1 July 1917
Imperator Pax
Talon Master
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1 July 1917
It was a madhouse this morning. There was no two ways about, and they were lucky that they'd been here and not in Xian, but it was July and well... there had been plans for finances, and looking at steel numbers coupled with a long over due conversation as they prepared to deliver to Tietsin the Australian's order.
A warning telegram had gone out before midnight. Something had been going on in Peking for the last couple of days, but it hadn't seemed like anything more than the backroom deals that had been going back and forth since march.
Then over a period of about eight hours the pieces started to fall into place. The President of the Republic had signed his name to a piece of paper that endorsed a new constitutional order... the restoration of the last Qing Emperor, the pipsqueak who lived in the forbiden city. At four am the Wu Wei corp troops secured the city, and with the help of the capital police began the process of informing by placard and criers the announcements of Imperial Restoration.
The five thousand Wu Wei Corp Troops in the capital had little trouble taking control of the city apparatus. No, the problem wasn't Peking. It wasn't even the south. It was trying to assert and ascertain authority. Who was in charge, who had the ability to exert power.
That was where the shooting started, at least so far as the shooting that made the news. Percy had managed to get in the door somehow, but he was late. "John Allen."
"Not now Percy." He shouldered past the smaller man with the rifle slung over his back, and another in his hand along with one of the tin boxes. Men all around them were girding for war. Cartridge belts slung over chests in a way that evoked another conflict.
"John Allen." The englishman protested.
"Move," Another American voice grunted and Waite shoulder checked Percival Graves out of his way without a pause. The engineer had a Lewis gun in both hands. "We got fighting to do." He snarled. Percy straightened his uniform, and seemed to slow down enough to look around at the seventy or so men in the office were busy with guns of their own.
"What are you doing?" Percy asked before realizing he was being left behind followed them back to the elevator he had presumably come up, "John Allen, Zhang Xun has positively lost his mind." The englishman's hands shook.
"Yep." Allen agreed shifting the Browning rifle he was carrying in his other hand to avoid having it smack another man with a Lewis.
"What do you mean Yep. Thats not a response." A couple of grayback ncos and officers alike turned slighted. "That's not a response John Allen. He's gone crazy."
"Pretty much." He agreed. Percy shook in growing display of ... was he losing his nerve.
"The ... the capital."
"Peking isn't our problem, Percy. Zhu is my problem."
Percy's face was starting to discolor, but he slowly processed the words, and maybe that was enough of a line for him to reel himself back in, "Well what did he do?"
"He," Or admittedly more likely someone under his command really, "Made the mistake of shooting at Cole, and the lads over there." There was a thud as the elevator came to rest on the ground floor and opened back into the foyer of the big build. "Sounds like they had an argument, we've got a couple of wounded already. I mean to make him regret that." Allen moved out with the rest following he took a right and followed that side of the building all the way to the waiting Quads with their large beds, and then looked up the color sergeant supervising the loading. "Wang how are we on time?"
"Another hour." The NCO looked apologetic. "Still gassing some of the fords, and loading ammunition."
"Get it done."
"Sir." A salute, and then the NCO commenced to yelling at the enlisted.
He moved on. Percy followed until they hit the raised platform. "What are you going to do?"
"Near as we can figure Zhang wants to control the railways to the capital, the Capital Guards look like they mustered to try and seize the northern line." that seemed like the most obvious situation. "We're going to cut the line going south before those troops get here, or they can get down to reinforce Zhu's boys in Zhengzhou, then we're going to swing and relieve Cole."
He nodded, "You're going to swing, and relieve Cullen-" He trailed off as a tractor lumbered up the ramp onto a flat car, "Oh heavens what are those."
Percy's surprise was a little absurd the transition from hydro spring recoil to hydro pneumatic shouldn't have been that much of a shock, "150 mm howitzer improved model." There were four of the monstrous guns. Descendants of the guns that had broken Bai Lang's attack on Xian three years earlier fitted with modern recoil, and new trails. Each of them had a tractor to pull them and two more tractors just for carrying wagons of ammo waiting for their turn to mount flatbeds and be tied in.
"That's them." The artillery man swung up, the red leg looked happy as he'd been. "We're gonna put some work in." Dawes slapped the englishman heartily on the shoulder. "Cao Kun is furious at Zhu Jiabao, you should hear that boy swear."
"And third division?"
"Mostly in and around Tietsin," Dawes shrugged. "he swears Duan's trying to get more people, but so long as Zhang has the eastern rail..." Then there was little way Cao Kun's main force could cross the province to the west... for any of a number of reasons.
Had Zhang known he was going to have to do that... they had really misread this whole mess. "Get this engine finished loading," He barked, "I want a phone line to the southern garrison to fill Colonel Shan in at the Bashan base area." Then there would getting ahold of the rest of his staff. "I want a meeting of the staff officers comprised on the car as soon as we are underway." Runners went to run, someone would have to phone the southern command... and then have to wait for the duty officer there to fetch... "Percy if you're coming, go find a seat on the train. I have things to do." There was too much to do, the excitement around the yard reminded him of when they had shipped from New York heading for the west, or even when they had departed San Francisco bay for the Philippines the first time... or when he'd stood on the train with the Japanese to observe their war with the Russians... he'd been here before.
--
They had stowed Percy off, two cars down, it had been almost tempting to ship with the second train, but the risked a bigger hullaballoo. "I'm taking a battalion from second," Waite stated and using a pointer to move along the map, "Cover this frontage here, if we don't make contact immediately, I'll drag up breastworks along this eight hundred yards, we'll dig in and throw along barbed wire and that should stop a charge."
"You're thinking cavalry?"
"Most likely. Still with the Wu Wei corp included if the capital troops have swapped over there must be close to eleven thousand troops going along with this 'Restoration'." He replied, and that was just the troops they knew were involved "I don't know what Zhu thinks he's doing."
The report of lancers was, borderline absurd in this day and age, but there was the chance Zhu intent was to show the flag and not actually commit to some fool expression of gallantry on north china's plains. The cherry wood table in the dining car had had one of the survey maps thrown over it, which had the advantage of up to date, and modern scaled topographic coverage of Zhili and the surrounding countryside.
"I've the question whether Zhu is slow, or if just doesn't know what he's doing?"
Allen turned to glance to Dawes, "How do you figure?"
"What I'm saying is the shooting in Zhengzhou started, what two hours ago. Zhang started throwing banners up at four am this morning, and he put his Wu Wei corp on the eastern rail line that stops anyone from coming in from tietsin." There were nods of acknowledgement, which seemed to have been the general disposition of troops that they knew for sure were under Zhang's direct command command. The old Qing style battalions though, who had admittedly been quick to side with Zhang's manchu restoration had started acting a couple hours later... but they hadn't been as fast to move anywhere, at least not until after daylight.
As nominal civilian head of the province Zhu had battalions under his command, and had attempted according to the wire to seize the rail line. "It looks like they're trying to secure the approaches to the capital."
"Right, which is what it probably is." Dawes agreed, "I think Zhu is aping what he thinks Zhang is doing without understanding why Zhang does it." The artilleryman swept a couple wood figures around the map, "He has moved his maxim guns and tried to cut the rail line, now Cole doesn't think he was after the mortars or other stuff we're shipping to the Australians, but Zhengzhou's way south of anywhere else that Zhu can order troops."
... and if he had tried it then he would have probably started a row with either Cao Kun ordinarily... or since Cao was in Tietsin, one of his subordinates in 3rd division. ... but of course Cao had taken his division with him to Tietsin. "I suppose the real question really boils down to the disposition of the penny packets Zhu has spread out." There were infantry battalions, really more like large companies at Zhengzhou, there were the reported cavalry at Baoding. "What about your redlegs?"
Dawes pointed to a hill to the northwest about four miles behind Waite's proposed breastworks, "I"ll encamp my people there, and we'll run lines, and dig the howitzers in, the battery will have elevation to cover the approaches and we can swing to."
That, that was the beginning. Four company sized formations comprising a battalion to deploy in the north, and the battle lines had been drawn.
--
Notes I take the position that it was more likely that Li was coerced by Zhang Xun to signing his name to the restoration than that it was a forgery, particularly because Zhang allowed Li to resign and leave for tietsin the morning of. I expect Li claimed Zhang forged it to try and save his already damaged reputation from further harm. That is the interpretation presented here in regards to the legal fiction surrounding the restoration of Puyi. Historically on the 1st of July there were some minor skirmishes but for the most part no serious battles between troops in Zhili province as most units within the area of the capital somewhat danced around one another in apparent confusion over what was going on.
Indeed here that confusion is what actually causes the fighting to break out. Zhu Jiabao attempting to emulate Zhang's seizing of the railroad instigates a brief exchange escalating to the conflict here rather than both sides backing off and not getting into a protracted firefight with each calling for reinforcements from their respective sides.
For reference a Qing Territorial Defense Battalion (infantry) was nominally 504 men on paper, but were often either a result of graft or just problems with retention were single company formations under the command of local literati or gentry. This became pointedly worse in the republic as local elites were given honorary command of groups of men, that they would then enhance by declaring their unit to be a size larger for the prestige, without actually increasing men under arms. And again to refer back for comparison to pre-xian rifle battalions, they're roughly equivalent in manpower to Qing Regiments in strength (as by the end of the White Wolf Rebellion they're equivalent in size to a British Rifle Battalion's number of men)
It was a madhouse this morning. There was no two ways about, and they were lucky that they'd been here and not in Xian, but it was July and well... there had been plans for finances, and looking at steel numbers coupled with a long over due conversation as they prepared to deliver to Tietsin the Australian's order.
A warning telegram had gone out before midnight. Something had been going on in Peking for the last couple of days, but it hadn't seemed like anything more than the backroom deals that had been going back and forth since march.
Then over a period of about eight hours the pieces started to fall into place. The President of the Republic had signed his name to a piece of paper that endorsed a new constitutional order... the restoration of the last Qing Emperor, the pipsqueak who lived in the forbiden city. At four am the Wu Wei corp troops secured the city, and with the help of the capital police began the process of informing by placard and criers the announcements of Imperial Restoration.
The five thousand Wu Wei Corp Troops in the capital had little trouble taking control of the city apparatus. No, the problem wasn't Peking. It wasn't even the south. It was trying to assert and ascertain authority. Who was in charge, who had the ability to exert power.
That was where the shooting started, at least so far as the shooting that made the news. Percy had managed to get in the door somehow, but he was late. "John Allen."
"Not now Percy." He shouldered past the smaller man with the rifle slung over his back, and another in his hand along with one of the tin boxes. Men all around them were girding for war. Cartridge belts slung over chests in a way that evoked another conflict.
"John Allen." The englishman protested.
"Move," Another American voice grunted and Waite shoulder checked Percival Graves out of his way without a pause. The engineer had a Lewis gun in both hands. "We got fighting to do." He snarled. Percy straightened his uniform, and seemed to slow down enough to look around at the seventy or so men in the office were busy with guns of their own.
"What are you doing?" Percy asked before realizing he was being left behind followed them back to the elevator he had presumably come up, "John Allen, Zhang Xun has positively lost his mind." The englishman's hands shook.
"Yep." Allen agreed shifting the Browning rifle he was carrying in his other hand to avoid having it smack another man with a Lewis.
"What do you mean Yep. Thats not a response." A couple of grayback ncos and officers alike turned slighted. "That's not a response John Allen. He's gone crazy."
"Pretty much." He agreed. Percy shook in growing display of ... was he losing his nerve.
"The ... the capital."
"Peking isn't our problem, Percy. Zhu is my problem."
Percy's face was starting to discolor, but he slowly processed the words, and maybe that was enough of a line for him to reel himself back in, "Well what did he do?"
"He," Or admittedly more likely someone under his command really, "Made the mistake of shooting at Cole, and the lads over there." There was a thud as the elevator came to rest on the ground floor and opened back into the foyer of the big build. "Sounds like they had an argument, we've got a couple of wounded already. I mean to make him regret that." Allen moved out with the rest following he took a right and followed that side of the building all the way to the waiting Quads with their large beds, and then looked up the color sergeant supervising the loading. "Wang how are we on time?"
"Another hour." The NCO looked apologetic. "Still gassing some of the fords, and loading ammunition."
"Get it done."
"Sir." A salute, and then the NCO commenced to yelling at the enlisted.
He moved on. Percy followed until they hit the raised platform. "What are you going to do?"
"Near as we can figure Zhang wants to control the railways to the capital, the Capital Guards look like they mustered to try and seize the northern line." that seemed like the most obvious situation. "We're going to cut the line going south before those troops get here, or they can get down to reinforce Zhu's boys in Zhengzhou, then we're going to swing and relieve Cole."
He nodded, "You're going to swing, and relieve Cullen-" He trailed off as a tractor lumbered up the ramp onto a flat car, "Oh heavens what are those."
Percy's surprise was a little absurd the transition from hydro spring recoil to hydro pneumatic shouldn't have been that much of a shock, "150 mm howitzer improved model." There were four of the monstrous guns. Descendants of the guns that had broken Bai Lang's attack on Xian three years earlier fitted with modern recoil, and new trails. Each of them had a tractor to pull them and two more tractors just for carrying wagons of ammo waiting for their turn to mount flatbeds and be tied in.
"That's them." The artillery man swung up, the red leg looked happy as he'd been. "We're gonna put some work in." Dawes slapped the englishman heartily on the shoulder. "Cao Kun is furious at Zhu Jiabao, you should hear that boy swear."
"And third division?"
"Mostly in and around Tietsin," Dawes shrugged. "he swears Duan's trying to get more people, but so long as Zhang has the eastern rail..." Then there was little way Cao Kun's main force could cross the province to the west... for any of a number of reasons.
Had Zhang known he was going to have to do that... they had really misread this whole mess. "Get this engine finished loading," He barked, "I want a phone line to the southern garrison to fill Colonel Shan in at the Bashan base area." Then there would getting ahold of the rest of his staff. "I want a meeting of the staff officers comprised on the car as soon as we are underway." Runners went to run, someone would have to phone the southern command... and then have to wait for the duty officer there to fetch... "Percy if you're coming, go find a seat on the train. I have things to do." There was too much to do, the excitement around the yard reminded him of when they had shipped from New York heading for the west, or even when they had departed San Francisco bay for the Philippines the first time... or when he'd stood on the train with the Japanese to observe their war with the Russians... he'd been here before.
--
They had stowed Percy off, two cars down, it had been almost tempting to ship with the second train, but the risked a bigger hullaballoo. "I'm taking a battalion from second," Waite stated and using a pointer to move along the map, "Cover this frontage here, if we don't make contact immediately, I'll drag up breastworks along this eight hundred yards, we'll dig in and throw along barbed wire and that should stop a charge."
"You're thinking cavalry?"
"Most likely. Still with the Wu Wei corp included if the capital troops have swapped over there must be close to eleven thousand troops going along with this 'Restoration'." He replied, and that was just the troops they knew were involved "I don't know what Zhu thinks he's doing."
The report of lancers was, borderline absurd in this day and age, but there was the chance Zhu intent was to show the flag and not actually commit to some fool expression of gallantry on north china's plains. The cherry wood table in the dining car had had one of the survey maps thrown over it, which had the advantage of up to date, and modern scaled topographic coverage of Zhili and the surrounding countryside.
"I've the question whether Zhu is slow, or if just doesn't know what he's doing?"
Allen turned to glance to Dawes, "How do you figure?"
"What I'm saying is the shooting in Zhengzhou started, what two hours ago. Zhang started throwing banners up at four am this morning, and he put his Wu Wei corp on the eastern rail line that stops anyone from coming in from tietsin." There were nods of acknowledgement, which seemed to have been the general disposition of troops that they knew for sure were under Zhang's direct command command. The old Qing style battalions though, who had admittedly been quick to side with Zhang's manchu restoration had started acting a couple hours later... but they hadn't been as fast to move anywhere, at least not until after daylight.
As nominal civilian head of the province Zhu had battalions under his command, and had attempted according to the wire to seize the rail line. "It looks like they're trying to secure the approaches to the capital."
"Right, which is what it probably is." Dawes agreed, "I think Zhu is aping what he thinks Zhang is doing without understanding why Zhang does it." The artilleryman swept a couple wood figures around the map, "He has moved his maxim guns and tried to cut the rail line, now Cole doesn't think he was after the mortars or other stuff we're shipping to the Australians, but Zhengzhou's way south of anywhere else that Zhu can order troops."
... and if he had tried it then he would have probably started a row with either Cao Kun ordinarily... or since Cao was in Tietsin, one of his subordinates in 3rd division. ... but of course Cao had taken his division with him to Tietsin. "I suppose the real question really boils down to the disposition of the penny packets Zhu has spread out." There were infantry battalions, really more like large companies at Zhengzhou, there were the reported cavalry at Baoding. "What about your redlegs?"
Dawes pointed to a hill to the northwest about four miles behind Waite's proposed breastworks, "I"ll encamp my people there, and we'll run lines, and dig the howitzers in, the battery will have elevation to cover the approaches and we can swing to."
That, that was the beginning. Four company sized formations comprising a battalion to deploy in the north, and the battle lines had been drawn.
--
Notes I take the position that it was more likely that Li was coerced by Zhang Xun to signing his name to the restoration than that it was a forgery, particularly because Zhang allowed Li to resign and leave for tietsin the morning of. I expect Li claimed Zhang forged it to try and save his already damaged reputation from further harm. That is the interpretation presented here in regards to the legal fiction surrounding the restoration of Puyi. Historically on the 1st of July there were some minor skirmishes but for the most part no serious battles between troops in Zhili province as most units within the area of the capital somewhat danced around one another in apparent confusion over what was going on.
Indeed here that confusion is what actually causes the fighting to break out. Zhu Jiabao attempting to emulate Zhang's seizing of the railroad instigates a brief exchange escalating to the conflict here rather than both sides backing off and not getting into a protracted firefight with each calling for reinforcements from their respective sides.
For reference a Qing Territorial Defense Battalion (infantry) was nominally 504 men on paper, but were often either a result of graft or just problems with retention were single company formations under the command of local literati or gentry. This became pointedly worse in the republic as local elites were given honorary command of groups of men, that they would then enhance by declaring their unit to be a size larger for the prestige, without actually increasing men under arms. And again to refer back for comparison to pre-xian rifle battalions, they're roughly equivalent in manpower to Qing Regiments in strength (as by the end of the White Wolf Rebellion they're equivalent in size to a British Rifle Battalion's number of men)
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