Chapter 41: Controlling the Eight Camps (Part 2)

  "Hmm~~~"

  Ruan Rongfa's face still had a faint smile, but his body heavily fell onto the high platform. Unbeknownst to him, a bullet hole had appeared on his left chest, and a bullet from an unknown direction had pierced through his chest, taking his life!

  That little mustache, who was still closest to Rong Fa, hadn't reacted yet. Because of the conversation between several people, the sound had covered up the gunshot from a hundred meters away. It wasn't until the acting commander's blood splattered onto his face that he finally felt it. The air around him had an additional familiar smell. Little mustache sniffed hard, and then his face turned very ugly. That was the smell of blood, and it was close!

  He lifted his head to look again, and the deputy commander of the 8th Engineering Regiment, who had been talking with him just now, was already lying in a pool of blood on the ground, seemingly having lost all signs of life!

  "Not good, something's up..."

  As Zhang Biao's trusted troops, they not only received the most generous pay but also used the best equipment! Of course, if it were just that, it would be unworthy of the title of Zhang Biao's elite team. In addition to the 21st Mixed Brigade under Li Yuanhong, they were the ones who took action most frequently in the bandit-suppressing activities around Wuchang, so they had seen their fair share of bloody scenes.

  A sense of danger, although still unclear where the sniper came from, but instinctively, Xiaohuzi felt that the open martial arts arena was not safe, especially with several people standing so prominently on the high platform. After feeling a sudden inexplicable alarm in his heart, Xiaohuzi didn't even bother to remind those beside him, and subconsciously, his body moved. He suddenly leaped off the high platform, just as his body hit the ground, there was another loud bang, accompanied by a muffled groan. Before he could react, a heavy object crashed onto his body.

  Xiao Huzi hastily took a look, and it was that he had dodged the bullet that came his way, but the bullet hit the slender military officer who was originally standing beside him right in the chest, penetrating through him as well. Fresh blood gushed out like a flood, unstoppable.

  "Hurry...hurry, there's a riot..."

  At this time, even a fool should have reacted, and Qiang forced himself to open the weight that was pressing on him. He was already left with only half of his breath and was struggling with his companions. Xiaohuzi didn't care about the pain anymore, and he directly jumped down from the main stage with a loud thud.

  "Boom!"

  On the other side, Li Han did not stop, aiming at the historical figure Tao Qisheng who was previously pointed out, and directly shot him! Regardless of whether he deserved to die or not, the martial arts arena had already become chaotic, with two people killed in a row, both of whom were officials standing on the rostrum. You can imagine that the others on the rostrum did not dare to stay there any longer. They rushed down in a panic, and as a result, Tao Qisheng, who was originally aimed at the chest, was pushed back by the artist next to him, narrowly avoiding the fatal spot. However, the bullet still penetrated his right arm, and the consequences were predictable.

  "Even if it kills me..."

  The people under the stage, including Xiong Bingkun, had been waiting anxiously for Li Han's gunshot, but they didn't know that Li Han had installed a silencer on his gun. It wasn't until the second person was shot and killed that they realized what was happening. It turned out that Li Han, who was known for his accurate marksmanship, had already opened fire and easily taken down two officers from the 8th Regiment, including Ruan Rongfa, who had come to provide support. The people on the scene exchanged a glance, seeing the relieved expressions on each other's faces. Amidst the chaos, most of the new army soldiers were still in shock. The progressive new army quickly gathered together according to their previous plan, taking out the hidden guns from around the martial arts arena. Xiong Bingkun took a deep breath and shouted orders at the soldiers beside him: "Everyone, raise your guns and fire into the air!"

  "Humming~~~~"

  Suddenly, a burst of gunfire erupted. The soldiers on patrol outside the camp and those guarding the surrounding areas heard the gunfire and knew it was the signal for the uprising. They grabbed their weapons and quickly settled their bewildered comrades nearby.

  "Don't move! We are revolutionary soldiers. Throw down your weapons and put up your hands, squat on the ground!"

  "Nobody move, put down your weapons, everyone put down their weapons~~~~"

  "Don't play tricks, throw away your weapons quickly~~~"

  Inside the camp, there were suddenly shouts everywhere. A team of progressive new soldiers who had long been prepared quickly aimed their guns at the two teams of soldiers who were still holding guns but had no faith or had just arrived to reinforce them!

  "Hmm~~~"

  "Surrender now, or we'll open fire!"

  "Quickly throw away your weapons, quickly throw them away..."

  Just as the two teams of new troops were hesitating about whether to surrender, a familiar voice suddenly rang out. The soldiers looked up and immediately discovered that the person who had spoken was none other than Little Hu Zi, who had narrowly escaped with his life from Li Han's gunfire, and was also an officer of one of the two teams of new troops that had come to reinforce them.

  "It's... it's the Horse Team Leader!"

  Xiao Huzi, whose surname is Ma, had brought a group of people with him and among them were many of his trusted followers. As soon as he was seen being led away by Xiong Bingkun himself, accompanied by three soldiers who had their guns trained on his head, some people hesitated and threw down their guns!

  "What's holding you back? Hurry up and throw down your guns!"

  That little mustache is also unlucky, just now he had only just reflected on it, and unexpectedly the situation in the military camp changed instantly. That dog... day... Ruan Rongfa, wasn't he boasting to Lord Zhang Biao about strictly controlling the firearms within the 8th camp, swearing that not a single weapon or bullet would fall into the hands of the new army!

  "Damn it!" Before he could even curse, he tragically discovered that as soon as he had his hand on the gun holster at his waist, several armed "rebels" appeared beside him, pointing their guns at him. If... if he didn't do what they said, it was highly likely that he would lose his life on the spot. After being disarmed, Little Beard weighed his options and obediently became a prisoner of war, even helping to persuade his soldiers to lay down their arms.

  "Life is most important!"

  It was with this idea that as soon as he saw himself opening his mouth, there were still people in the team he led who hesitated and didn't throw their guns to the ground. At this moment, he became angry and scolded loudly!

  At this point, their own superiors had spoken out, and due to his usual prestige, the soldiers who were still holding on to every rifle suddenly dropped them with a clatter, raised their hands and squatted down!

  It was like a domino effect, and with that, many soldiers who were not even under his command threw down their weapons. As soon as they did, the people around them suddenly felt the pressure mount, as they had to face the large number of revolutionaries in the camp. To save their lives, they also threw down their weapons and crouched on the ground!

  Wang Lin assembled over a hundred soldiers, organizing them into 4 teams led by Xiong Bingkun, Jin Zhaolong, and Xu Shaobin, with himself leading one team. He also appointed a soldier named Cheng Zhengying as his deputy. At this time, Wang Lin had already established considerable prestige in the minds of the engineering battalion soldiers, so when he gave an order, the soldiers all responded loudly.

  Xiong Bingkun was about to order the collection of firearms and the advancement of troops towards Chuwangtai when a sudden burst of gunfire came from the gate of the distant camp, followed by three or five soldiers who were constantly firing their guns while retreating in this direction. It turned out that it was Huang Guoyun, the squad leader under Wu Zhaolun, the left team officer of the 8th Engineering Battalion. Chuwangtai is not far from here, and after hearing a burst of gunfire earlier, Wu Zhaolun and his men who were assigned to guard Chuwangtai today immediately became agitated. To be sure, he was also dissatisfied with the corruption of the Qing dynasty, but he did not agree with the violent revolutionary line of the Tongmenghui and other revolutionary organizations, and instead was quite in favor of Kang Youwei's "monarchical constitutionalism". Therefore, he usually kept a distance from the party members within the camp.

  However, there were still some supporters of the Revolutionary Party in his camp. After hearing the gunfire from the Eighth Regiment's barracks on this side, a part of the progressive new army spontaneously gathered together in Chu Wang Tai and occupied the military strategic location near the city gate, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

  At this time, Wu Zhaolun would not have been able to live up to his reputation as the first scholar of the eight battalions if he had not reacted quickly enough. Seeing that the sky was already slightly darkening, he knew that something must have happened to the nearby eighth battalion and immediately arranged for his most trusted subordinate, Huang Guoyun, to lead a squad to provide support. He also ordered his men to quickly capture the gate and occupy the strategic location held by the Progressive New Army...

  Huang Guoyun led a group of soldiers out of Chu Wangtai and rushed to the eight-camp barracks. When they arrived at the gate, they were blocked by more than ten guarding soldiers. In a state of great urgency, he ordered his subordinates to open fire, and in an instant, three advancing soldiers broke into the camp!

  He arrived at the martial arts arena where the sound of gunfire was coming from, and immediately saw Xiong Bingkun, whom he had seen a few times before, leading a team of soldiers, each with weapons in hand, and also holding an officer. He secretly exclaimed: "Indeed, someone is inciting rebellion!"