Chapter 218: The Start of War (Part 1)

Build high walls, delay proclaiming kingship, and stockpile grain—these were Zhu Yuanzhang’s strategies when competing for power in the southeast. Yet what Liu Yu was doing now was the exact opposite.
Establish a nation, set a capital, and define its identity!
Since the beginning, they had been seen as thorns in the eyes of imperialists and the reactionary Qing regime. Liu Yu wasn’t afraid of making enemies everywhere. In this world and era, only power and interests mattered. If Napoleon hadn’t failed in Russia, he would have been the ruler of the European continent; once he lost at Moscow, he became the public enemy of the continent.
The Republic of Huaxia was officially established on January 1, 1886, with Wuhan serving as its provisional capital.
The news spread in various forms, completely transforming the landscape of Hubei within days.
In previous battles, the Black Flag Army had never displayed its own flag, officially calling itself a “moral army.” Though in open conflict with the Qing forces, it had never established a nation or capital. But now, it had defined its identity.
For the newly founded Republic of Huaxia, everything was still in its infancy, aside from military control. Liu Yu maintained this newborn nation through his personal authority. There was no real government structure yet, not even a decision on how to set up the highest authority or what kind of governance system to use.
In fact, this led to Liu Yu’s personal military dictatorship. With war as its primary goal, backed by monopolistic capital such as the Black Flag Bank and a powerful army, along with some newly trained administrative officials, the Republic of Huaxia barely had a core.
But when its flag was officially raised, people across the country were stirred. Whether it was Zhang, a butcher in Guangdong, Pan Dingxin, who was suppressing bandits on the Guangxi border, or anyone associated with the Black Flag Army, they all felt inspired, their faces showing determination.
They had long awaited this day. This news gave them immense invisible combat strength, boosting the morale of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians in the Black Flag Army’s control areas, as if a new dawn had risen.
In Hubei, the situation was even more evident. Although Liu Yu had to temporarily set Wuhan as the capital out of necessity, he received widespread approval from the people of the province.
Among the major cities under the Black Flag Army’s control, Guilin was too remote, and Guangzhou was constantly under attack by British and Japanese forces. The only viable options were Changsha and Wuhan. Changsha had seemed like a better choice, but considering the possibility of British and Japanese forces interfering with the Yangtze River, Liu Yu ultimately chose Wuhan.
“The emperor guards the country’s gates”—this is an ancient saying. Liu Yu’s decision to “temporarily” establish his capital in Wuhan meant that the Black Flag Army would never give up on Wuhan and would fight to the death against any enemy forces approaching it.
Once this order was issued, the people of Hubei responded enthusiastically. News spread rapidly across the country, with countless people willing to join the Black Flag Army. Alone, one prefecture and over twenty counties defected voluntarily, along with nearly ten thousand local troops and militia, not to mention the gentry who came over willingly.

To settle the local people there, Liu Yu also established the Hubei Advisory Council. Although it couldn’t be said that everyone was united at that time, the locals saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To show his determination not to abandon Wuhan, Liu Yu even founded a Capital Garrison Brigade.

The later “History of the Capital Garrison Division” described this turning point in thousands of words: “The establishment of the Huaxia Republic also marked the official formation of our division. From then on, our division was recorded in the history of the republic as a large military force…”

“The history of our division can be traced back to the era of Xiliu Camp. During the war against France, the predecessor units of our division achieved numerous military successes. In the subsequent great war for national restoration, their predecessors completed the glorious mission of protecting the headquarters during the Guangxi Campaign, but due to limited troop numbers, they failed to achieve major victories…”

“During the Hunan-Hubei Campaign, the predecessor units of our division served as the guard force for the headquarters. Although they only had two guard companies and one guard platoon, they eliminated 2,600 enemies during the entire campaign—four times their own strength. Through this campaign, our division’s troops were greatly tempered, and its structure was expanded to two independent guard battalions and two guard companies…”

“At the founding of the Huaxia Republic, our division underwent a major strategic reorganization. It incorporated one battalion from the old army, 600 retrained prisoners, 1,200 new recruits from Guangxi, and 600 new recruits from Hunan. It was officially restructured into a combat formation consisting of five infantry battalions and the Wuchang Guard Battalion. In addition, there was one regiment each for artillery, cavalry, engineers, and logistics, bringing the total troop strength to over 5,000…”

“From its inception, our brigade took on the glorious mission of guarding the capital. Given that tens of thousands of Qing rebels were attempting to launch a counterattack near Wuhan at that time, our brigade immediately engaged in fierce battles upon its establishment and achieved remarkable victories…”

It must be noted that Liu Yu created such a large military force solely to free the mobile forces from defending the three towns of Wuhan. After all, the two small battalions serving as the headquarters guard force were hardly mobile, making them the most suitable choice for guarding Wuhan.

However, Liu Yu never imagined that this unplanned reorganization would give rise to so many infantry divisions and regiments that would later achieve great military successes. This unit, originally meant for local security, would go on to accomplish astonishing feats.

The establishment of the Capital Garrison Brigade was timely. Had this last opportunity been missed, its glorious history might not have been written.

This infantry brigade was not part of the core forces of the Black Flag Army. Although two of its battalions originated from the old Black Flag Army, they were relatively new, and their combat strength ranked as second-rate among the Black Flag Army’s forces—almost third-rate. Yet they found their best opponents.

With the name “Black Flag Army” combined with advanced organization, tactics, and firearms, they could defeat any Qing army. Although the Qing forces in Hubei showed signs of revival inspired by the British troops, the Garrison Brigade dealt them heavy blows time and again.

Although the main forces of the Black Flag Army had completely withdrawn from Wuhan, public order in the three towns remained better than before. The temporarily formed military police took over most of the security duties in the city, while the Garrison Brigade carried out continuous mobile operations and attacks using tactics of seizing territory.

In the first three months, this 5,000-strong combat unit achieved astonishing results, killing or capturing around 24,000 enemies; they didn’t even bother to count the number of enemies wounded. They even advanced as far as within Henan Province.
But at present, the most critical issue for Liu Yu and the Black Flag Army remains the battles against the Allied forces of Britain and Japan in Guangdong.