Volume 1: Turbulent Times Chapter 38: Powerless to Change Fate

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  Chen Qimei's eyes turned red with rage, directing his troops to charge repeatedly. In just one night, casualties had already reached 30%. Logically, a unit with such heavy losses would have collapsed long ago. However, these gang members, although not strong in combat, became ferocious and fearless once they saw blood. Moreover, Chen Qimei organized a "督战队" (supervision team) to force the soldiers at the front to charge forward desperately, shouting loudly as they continuously pushed upwards.

  They rushed forward, those with guns fired at the soldiers of the Shanghai Garrison, while those without guns threw explosives, petrol bombs and lime bags. As they drew closer, they brandished big knives and long spears, attacking the soldiers' heads... After another hour of fierce attack, news came that the position of the Shanghai Garrison in the manufacturing bureau was showing signs of wavering. Chen Qimei, overjoyed by this news, immediately ordered the last two companies of fresh troops to be thrown into battle, striving to launch a few more charges and thoroughly defeat the enemy.

  "Governor, just watch and see, if we don't take down the manufacturing bureau, I'll come to see you with my head in my hands!" Seeing that the entire battle situation had turned in their favor, Chief of Staff Huang Fu was also delighted, mainly requiring him to lead the team for the final charge. After a brief consideration, Chen Qimei agreed to his request, reminded him to pay attention to safety, and then Huang Fu, who had received the order, led the most elite troops of the anti-Yuan army with great enthusiasm.

  "Report! General Huang has led his troops to attack the front line of the Manufacturing Bureau..."

  "Report! Our troops have broken through the enemy's first line of defense and are now pressing towards the gate of the manufacturing bureau..."

  "Report! Fierce battle ahead, Chief of Staff Huang's left arm was hit by a bullet and he cannot retreat, our troops will not retreat and continue to attack..."

  "Report! The enemy's last stronghold is about to collapse. General Huang has sent someone to say that with just half an hour more, we can take the Arsenal."

  One piece of good news after another came, and Chen Qimei's face finally showed a smile after being nervous for a whole night. This battle was much harder to fight than the Xinhai Revolution period, from last night to now, such a fierce battle, such a huge loss, made him even doubt whether he had chosen the wrong target? Can the manufacturing bureau be taken down? Now, seeing that the final victory is about to belong to himself, Chen Qimei finally breathed a sigh of relief. Huang Da's troops were his last trump card, and this trump card did not disappoint him in the end. It seems that everything has been settled.

  "Pass on the order! All battalions, regiments and companies continue to charge forward, kill! Kill! Kill!" With a swing of his sword, Chen Qimei's voice was filled with boundless excitement amidst the whistling wind.

  The lone army of Yuanshan rushed in like a mountain and a tsunami, taking down several positions one after another. The Shanghai Army Corps defending the manufacturing bureau fired desperately but could not hold back wave after wave of enemy attacks. That night, the Shanghai Army Corps suffered heavy casualties as well. Among the 467 soldiers stationed there, over 100 had been killed in action, and nearly every single one of the remaining 300-odd soldiers was wounded. With no route to retreat, a strong enemy ahead, and reinforcements unknown when they would arrive, it seemed that the last line of defense was about to be breached. The faces of the soldiers were deathly pale, as if they had already seen the arrival of doomsday.

  "Captain, what to do? You quickly think of a way!" At the last stronghold composed of the gate and wall of the Manufacturing Bureau, the deputy captain of the Shanghai Army, who had a bandage on his head, asked anxiously. Beside him was the highest commander stationed at the Manufacturing Bureau, Captain Zhou Xianqing.

  Zhou Xianqing graduated from Baoding Military Academy's Infantry Department and had served in the Beiyang Third Division, where he was a brave general under Cao Kun. After the Beijing * soldiers' uprising, Cao Kun transferred Zhou to the Jiangsu Governor's Office to protect him and other trusted subordinates. Later, Zhou became the regimental commander of the Shanghai-based Huai Army Regiment. In the entire Huai Army Regiment, Zhou's regiment was the main force defending the manufacturing bureau. Last night, as soon as the gunfire started, Zhou immediately gathered his troops to resist and also rallied a group of Huai Army soldiers who had retreated to the manufacturing bureau. With the help of the terrain outside the bureau and their excellent weapons, they formed several defensive lines and firmly withstood Chen Qimei's repeated attacks. It can be said that if it weren't for Zhou Xianqing's quick reaction and tenacious resistance, the manufacturing bureau would have fallen long ago.

  The fierce battle lasted for a night, and the brutal situation even moved Zhou Xianqing, a veteran who had experienced many battles. At first, he didn't take Chen Qimei's troops seriously, but the cruel reality told him that they were not to be underestimated either. Now, several defense lines have been lost, and if the gate is breached again, the situation will be irretrievable. Looking around, many familiar subordinates are gone, and even Zhou himself is injured everywhere. In several of the most intense battles, if his subordinates hadn't fought hard to protect him, he would probably have died long ago.

  "What to do? Can't we surrender?" With a bitter smile, Zhou Xianqing knew clearly that even if they surrendered now, these people would not let them live. In this one night, both sides had already killed each other with bloodshot eyes, and the bodies of Chen Qimei's troops that fell in front of their own formation were at least 800, within a radius of two miles around the manufacturing bureau, the land was stained red with fresh blood.

  Look up at the already bright east, Zhou Xianqing gritted his teeth and made a decision: "Go! Get all the explosives in the manufacturing bureau piled up for me, set up the fuse, and once the gate is lost, I'll light it up for you! Hmph, Chen Qimei, Chen Qimei, want the manufacturing bureau? Dream on! Today, I'm going to let you know what it means to burn everything to ashes!"

  "Yes!" Deputy Regimental Commander Two didn't say another word, and led several men into the manufacturing bureau, hastily making arrangements. After Deputy Regimental Commander Two left, Zhou Xianqing's eyes were fixed intently on the front line, holding his rifle loaded with bullets, seeing that the other side was launching another wave of charge, taking aim at the one who charged forward the most and pulling the trigger, loudly shouting: "Brothers! Let these rebel rabbit bastards see our ferocity! Fight! Give them a good beating for me!"

  Bullets whizzed, flesh and blood flew everywhere, the sound of killing shook the sky, the anti-Yuan army rushed forward like they had no lives to lose, wave after wave fell, Zhou Xianqing saw that he couldn't hold on any longer, and hastily shouted from behind: "Is the explosive ready?"

  "Hurry up! Hurry up!" The deputy camp shouted urgently from inside.

  "Damn it! Faster, faster!" Zhou Xianqing urged anxiously, his heart clear that he couldn't hold on this time. The previous waves of charging had almost breached the gate, and now there were less than a hundred people standing around him. If another wave came, the manufacturing bureau would fall into enemy hands.

  "Captain, the explosives are in place!"

  "Alright! Hehe, it's time, it's time to devote myself to the country!" Zhou Xianqing wiped the blood from his face, narrowed his eyes and crouched on the battlefield, watching as the enemy launched another wave of charges. He knew that this was the final moment, and as soon as the enemy reached the front lines, he would perish together with the manufacturing bureau.

  His slightly trembling hand lit the match, the rifle had been thrown aside, and Zhou Xianqing's heart suddenly calmed down, calmly watching the approaching enemy, quietly waiting for the final moment to arrive. Just as he was determined to sacrifice himself and perish together with his opponent, a sudden burst of intense gunfire came from afar, those enemies who were charging halfway stopped abruptly, looking back in panic, unsure of what had happened.

  "Ah... reinforcements! Our reinforcements have arrived!" At the same time, Zhou Xianqing was also stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted. He threw away the fuse and matches in his hand, excitedly shouting.

  "What? Reinforcements? Are reinforcements here? We're saved! We're saved!"

  The distant gunfire grew closer and more intense, the defenders of the manufacturing bureau cheered endlessly. The arrival of reinforcements revitalized these exhausted troops, who suddenly rallied and unleashed their final strength.

  "Brothers! Reinforcements have arrived, the rebel party will be destroyed! Counterattack! Counterattack! Everyone follow me in counterattacking!" Grabbing a rifle, Zhou Xianqing suddenly jumped up and launched a countercharge. With his footsteps, all the soldiers on the battlefield who could still move picked up their guns and charged forward with loud shouts towards the enemy.

  The vanguard battalion of Tao De-yao's 31st Division finally arrived, although only half a company had arrived first. However, for Chen Qi-mei's troops, who were already exhausted from the battle, it was undoubtedly bad news. As soon as they made contact, a burst of gunfire sent Chen Qi-mei's rear guard fleeing in disarray. The sudden attack also left the advancing troops stunned and confused.

  The Yu army, which had just held its last breath, was like a punctured balloon, suddenly losing its last confidence. The rear was in chaos, and the soldiers who were attacking in the front heard the news and desperately retreated and dispersed. Even the execution team killed several people in a row, but couldn't stop them. Seeing that the situation was not good, even some members of the execution team threw down their guns and ran away. At this time, the entire army suddenly collapsed, and the battlefield was full of soldiers who abandoned their weapons and fled in all directions. The so-called "army defeat like a mountain collapse" is not an exaggeration at all.

  "How could this be, how could this be......" Chen Qimei stood there stupidly, muttering to himself like a fool, the military knife he had been holding in his hand also fell to the ground, his eyes were dull and wide open, staring blankly at the great defeat in front of him.

  "Governor, hurry up! Hurry!" The trusted bodyguards escorted Chen Qimei as he ran out, if not for them, Chen Qimei would have been trampled to death by the fleeing defeated soldiers. They pulled up Chen Qimei, who was already like a walking corpse, and several people disregarded the already defeated troops, desperately escaping to where there were fewer people.

  After barely escaping for hundreds of meters, they suddenly encountered a team of soldiers head-on. Just as they were terrified, a surprised shout came from the opposite side: "Is it Big Brother? Big Brother! Little Brother Jiang Zhicheng!"

  It turned out that this group of people were the former commander-in-chief Jiang Zhicheng and deputy commander He Yingqin, who had just escaped from the front line, with only a dozen or so soldiers guarding them, all covered in blood and looking disheveled.

  "Ruiyuan, Jingzhi... Ruiyuan, Jingzhi... We lost, we're defeated... Waaahhh..." Chen Qimei suddenly burst into tears, with a mix of snot and tears, as he stared blankly at Jiang Zhicheng and the others. Just when they were about to achieve their goal, who would have thought that it would all fall apart? This is the most painful thing in life.

  "Big brother, hurry up, take off your clothes and follow me!" Seeing Chen Qimei crying non-stop, he was still wearing the eye-catching military uniform of the governor. Jiang Zhicheng quickly helped him take it off and found a tattered casual outfit for him to wear. Chen Qimei, who had already been completely flustered, was like a wooden puppet, allowing Jiang Zhicheng to manipulate him as he was hastily led towards the concession area.

  The Manufacturing Bureau was defeated in one battle, and Chen Qimei's unit was annihilated. Even the chief of staff, Huang Fu, died in the chaos. Escaping while shedding their uniforms, the dozen or so people finally made it into the French Concession after several hours, whereupon a panting Jiang Zhicheng finally let out a sigh of relief.

  "Big brother, where are we going now?"

  On the way of escape, Chen Qimei finally gradually restored calmness, although he still looked pale, at least he had regained his sanity.

  "Go to Sapucai Road No. 14, such a big defeat still needs to be discussed with Director Sun."

  "Alright! Let's go!" Jiang Zhiming nodded and identified the direction, leading everyone away quickly.

  When they arrived at the place, contrary to everyone's expectations, Sun Wen, who was supposed to wait for news here, had disappeared. Moreover, even Dai Jitao, the secretary of the Revolutionary Party Premier, was nowhere to be found.

  "What about him? Where is Premier Sun?" Jiang Zhicheng, who was sweating profusely, grabbed the Green Gang member who had stayed behind and asked urgently.

  "Mr. Sun... Mr. Sun has left."

  "Did he leave? When did he leave? Where did he go?"

  "In the morning, he left shortly after dawn, saying that he would entrust everything to Commander-in-Chief Chen in Shanghai and return to Japan immediately to organize forces and gather overseas comrades to overthrow Yuan Shikai. The remaining personnel looked at each other with worried faces."

  It's not long after dawn? Isn't this the time when the reinforcements just arrived? Whether it was Chen Qimei, Jiang Zhicheng or He Yingqin, they immediately understood that what organization of forces and attacking Yuan Shikai meant was to abandon them and flee at the first sign of trouble.

  "With a heart to kill the enemy... No strength... Return to heaven! Hatred! I am so hateful!" Chen Qimei stood still for half a moment, suddenly looked up at the sky and shouted loudly, spitting out blood and falling into Jiang Zhicheng's arms.