers.Therefore, the Beiyang Army of the local association is gradually becoming unstable.Therefore, not long after Duan Qirui left, the two leaders (battalion commanders) of the Thirteenth Mixed Association, one said to be the team officer (company commander), brought dozens of soldiers to raid Daotai Mansion, crackling After more than two hours, because the matter was not confidential, Xi Liang was prepared in advance, and there were many defenders inside, but he failed, and the revolutionary party withdrew from the city.Xiliang suffered from this chaos and thought for a long time, but there was no good solution, so he had to appease and buy them, so he bought nearly a hundred pigs, let the officers and soldiers eat and drink, and promised to pay an extra month of military pay.Unexpectedly, this small favor aroused the ambitions of these soldiers and made them feel that there was a lot of money in the admiral's mansion.Originally, only a few people rebelled, but next time, when the two small battalion commanders returned to stir up rebellion, a large number of people joined instead.All of a sudden, there was heavy gunshots and besieged on all sides. The soldiers also pulled out their cannons and bombarded the city gates, causing chaos in the city.There was no other way, Master Daotai had no choice but to take his family members and walk over the wall. Qingjiangpu changed color overnight.

However, when the gentry and merchants in the city opened the city gates the next day, hung up white flags, and lined up to welcome the revolutionary army into the city, there was a commotion, and there were no officers following the disturbance, and the organizational system of the troops had long been disrupted.Unlike the Wuchang Uprising, these soldiers did not listen to the two small battalion commanders at all. When they entered the city, they robbed the shops.Most of these soldiers are from Xuzhou, and their hometown is not far away. After the robbing is over, they will flee collectively and go back to their hometown.At the beginning, the refugees inside and outside the city also took the opportunity to rob. After a few days of chaos, Jiang Yanxing, who was elected by the gentry and merchants, came forward and brought a small number of troops who did not participate in the mutiny to stabilize the situation.In this way, a revolution turned into a mutiny.

Obviously, these two small battalion commanders or company commanders can only influence a limited number of people.To attack Daotai Mansion, there are only dozens of people. Even two company commanders should be able to mobilize two hundred people.Most of the people who later encouraged to participate were not for the revolution, but just wanted to get rich.Because the soldiers said that Daotai Mansion has hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.The success of the revolution and the departure of Daotai just gave these rebels a chance.Unlike the New Army in the South, the Beiyang Army has a relatively high overall cultural quality and is more accepting of civilized values. They are just northern farmers who can't eat on the land. I heard that there are hundreds of thousands of taels of silver that have the opportunity to get it, and everyone is jealous.It just so happens that the residence is where gangs and sects gather, and it has historically been a place where the people are difficult to govern. It is inevitable that they will not accept bad influences. However, the third society in the south of Shandong and Huaibei did not accept the propaganda of the Revolutionary Party. what relationship.When the world is in chaos, for them, it is just a good time to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune.Therefore, as long as someone started, they dared to follow, either for the revolution or for money grabbing. In this way, the revolution turned into mutiny and robbery.After the big robbery, these soldiers ran to their hometown in Xuzhou one after another.Some were later easily tracked down, their loot recovered and their heads lost.Some soldiers who returned home were persuaded by the revolutionary students to return to the revolution. As a result, time has passed and the soldiers who had been robbers were no longer believed. The students were killed and the troops were disarmed and dismissed.Most of the soldiers who participated in the mutiny were later recruited by Zhang Xun who came to Xuzhou and became part of the braided army.

Some data show that a considerable number of participants in the uprising army in Shanxi did not have any revolutionary ideals.When the revolution happened, many people not only opened their eyes to money, but also opened their eyes to chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs.At the time of the revolution, all the living things in the streets were eaten up.The deputy governor led the troops to occupy the treasury, but when he got there, someone was already looting it.The soldiers brought in were ordered to stop, but no one obeyed, even offering rewards.Looking at the white silver, the soldiers were all in a mess.During the robbing process, some were crushed to death by the collapsed silver box, and some were injured during the fight.A large number of silver ingots were snatched by the rebels, and some were pulled by Dongyang carts.Of course, when the money was grabbed, these soldiers dispersed.Zhang Peimei, who participated in the uprising as one of the leaders, said that at that time, someone in the Nanjing Provisional Government, in view of the behavior of the Shanxi Revolutionary Army, said that there was no civilian army in Shanxi, only bandits.Of course, this statement is a bit too much, but it is true that the Shanxi Revolutionary Army has poor discipline.No wonder Shanxi's civilian army, so incapable of fighting, gave up on Niangziguan, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and then kept retreating, surrendering Shanxi to the Beiyang Army.

Except for a small number of people who joined the revolutionary party before the revolution, the political orientation of the soldiers is actually very suspicious.For them, whether they join the revolutionary army or join the non-revolutionary army, they are soldiers who eat food.Without money, it is absolutely impossible.It is really difficult for them to keep themselves safe during the chaos.