After Chen Duxiu told the cadres of the Yue Wang Hui about the plan proposed by Zhang Yu, the upper echelons of the Yue Wang Hui, which were already not very united, immediately fell into a confrontational situation. All cadres who had faced reality and accepted that the Yue Wang Hui simply did not have the ability to promote revolution alone expressed that they could accept Zhang Yu's arrangement. Cadres who still believed the Yue Wang Hui could make a comeback were completely opposed. Even if these hardliners knew that People's Party officers and soldiers had to engage in labor, they still stubbornly believed that they were different from the People's Party, and as cadres, they shouldn't do "menial" work.

The debate went on for most of the day. Cadres including Chang Hengfang and Fan Chuanjia couldn't accept the People's Party's style, and Chen Duxiu couldn't persuade these comrades of the Yue Wang Hui either. Cadres represented by Bo Wenwei had already accepted reality; they simply refused to discuss with the hardliners. The meeting broke up in discord.

The next day, Chang Hengfang and others found Chen Duxiu. As the representative figure, Chang Hengfang spoke first: "Mr. Chen, we are preparing to leave Anqing for Hubei."

Although he knew early on that this conflict was almost inevitable, Chen Duxiu couldn't help feeling a bit sad. The Yue Wang Hui, which had been established for nearly two years, finally reached its end. After Chang Hengfang and others left, those who chose to stay in Anqing would join the People's Party's ranks, and the signboard of the Yue Wang Hui would be no more.

"Are you preparing to go defect to Mr. Huang Xing?" Chen Duxiu asked.

"Defecting to anyone is better than following the People's Party." Chang Hengfang said almost gritting his teeth. This wasn't just Chang Hengfang's true attitude; other Yue Wang Hui cadres also held the same view.

"Mr. Chen, aren't you going with us?" A Yue Wang Hui cadre asked. They still hoped Chen Duxiu could go to Hubei with them.

This was a difficult question to answer. Chen Duxiu felt he couldn't say words of refusal no matter what. In a sense, these Yue Wang Hui cadres who chose to leave Anqing were persisting in the existence of the Yue Wang Hui, while Chen Duxiu, the founder, chose to break away from the Yue Wang Hui instead.

"Forget it, everyone has their own aspirations." Chang Hengfang stopped these cadres who hoped Chen Duxiu would go with them.

Taking this opportunity, Chen Duxiu hurriedly said: "Going to Hubei requires travel expenses. Let's distribute the remaining silver to everyone."

Last time they occupied Anqing, less than three thousand taels remained of the silver the Yue Wang Hui seized from the Anqing silver treasury. This money, kept with great difficulty, was not just a sum of money; it also signified the peak period the Yue Wang Hui once had. Chen Duxiu ordered that all Yue Wang Hui members who didn't want to leave Anqing get one tael each, and those willing to leave Anqing would divide the remaining money equally. Finally, more than one hundred seventy people were unwilling to leave Anqing, and the remaining two hundred people chose to leave. Some of those choosing to leave wanted to go to Hubei, and some chose to leave the Yue Wang Hui. Regardless of the reason, Chen Duxiu distributed the money to them. Although giving money wasn't elegant, at this end, giving money was the most practical approach.

As the money seized by the Yue Wang Hui from the Anqing silver treasury was distributed completely, this organization that was once famous in China completely dissolved.

Chang Hengfang and the others were also unwilling to stay long. The market in Anqing was depressed, and they couldn't even find a hotel to hold a farewell banquet. Moreover, these people loathed the People's Party to the extreme. Since they decided to leave, they didn't want to see the People's Party for even one more glance. They took their luggage and boarded the ferry across the river. After gathering on the opposite bank of the river, Chang Hengfang held a simple meeting. "Since the People's Party doesn't put us brothers in their eyes, we have no need to follow the People's Party and make fools of ourselves. Now that Mr. Huang Xing and Mr. Song Jiaoren have returned to Hubei, we might as well go defect to them."

These people choosing to leave Anqing might not really have any long-term goals; many just wanted to get rid of the current stagnant state but refused to join the People's Party, so they had to choose to leave. Hearing Chang Hengfang say he wanted to take them to Hubei, thinking of the long distance, these people felt great anxiety in their hearts. They were used to spending money lavishly; a dozen taels of silver looked like a lot, but actually, it wasn't enough to spend at all. Relying on this silver for travel expenses might be enough to find Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren, but what then? If they couldn't get a large sum of money again, life would still be extremely difficult.

Chang Hengfang could see these people's thoughts. "Wealth and honor are sought in danger. Now the People's Party has become powerful in Anhui. If we still stay in Anhui, we will be suppressed by the People's Party no matter what. Everyone knows that most of the People's Party leaders are not locals. If we work in Hubei, we may not necessarily be worse than the People's Party."

Even with Chang Hengfang's strong persuasion, more than one hundred people still chose to go home. Finally, more than seventy people chose to go to Hubei to join Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren. Others went in various directions, while this small team of more than seventy people marched towards the west without looking back.

The People's Party's controlled area in Jiangnan wasn't very large to begin with. Chang Hengfang led the crowd and left the People's Party's controlled area in less than two days. While resting, Chang Hengfang reorganized the personnel. The remaining seventy-plus people imitated the military system of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army and were organized into a unit of one company and four platoons. Chang Hengfang appointed himself as Political Commissar and appointed Fan Chuanjia as Company Commander. Disliking the People's Party was one thing; learning from the People's Party was another. The Yue Wang Hui troops were reorganized, copying the model to establish "officers and soldiers as one, branches built on the company." These two organizational models came from the People's Party. Politically, since the old purpose of the Yue Wang Hui couldn't be used, and there was no time to create a new political program temporarily, Chang Hengfang took "Expel the Tartars, Restore China" as the current slogan.

After all, it was a team that had experienced war. After some rectification, the remnants of the Yue Wang Hui could be said to have boosted morale. They even imitated the People's Party and sent out advance scouts, and the main force continued all the way towards the southwest.

In Wuhan, further west than the new Yue Wang Hui, the larger-scale and better-equipped Hubei New Army had also moved out at this time. The Manchu Qing strictly ordered the Eighth Town to participate in suppressing the Anhui chaotic party. According to convention, sending troops required giving money. Hubei didn't rely on the court for money at all last time they sent troops; it was completely Zhang Zhidong sending troops out of his own political considerations. Fortunately for the Manchu Qing, the current Huguang Governor Zhao Erxun was an official firmly opposed to revolution. The court agreed to exempt Hubei's tax revenue to offset the cost of sending troops, so Huguang Governor Zhao Erxun agreed to send out the Hubei New Army.

The Commander of the Eighth Town, Zhang Biao, immediately began preparations with gongs and drums. He first ordered the troops of the Thirty-first Regiment to take the lead. This order received the unanimous approval of officers and soldiers inside the New Army except for the Thirty-first Regiment. The Thirty-first Regiment was now called the "Manchu Battalion" (Manchu Regiment); this regiment had the most Manchus and was also the most enthusiastic unit in the so-called "purging the revolutionary party" action. Zhang Biao was extremely disgusted with them, so he took the opportunity of fighting to send them to the front line.

Of course, the reason was also the most sufficient. To block the retreat of the Thirty-first Regiment, Zhang Biao specifically wired the Ministry of Army, claiming the Thirty-first Regiment "purged chaotic parties, has firm will and is loyal and devoted. In the battle against the People's Party chaotic bandits, they will definitely have excellent performance." Even if the Ministry of Army knew Zhang Biao's little calculation, they couldn't openly stop the Thirty-first Regiment from going to the front line. When replying by telegram, they inevitably used a few official phrases like "fight the enemy bravely, repay the court."

With the Ministry of Army's reply telegram, Zhang Biao immediately strictly ordered the Thirty-first Regiment to take the lead, while the Thirtieth Regiment, which also had Manchu soldiers, set off as the follow-up force. As soon as these two regiments moved out, less than fifty *li* away from Wuhan, Zhang Biao began to release the unjustly imprisoned, releasing the surrendered soldiers who had been beaten horribly, forming a new "Logistics Battalion." In Zhang Biao's view, no matter what, these soldiers didn't surrender to the chaotic party but chose to return to the Hubei New Army here; this loyalty could be praised. The Thirty-first Regiment's way of acting recklessly was truly undesirable.

For the Hubei New Army, the "Manchu Battalion" going to fight meant that the reign of terror once blowing inside the Hubei New Army had also come to an end. The officers and soldiers all heaved a big sigh of relief; quite a few officers and soldiers even ran out to drink and celebrate. And this news naturally leaked out.

The intelligence system set up by the People's Party in the three towns of Wuhan quickly got the news. These news were immediately transmitted back through the People's Party's intelligence network.

After Zhang Yu learned the news of the New Army moving out, he heaved a big sigh of relief. It was actually the Manchu Battalion taking the lead; this matter made Zhang Yu feel it was incredible. The Hubei New Army's arrangement was fundamentally out of political calculations, not military considerations. Because the Thirty-first Regiment was sent out in a hurry, the Hubei New Army's most advantageous naval forces didn't even coordinate. What Zhang Yu worried about most was the Hubei New Army navy transporting troops to the opposite side of Anqing, and the army attacking the city while the navy carried out shelling.

The People's Party could certainly use street fighting means to cope, but the Military Commission always opposed turning Anqing into a battlefield now. This wasn't just because they had to consider the feelings of Anqing citizens; using Anqing to lure the enemy to station, and then annihilating the enemy completely—this tactic could bring a huge amount of captured materiel.

The Military Commission had the Military Commission's view; Zhang Yu had Zhang Yu's view. Since he didn't want to evacuate Anqing, what Zhang Yu wanted to see least was the Hubei New Army using their naval advantage to fight.

Now that the Thirty-first Regiment had exited Huangpi Pass and advanced east, it was clear that political struggle dominated military struggle. Regarding the "Manchu Battalion" acting recklessly within the New Army, the Hubei New Army's reaction was to kick the Thirty-first Regiment out first.

The largest-scale military operation Zhang Yu participated in commanding was the campaign where the People's Party attacked Anqing for the first time. In that campaign, the People's Party adopted the war means of exterior line operations. The reason for victory was certainly because the People's warriors were well-trained and brave in battle. But the Anhui New Army completely failed to consider that war would break out suddenly, reacted slowly, and was completely led by the nose by the People's Party; this was also an extremely important reason. In this campaign, Zhang Yu deepened a viewpoint. An army's psychological cognition of the "war zone" was very important.

The Anhui New Army didn't realize Anqing city was a war zone, so they were slack and slow. Facing a sudden war, they had no preparation at all. Failure was also expected.

The Hubei New Army was the same. If they were allowed to reach the vicinity of fifty *li* from Anqing city, the Hubei New Army would naturally think they were in a war zone. Psychologically, they would become nervous first, and naturally, there would be many precautions. If the Hubei New Army marched in an area they considered safe, a slack mood was simply unavoidable.

Zhang Yu's plan was a surprise long-distance march, setting an ambush on the Hubei New Army's marching route to severely damage or even annihilate the Thirty-first Regiment. Once a victorious battle was fought on the territory the Hubei New Army psychologically defaulted as theirs, the follow-up troops would be shaken psychologically and naturally wouldn't dare to act rashly.

To achieve such a military objective, accurate intelligence work was essential. Zhang Yu was very assured about intelligence work because although the troops stationed in Anqing were only one battalion, one company was the Reconnaissance Company of the Water Detachment. In intelligence warfare, and even in outpost skirmishes dealing with Hubei New Army scouts, Zhang Yu had confidence in inevitable victory.