Volume 1: Era Vanguard Chapter 3: Provincial Capital Intense Battle

  As the governor's envoy came to deliver the imperial edict, he had already ordered the transfer of all firearms and ammunition stored in the barracks to the eastern gunpowder depot. Therefore, except for the fifteen Japanese-made rifles and over 2,000 bullets seized from Goshaha's hands, this rebel army did not receive any military supplies. The primary task at present is to capture the eastern gunpowder depot to seize firearms and ammunition. To ensure that the second echelon completes the mission of capturing the depot smoothly, Zhao Bei allocated half of the rifles to Wu Zhenhan's second echelon. Since the battle has started, it can be confirmed that the defense of the gunpowder depot must have been strengthened, and the second echelon is likely to face a real fierce battle.

  As for Zhao Bei's first team, their task was not easy either. The Fu Tai government office was a heavily guarded area within the city, and during wartime, it was a key defensive point. Zhao Bei had already made up his mind that if they couldn't take it by force, he would set fire to the street, even if it meant involving civilian homes. He didn't care about anything as long as he could put the Qing army in the city into a state of chaos and leaderlessness. The uprising was now at a critical juncture, and for the sake of revolutionary success, showing mercy was not an option. Besides, revolution itself was an extreme act of violence, and there was no room for morality or time for Zhao Bei to consider moral issues.

  Zhao Bei and Wu Zhenhan left the barracks and took separate actions, quickly rushing towards their respective targets along the streets. Along the way, if they encountered telegraph poles and wires, regardless of whether they were telegraph lines or telephone lines, they would cut them off uniformly, cutting off the Qing army's command and communication links. To prevent accidental injury in the dark, all the insurgent officers and soldiers tied white cloth on their left arms, and Zhao Bei also changed into a soldier's uniform, majestically holding the commander's knife to lead the team forward.

  To avoid unnecessary encounters, the first echelon took to the back alleys, and also sent two soldiers familiar with the streets ahead as vanguards to guide the troops forward. When passing by a Western-style oil shop, Zhao Bei ordered the soldiers to smash open the door and requisitioned twenty barrels of oil for use in setting fires.

  When the oil was requisitioned, the owner of the oil shop did not make any protest. After the gunshot, almost all the people in the city knew that a military coup might have occurred, and every household closed their doors and windows tightly, not daring to come out to investigate. When Zhao Bei led his soldiers into the oil shop, the owner thought it was a group of rioting soldiers causing chaos, and he nearly forced his wife and children to hang themselves. Fortunately, this group of "rioting soldiers" did not kill or rape anyone, they just took the oil and left. Zhao Bei even ordered someone to leave behind a "requisition receipt". Seeing that these "rioting soldiers" did not disturb the women at all, the owner of the oil shop finally breathed a sigh of relief, untied the rope he had already tied up, and relocked the door of his shop.

  "Requisition of 20 barrels of foreign oil, collect payment with receipt. Revolutionary Military Government, Zhao."

  Looking at the simple requisition slip and the strange seal on it, the oil shop owner took half a day to come back to his senses, muttering: "This soldier robbed things and even left evidence? It's really strange."

  As for the oil shop owner's doubts, Zhao Bei naturally didn't have the mind to care about it, but just now when he was signing his name, he suddenly realized one thing - he couldn't write traditional Chinese characters.

  This was indeed a trouble, as a high-ranking military officer, being illiterate would not do, so on the way to the Xunfu Gate, Zhao Bei had already made up his mind that after the revolution succeeded, he would immediately go to the street to buy a "Kangxi Dictionary" and learn to write according to it.

  However, Zhao Bei soon threw this idea to the back of his mind, just as they were running past a fork in the road, a group of patrol soldiers came from another alley, and an encounter battle inevitably broke out.

  Bang! Bang!

  Bang! Bang!

  "Dada dada... dada dada..."

  ……

  Both sides hastily retreated, each occupying a street, relying on the low-rise houses to exchange fierce fire. Zhao Bei also took advantage of the opportunity to shoot the left-handed pistol continuously. At this time, if one didn't satisfy his gun addiction, it would be a shame for a pseudo-military enthusiast who had traveled through time and space.

  Bullets whizzed by, either hitting the roof tiles of the opposite house or flying high above people's heads and disappearing into the darkness. Amidst the gunfire, people continuously screamed as they fell off the rooftops, only to be replaced by others who fearlessly climbed up onto the roofs, stepping on their companions' shoulders, and continued to fiercely fire at the enemy.

  "Calm and steady! Save your bullets! The enemy is weak! Revolution will surely win!" Zhao Bei held up his pistol, pacing back and forth behind the house, boosting morale.

  But at this critical moment of life and death, any language is superfluous, bullets speak!

  Zhao Bei was extremely surprised by his own fearless courage, although at the beginning he was still a little frightened, but when he saw his soldiers covered in blood falling from the roof and another soldier climbing up again, he threw away this faint timidity. In the flashing gunsmoke, he calmly commanded his subordinates to fire, trying to suppress the enemy's firepower.

  The patrol team had sufficient ammunition and a machine gun, which they mounted on the roof of the house. After that, they quickly gained the upper hand in the crossfire. The two sides exchanged fire for only two minutes before the rebel forces were completely suppressed by the enemy's firepower. Under the withering fire from the machine gun, tiles flew off the roof and the rebel soldiers were unable to lift their heads. There was a moment of wavering.

  At the critical moment, Zhao Bei gave an order and two homemade bombs made from cigarette cans were ignited and thrown over. These were special homemade bombs brought from afar by the Guangfu Hui, filled with yellow explosives, extremely powerful, and landed on the streets occupied by the enemy, "Boom! Boom!", two loud explosions, the crowded patrol team soldiers fell down instantly, those who didn't fall down were also stunned, then another two bombs went over, one of which landed on a rooftop and exploded, the machine gun immediately fell silent, the morale of the patrol team collapsed, after barely holding on for a moment, the survivors retreated along their original route, the rebel troops took advantage of their victory to pursue, shouting, firing guns, throwing bombs, in one breath they chased out two streets, annihilating nearly 100 enemies, capturing 150 rifles, one machine gun, several boxes of bullets, and also captured an official sedan chair.

  Victory in the first battle, the morale of the insurgent troops is even higher!

  Apart from this, several prisoners were captured. Under hasty interrogation, it was only then that they learned that the patrol battalion soldiers were guarding Anhui Governor Zhu Jiabao. Governor Zhu had originally planned to go to the new army's garrison in the city to comfort and intimidate with benefits, but did not expect that his sedan chair would run into the first echelon here, and after both sides opened fire, Governor Zhu was soon frightened by the sound of gunfire like fried beans, and he didn't even want his sedan chair anymore. He immediately took off his official robes and escaped from the battlefield under the escort of several trusted Goshahs.

  Zhao Bei threw away his command knife, handed his pistol to an officer, and picked up a Japanese-made "Golden Hook Rifle", with a "click" sound loading the bullet.

  "Comrades-in-arms, fellow revolutionaries! The government office is right in front of us, let's make a concerted effort and take it down! Bring up the machine guns, follow me in the charge!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Beizuo held a rifle in his left hand and a grenade in his right hand. He let out a loud shout and led the victorious rebel soldiers onto the main road, carrying the Maxim machine gun and charging towards the governor's mansion. Behind them were the fleeing civilians, who had been hiding under their beds during the intense battle, trembling with fear as the bullets whizzed overhead. As soon as the gunfire stopped, they abandoned their homes and ran away.

  "Run south! Neighbors, run south!"

  It is impossible to settle the refugees at this time, so Zhao Bei can only let the people run south of the city. According to his historical experience, the main battlefield in Anqing City is likely to be located in the north and east of the city.

  "Mount the machine gun and fire towards the yamen!" Zhao Bei quickly led his troops to Yamen Street, directing the soldiers to mount the machine gun on the rooftop.

  This place is just a stone's throw away from the governor's mansion, and both sides of the street are filled with official residences. The patrol team soldiers are setting up barricades on the street in a chaotic manner.

  "Soldiers! Charge!" Zhao Beidou raised his rifle and fired a shot at the old soldiers holding torches.

  Bang! Bang!

  "Dada dada... dada dada..."

  The insurgent troops charged forward bravely, and under the cover of machine guns and bombs, they quickly broke through two layers of barricades. The patrol team scattered in all directions like a flock of sheep that had been bombed.

  Zhao Bei divided the soldiers into two teams. Those with guns occupied advantageous positions, relying on street barricades and rooftops to launch fierce fire at the patrol gate, suppressing the patrol team's firepower. The unarmed soldiers went to set fires. In addition, some people were assigned to take some of the captured ammunition and rush to the gunpowder depot area to support the second echelon.

  Rebel soldiers poured oil all over the streets and set fire to various government offices, including the Provincial Governor's Office, the Official Money Bureau, and the Military Training Office, engulfing the entire street in a raging inferno.

  In the fiery light, the governor's mansion hidden in the dark was clearly reflected, guiding the direction of the insurgent soldiers. Bullets with sharp whistling sounds rushed towards the black building symbolizing imperial power and official authority, hitting it until it was completely destroyed. The authority and dignity of the government quickly disintegrated and melted away in this soaring fire and dense gunfire.

  Bang! Bang!

  "Dada dada... dada dada..."

  "Rumble! Rumble!"

  Gunfire and explosions rose and fell in a majestic symphony with the sound of gunfire from outside the city.

  "For the new China! Fight fiercely!" Zhao Bei led by example, lying on the rooftop directing the machine gun, from time to time throwing out a hand grenade, under his encouragement, the insurgent warriors fought more and more bravely.

  The patrol team guarding the government office was frightened by the rebels' offensive, and these soldiers were not only confused by the nearby attack, but also startled by the sound of guns and cannons coming from all directions, unable to figure out how many troops had joined the rebellion. As they watched the fire on the street getting closer and closer to the government office, these old soldiers completely lost their courage to resist, and in the chaos, they rushed out of the government office, threw away everything they had with them, and ran wildly in all directions, some fell under the hail of bullets, while others finally found their way and escaped, within a few minutes, the gunfire inside the government office stopped completely.

  The Qing troops who came to reinforce from all over the city stopped their steps as soon as they saw the flames rising near the Fu Tai government office, and although they launched a counterattack under the pressure of the vanguard's bayonets, they were quickly repelled by the insurgent army.

  The central area of the city has been occupied, the enemy's command center has been destroyed, and victory is already in sight for the insurgent fighters.

  The people living in the streets outside saw the fire borrow wind and burn more and more fiercely, fearing that the fire would spread, so they hastily packed up their belongings, dragged their families, and under the drive of instinct, fled southward amidst the city's gunfire and shouting.

  It is better to be a dog in peaceful times than to be a man in chaotic times.

  It's hard for ordinary people to live in peace, and it's even more difficult in a chaotic world where life is as fragile as grass. But being born in such times, hoping for others to change this fate of displacement is also impossible. The only way out is to join the revolution and end this chaos as soon as possible. "Man proposes, God disposes", no matter what the outcome is, at least one won't have lived a futile life.

  Under the influence of this idea, some carefree poor men carrying wooden sticks and holding bricks also joined in the attack on the fleeing Qing army. Although the results were not great, they further disrupted the morale of the Qing army. For a time, the city of Anqing was filled with shouts of killing and gunfire.

  "Let me be the one to put an end to this chaotic world!"

  Looking at the raging fire of the government office, Zhao Bei silently prayed in his heart.