Chapter 15: The Mutiny at Huangni Port (Part 2)

  Soon after, a red lantern was raised in a barracks outside Huangni Port, which was the signal sent by the insurgent troops in the town and also the target of artillery observation. Any place with such a lantern was a stronghold that refused to respond to the uprising. According to the prior agreement, Zhao Bei would command the artillery to bombard these strongholds, destroying the reactionary forces that blocked the uprising. As for the coordinates of those barracks, they had long been marked on the artillery's firing range map.

  "Range ×××, direction ×××. Aim, fire!" The artillery platoon leader gave the order to open fire in a crisp and concise manner.

  "Boom! Boom!"

  The mountain gun's barrel recoiled violently, causing the gun body to shake slightly. Two 75mm shells broke free from the chamber's restraint and flew into the air at an initial velocity of nearly three hundred meters per second, drawing a beautiful high-angle arc in the sky before slamming into the ground, exploding into two dazzling flowers of death. The sound of the shell explosion took several seconds to echo back to the mountain ridge.

  "Shell short. Adjust angle ×××, azimuth ×××. Aim, fire!" The artillery platoon leader calmly adjusted the elevation and azimuth of the mountain gun, and then two more shells flew over, accurately hitting near the red lantern, and in the explosion's flames, one could see the figures running wildly in all directions.

  In one breath, more than 20 shells were fired, and the red lantern was blown out twice in a row. Only when a green lantern rose did the artillery stop firing, then turned its muzzle to another direction, and fiercely opened fire on a newly risen lantern. Later, the number of red lanterns in Huangni Port increased, and the two mountain cannons had to aim at different targets separately. Although this dispersed the firepower, it deepened the panic level inside and outside the town. The red lanterns went out one by one, indicating that the commanders of those camps accepted the surrender, handed over their command power, changed their stubborn stance, led their subordinates to respond to the uprising, and the revolutionary forces grew steadily and rapidly.

  At the same time, in the tallest courtyard in the center of Huangmigang Town, the Qing Empire's special envoy and Governor-General of Liangjiang, Duanfang, and the Right Minister of the Ministry of War, Yin Chang, were frantically directing the Goshha guards to fire randomly, occupying this high-walled courtyard and continuing their stance against the revolution.

  Listening to the distant and near explosions, Du Fang's six senses were disordered, shrinking behind a millstone, his hands covering his ears, trembling uncontrollably. He felt as if he had returned to the year 1905 at the Qianmen Railway Station, back to that luxurious carriage, with a revolutionary standing beside him, holding a bomb and staring fiercely. For a moment, Du Fang himself was confused, unable to distinguish whether this was his own illusion or if someone was really standing in front of him.

  "Sir! Sir!" The person in front of him shook his sturdy shoulders vigorously, finally bringing this high-ranking official of the imperial court back from his reverie.

  The revolutionary has disappeared, replaced by Zhang Biao's face that is almost twisted.

  "What?" Duan Fang covered his ears with both hands and looked up at Zhang Biao with a bewildered expression.

  "It's all gone wrong! The 8th Division of Hubei, the 21st Mixed Brigade, and the 9th Division of Jiangsu have all been defeated! I've also been shot at by our own people!" Zhang Biao crouched down.

  Duan Fang only then saw clearly, Zhang Biao's left neck had a patch of blood, staining the left half of his military uniform red. If this bullet had been shot a bit more to the side, Zhang Biao might have already "died for the country".

  "It's not easy for me to bring people out of the siege, but now there are rebel soldiers everywhere! Sir, the Hubei New Army and Jiangsu New Army have been defeated, they are no longer our troops!" Zhang Biao quickly helped Tong Fang up and said urgently: "Sir, while the rebel soldiers have not yet surrounded us, we will fight to the death to protect you and break out!"

  "Rumble!"

  As soon as they took a step forward, a shell landed just outside the courtyard, exploding within ten or so steps of the wall. Scorching shrapnel flew everywhere, and Goshah, who was shooting from atop the wall, let out a blood-curdling scream as he clutched his head and tumbled down. Almost simultaneously, everyone stopped firing, and an eerie silence fell over the courtyard.

  "I won't go!" A loud, tearful howl echoed through the darkness. Before he could crouch back down to the millstone, a large red lantern was thrown into the courtyard from outside and landed at the base of the wall, rolling around for a moment.

  "Quick! Extinguish it! Extinguish it!" Zhang Biao shouted like a madman, and before others could understand what he meant, he ran over in several steps, trampling and pulling to extinguish the lantern.

  "Don't just stand there! Fire, fire quickly! Shoot at everyone approaching the yard! Can't let them throw lanterns in, once they're thrown in, it's all over! Wherever the lanterns fall, that's where the cannons will fire!" Zhang Biao yelled from under the wall.

  Yin Chang approached with a lantern in hand and asked in a low voice, "Where did the rebel soldiers get their cannons? Did they seize the baggage boat?"

  Zhang Biao covered the wound on his neck, gritting his teeth and said: "It doesn't seem like the camp's cannon, it was fired from the mountain ridge opposite, the cannon is on the mountain! Sir, don't you understand? The mutinous soldiers have bullets in their hands, and there are cannons on the mountain to assist them, they must have external support! The ammunition ship? The people I sent were all beaten back, the ammunition there is probably all gone to the mutinous soldiers."

  "Could it be Anqing? The Anqing rebels?" Yingchang looked up and around, but the courtyard walls were too high, and from inside the yard, he couldn't see the hills. After nightfall, the wired telegraph connecting Wuhan was cut off, and at that time, Yingchang felt something was fishy. Now thinking back, it's likely the rebels' doing.

  "General, give the order! If we don't break out now, we won't be able to escape!" Zhang Biao cried out.

  But before the order to break through was given, a shell landed in the courtyard, exploding with a deafening crash, and several goshas were blown into the air. The courtyard was thrown into instant chaos.

  "Don't let them throw lanterns! Don't let them throw lanterns!" Zhang Biao shouted hoarsely, but it was all in vain. There was no need for lanterns to be thrown into the yard anymore, as Wu Zhenhan's assault team had already taken down the iron bridge outside the town. The Hubei New Army Engineering Battalion, which had risen up, had set up a telephone line outside the town and established direct contact with Zhao Bei on the mountain ridge, who was in command of the entire situation. As a result, there was no need to rely on lanterns to indicate artillery fire, as the artillery on the mountain ridge could accurately extend their firepower through two military telephones in the dark.

  "Surrender! You are surrounded! If you don't surrender, everything will be destroyed!" The shouting of people came from outside the courtyard, very clear in the darkness, apparently using a simple loudspeaker. Accompanied by this, the gunfire outside also subsided for a moment.

  "Is that not Pi Wenxu outside? You eat the emperor's salary, yet you raise a flag and rebel. Ask yourself, what has the imperial court done to wrong you?" Zhang Biao recognized the voice of the person shouting, although he was not one of his subordinates, but during the autumn maneuvers he had spoken with that Pi Wenxu quite a bit, and the other's thick Shou County accent left a deep impression.

  "Zhang Biao! Honestly, I'm telling you that I've already joined the Tongmenghui and have a share in the Yuewanghui in Anqing City. Don't mention anything about imperial favor to me, bah! I'm rebelling against the Qing for the sake of revolution! Let me tell you, not only has the Hubei army rebelled, but our Jiangsu new army has also fully rebelled, and Xu Shaozhen has been captured by us. We've made up our minds that unless we eliminate you, we won't leave!" The person outside shouted.

  Look at those wavering subordinates, Yin Chang raised his pistol and fired two shots. "I await the king's salary and loyal service to the king! Today is the day we show our loyalty to the king! Who dares to surrender? I, Yin Chang, know him, but my pistol doesn't!"

  "Yin Chang! You scoundrel, your crimes are heinous! Die!...... Fire!" The person outside the courtyard shouted loudly. With the order to fire, the sky once again echoed with the "whooshing" sound of cannonballs piercing the air. One cannonball landed on the woodshed behind the courtyard, causing a raging inferno. Another cannonball blasted the wing room, sending tiles flying everywhere, covering the entire courtyard.

  "Boom! Boom!"

  But in just a few short minutes, more than ten shells fell into the courtyard, and then suddenly stopped shelling.

  " Vanguard officers have orders! Capture Yin Chang alive, reward silver thousand two! Capture Duan Fang alive, reward silver thousand two! Brothers in the courtyard, capture the dog officials and get rewards! If you are stubborn and resist the revolution, it is your own fault! The revolutionary army's shells will blow up all the reactionary forces! You are banner people, but as long as you do not resist the revolution, we will give you a way out!" The battalion commander outside the courtyard continued to stir up the soldiers' minds.

  Yin Chang felt that the eyes of several Goshahs beside him were not quite right, and he couldn't help but shiver. Before he could even raise his gun, he was grabbed from behind by one person, and then several others rushed up, snatching away the pistol and flashlight in his hands. His arms were twisted behind his back, and he was pressed to the ground. Then, Yin Chang's nine-dragon belt was pulled off, and his hands were bound behind him.

  "Zhang Biao, you've brought a good army! A thousand taels of silver, is that all I'm worth? You bunch of canine slaves, the pearl on my official hat alone is worth more than 4,000 taels of silver!"

  Yin Chang heard Duan Fang wailing in the distance, turned his head to look, and saw that not only had Duan Fang been captured, but also Zhang Biao, the commander of the 11th town who had mixed in with them, was tied up like a rice dumpling. Apparently, the words of the previous chaotic soldier had taken effect, and between silver coins and cannonballs, these Goshahs wisely chose the former, not hesitating to betray their lord for glory.

  "Brothers outside, listen! We've captured Duan Fang and Yin Chang! Don't fire the cannons again! As long as you swear not to kill us, we'll surrender!" One of the Goshha killed the guard captain, wiping his bayonet while shouting loudly towards the wall outside, and conveniently cut off the yellow horse jacket on Duan Fang's body with a knife, wrapping Yin Chang's pistol and throwing it out of the courtyard.

  ……

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