Chapter 21: Republic of China: Starting from Whampoa Phase One Chapter 21 Preparing for the Incident

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

After Chen Lianbo and the others learned that the Principal was willing to let go, they instantly wore expressions of triumph.

Chen Lianbo stepped forward and said to the Principal in a sinister tone: "Principal Jiang, I seem to have said two months ago that I would make you spit out everything you swallowed, do you remember? Haha, in this Guangzhou City, there is no path that money cannot open!"

The Principal forced a smile: "Your weapons and equipment are now on the playground, Chen Tuan Zhang, please help yourself." Saying this, the Principal waved his hand and was about to leave.

"Wait! These weapons were seized by you from my ship; now you must return them to me intact!" Chen Lianbo stared at the Principal's back and shouted loudly.

The Principal turned around: "You want me to return them to you? How am I to return them?"

"I don't care; I don't care whether you use a warship or hire civilian ships; in short, you must return all the weapons and equipment you seized from me to Taikoo Dock and store them at the British dock before I can rest assured."

The Principal turned and walked away, leaving these words: "Take them or leave them; even if the Grand Marshal comes, you have to move them yourself; my students are not here to work for you merchants."

"You!" Chen Lianbo was furious and turned to Acting Grand Marshal Hu Hanming: "Did you hear that? That's how he speaks; he seized my ship, and now he won't even apologize, nor will he return them to me. If I hire another ship, do I not have to spend money? Do I not have to spend time?"

Hu Hanming gave a bitter laugh: "Don't provoke him anymore; figure something out yourself. Oh right, I have an important meeting this afternoon about tomorrow's Double Tenth Festival celebration; I'm heading back first. You stay busy here; everything belonging to your Commercial Corps can be shipped back directly."

Hu Hanming left a parting word and also departed Changzhou Island by steamship, leaving Chen Lianbo and the others at a loss in the wind.

Other comprador merchants looked at each other; fewer than ten people came this time, and with so many weapon crates, they would have to carry them until the end of time.

Chen Lianbo's expression turned sinister: "Hurry and hire ships to transport the guns to Taikoo Dock; have the Commercial Corps soldiers mobilized from all over the province prepare themselves, and issue them guns tonight!"

By four in the afternoon, Chen Lianbo finally hired a cargo ship flying the British flag named the Haver Ship, which docked at Whampoa Dock, and over a hundred Commercial Corps soldiers without weapons disembarked.

To prevent accidents, the Principal sent First Phase students to stand guard and patrol along the route from the wharf to the playground, preventing Commercial Corps personnel from going to other parts of the school.

Chen Lianbo and the other comprador merchants each took a master's chair, drank tea, sat in the middle of the playground, and watched the soldiers move the weapons.

"Do you see? The guns carried by these Whampoa students are different from before!" a merchant reminded them.

"Yes, I just saw many old Russians in the school!" another comprador nodded, reporting his discovery.

Chen Lianbo raised his hand to signal everyone to stop talking: "Don't speak yet; we'll talk about these things after we return tonight."

In the Principal's office, the Principal lifted a corner of the curtain and said: "How many have they moved?"

He Yingqin, standing to the side, said: "Roughly estimated, nearly two thousand rifles."

The Principal glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already six o'clock: "Take some people over there and think of a way to make them stop quickly; tell them to come back and move them in a few days."

"Yes!"

Soon, He Yingqin led fully armed students to negotiate with Chen Lianbo, the head of the Commercial Corps.

"What? It's only past six, and you want us to leave?" Chen Lianbo shouted angrily.

"It's getting late; the students need to go back for dinner, and the Whampoa Military Academy will enforce a curfew tonight, with no one allowed to enter or leave. Your Commercial Corps naturally cannot stay here; come back another day." He Yingqin waved his hand and began to drive them away.

"Another day? Is tomorrow okay?"

"No, tomorrow is the Double Tenth Festival, the military academy is on holiday, and there's no time."

"Then the day after tomorrow!"

"Not necessarily; you go back and wait for notification..." He Yingqin called the students to line up and gather, forming a formation in front of Chen Lianbo.

"I've only been moving for less than two hours; once the ship leaves, who will compensate for the burned fuel?!" Chen Lianbo was obviously furious.

"I can't help that; if you don't leave, I'll have to drive you away by force!" He Yingqin placed his hand on his pistol holster.

Chen Lianbo darkened his face, stood up, and returned to the Haver Ship cargo vessel.

At night, at Taikoo Dock, the Haver Ship cargo vessel carrying two thousand rifles and transporting Chen Lianbo and other Commercial Corps leaders docked at a T-shaped berth.

"Chen Tuan Zhang, you acted so quickly; have all nine thousand rifles been transported back?" Tomson, the British man in charge of Taikoo Dock, came to the deck of the Haver Ship cargo vessel, saw Chen Lianbo, and asked happily.

"Don't mention it; only two thousand rifles were transported back. The Whampoa Military Academy found an excuse, and the rest will have to be retrieved next time."

Tomson thought for a moment: "Two thousand rifles are enough. Your Commercial Corps already has four thousand people with guns. Together with the Foshan Commercial Corps and the village militias organized by landlords across Guangdong Province, you can organize a Commercial Corps Joint Defense Army of over ten thousand people. The British Hong Kong Fleet will support you. After overthrowing the Grand Marshal's Office, we will support you in taking power and establishing a government."

Chen Lianbo was very excited: "Has your country's government already agreed? If the Empire supports this, this matter will surely succeed!"

Tomson shook his head with a smile: "For this kind of thing, how could the Empire directly step forward? But rest assured, we British merchants will all support you. HSBC and Taikoo Shipping will support from behind. If the situation becomes critical, the Consul General of the Empire's Consulate General in Guangdong will also act, allowing the Empire's Hong Kong Fleet to step forward and support in the name of protecting British merchants."

Chen Lianbo became uncertain again: "If that's the case, it's possible, but can we wait a few more days until I have all the Commercial Corps' weapons transported back?"

"We can't wait any longer. Think about it: over these years, how many arms transport conveniences has my Taikoo Shipping provided you? How much financial support did Stephen, the president of HSBC, give you? How many times did Giles, the Consul General of the Empire's Consulate General in Guangdong, back you up? Grand Marshal Sun has chilled the hearts of us merchants; you cannot let us down..."

"Tomorrow is the Double Tenth Festival, a perfect time to create unrest. The Grand Marshal has also gone north to Shaoguan. This opportunity must not be missed. Rest assured, with the Empire's fleet backing you, personnel, speedboats, and firearms are all prepared. Go ahead and do it boldly!"

With Tomson's guarantee, Chen Lianbo gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind: "Let's do it! Why should kings and nobles be born to their stations?"

The Double Tenth Festival is a commemorative day established to commemorate the Xinhai Revolution and the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, equivalent to the National Day of the Republic of China.

On that day, factories and schools in the city were closed, and people took to the streets to celebrate.

Trade unions organized workers to march in the streets and hold celebration activities.

Universities and middle schools also suspended classes, and students flocked to the streets to participate in commemorative activities.

On this day that should have been celebrated nationwide, the Zhili clique and the Fengtian clique were fighting a major war, which was indeed ironic.

At the Army and Navy General Headquarters stationed in Shaoguan, the Grand Marshal also organized a parade celebration. Jiang Xiangyun and He Zhonghan, among others, represented the teachers and students of the Whampoa Military Academy to accept the Grand Marshal's inspection.

What no one knew was that within Guangzhou City in the rear, a conspiracy was quietly unfolding.

At Dasha Tou Wharf on the north bank of the Pearl River, many speedboats had gathered. A group of people carrying large bags were loading sack after sack onto the speedboats, their eyes glancing from time to time toward the Grand Marshal's Office on the opposite bank, as if that were their destination.

At Xiguan Street Market, the most prosperous area in Guangzhou City, trade unions and students were holding gatherings, giving speeches, and celebrating. Among the crowd hid faces with ruthless expressions, ready to erupt and kill at any moment.

At Taikoo Dock, the two thousand rifles transported last night had already been distributed. Two thousand Commercial Corps soldiers were rotating there in the early morning, received their guns, and left the dock directly, heading toward the Grand Marshal's Office to the north.