Chapter 42: The First Shot of the Wuchang Uprising

  If we talk about the eight camps, the most prestigious one is still Wu Zhaolun, followed by Duan Guan and Ruan Rongfa. Huang Guoyun has always been by Wu Zhaolun's side, not only as his confidant but also as his sworn brother, so he also has some prestige within the eight camps. Moreover, among the current central army ranks and official positions, only he and Xiao Huzi, who has already been captured, hold the highest rank!

  Huang Guoyun rushed over quickly, shouting loudly: "Brothers, you absolutely cannot be chaotic. Everyone has seen the photos from this morning, if the imperial court investigates and holds us accountable, it will be a crime punishable by the extinction of nine clans. Everyone, quickly put down your weapons, put down your weapons..."

  No need to say, his shout made some soldiers' hearts suddenly feel a little chilled. After all, the photos of the three martyrs who were beheaded in the morning were still quite impressive! His shout made many soldiers show hesitant expressions.

  But Xiong Bingkun couldn't let him have his way, so he hastily ordered the several trusted soldiers beside him: "Can't let him say anything more, quickly...quickly kill this guy!"

  Several people around him immediately raised their guns and fired at him, but because Huang Guoyun was surrounded by a large crowd, they couldn't finish him off for the time being.

  That Huang Guoyun, when the gunshot rang out, originally still had some worries in his heart, but now seeing that he couldn't be hit, suddenly became enraged again, thinking to himself "I was originally going to help you beg for mercy", and so loudly shouted: "Only capture the leader, spare those who follow!" "Bastard!"

  Cheng Zhengying was known as the "god of guns" in the camp, but in such a crowded situation, he fired two shots without hitting his opponent, and cursed angrily.

  "Boom!"

  A muffled gunshot rang out, which was not conspicuous in this chaotic situation, but it shocked both sides of the battle. However, one side, led by Xiong Bingkun, was overjoyed, while the other side, led by Huang Guoyun, was shocked. The reason was simple: a bullet had accurately pierced through Huang Guoyun's left eye socket from the person who was shouting, killing him with one shot!

  The one who fired the shot was Li Han, who had just rushed here.

  Other soldiers saw that Huang Guoyun had been shot and killed, and they also opened fire, instantly suppressing the group of people sent by Wu Zhaolin, who could hardly lift their heads.

  Look, Xiong Bingkun and others followed the crowd, firing their guns in silence. Unexpectedly, not a single member of the insurgent army stood up to shout a few words to boost morale. Frowning, Li Han, who had received years of red education, naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity to rally the troops and establish his authority. With a wave of his hand, he brandished his gun and shouted loudly: "With my blood, I will defend my new China! We shed our blood today, so that future generations will not be slaves to others! Kill, capture Rui Cun, and take Beijing!"

  The soldiers were taken aback, and immediately followed with a shout: "With my blood, I will defend the new China. We shed our blood today, and future generations will not be slaves to others! Kill, capture Rui Cheng, and take Beijing!"

  After shouting several times, the morale was high, and the soldiers were united in their determination to fight to the death! They quickly annihilated the row of soldiers brought by Huang Guoyun and suppressed them completely.

  "Come on, hurry up..."

  After resolving the row of soldiers brought by Huang Guoyun, the battle within the camp ended soon. Including the original hidden soldiers, they captured nearly two hundred and fifty people. However, due to the butterfly effect brought by Li Handuo, the insurgent army led by Xiong Bingkun also suffered casualties. After counting the bodies, it was found that their side had paid the price of seventeen deaths and nearly thirty or forty injuries. Fortunately, most of the wounded were lightly injured and could immediately join the battle after simple bandaging.

  Inside the camp, revolutionary soldiers with guns were everywhere, escorting prisoners or carrying corpses for a brief rest. The reason was simple: after a brief contact, Xiong Bingkun and others found that their command ability was lacking, coupled with the chaos of the revolutionary team's command, even the situation just now made them confused, and they lost their minds for a while.

  It's not their fault, after all, among the eight battalions, only one Xiong Bingkun can be considered a real new army officer. The so-called "regulars" are just some progressive soldiers with prestige who were elected by the scattered soldiers in each squad to give them a title so that they could command the soldiers in their own squad. In the eighth battalion, not to mention platoon leaders and above, even regular officers like him only have one!

  When encountering such a situation, many talented people will feel at a loss.

  "Come, come, come... Brother Dai Qian, this extraordinary and heroic warrior is our great benefactor who has rendered a great service to our righteous cause, Li Han and Li Yi brothers. Quickly, quickly, Brother Li, we must thank you again..."

  The soldiers began to sweep the battlefield, and Li Han also took a step ahead of him and sneaked into the camp to ambush. At this time, under the guidance of Yan Zhong, who had recovered a lot, he saw Xiong Bingkun, the original hero of the Wuchang Uprising, whom he had been concerned about before.

  Xiong Bingkun, originally named Xiangyuan, also known as Yanbing, styled Daiqian. He was from Jiangxia Xiuyuan Township, later moved to Shizui Yuangjiahe Nanmumu Village. In his early years, due to his father's death and the decline of his family, he did not complete his studies and became an apprentice in a commercial shop; he once worked as a porter at the dock near Pinghu Gate in Wuchang. Later, he joined the 8th Engineering Battalion of the Hubei New Army, rising to the rank of Zhengmu; in 1909, he joined the revolutionary organization Rizhihui. In the spring of Xuantong 3 (1911), he joined Gongjinhui and succeeded Lei Zhensheng as the representative of the Engineering Battalion of Gongjinhui. Before the uprising, he developed over 200 members in the battalion and served as the commander of the revolutionary army's engineering battalion. On September 24, 1911, Gongjinhui and Wenxueshe held a joint meeting to plan the uprising, adopting his suggestion to have the Engineering Battalion take control of the military arsenal at Chuwangtai. On October 10th, also today, in the face of Sun Wu's injury, Peng Chuafan, Liu Fubao, and Yang Hongsheng sacrificed themselves, exposing the severe situation of the uprising plan. It was decided to launch the uprising immediately. If he had not arrived, later that evening, Cheng Zhengying would have shot and killed the duty officer Tao Qisheng, then killed Huang Kunrong and Zhang Wentao who came to suppress the uprising, causing the whole battalion to rise up in arms. Xiong immediately led his troops as the representative of the Engineering Battalion and commander of the revolutionary army's engineering battalion, "blowing whistles to gather the troops", firing three shots into the air, and occupying the Chuwangtai military arsenal. Later, under his command, Wuchang was recovered. The Yangxia battle broke out, and he served as the commander of the 5th Brigade of the People's Army, fighting fiercely against the Qing army in Hankou Liujiatang, Dazhimen, and Pao Ma Chang areas.

  The next year in January, the Hubei military government reorganized its troops, and the Fifth Brigade was incorporated into the Third Garrison, moving to Yunmeng. In March, the brigade was changed to a division, and he was appointed as the commander of the Fifth Division. In October, the Beijing government awarded him the rank of lieutenant general in the army, and in 1913, he was granted the fifth-class honor. Because he opposed Li Yuanhong's collusion with Yuan Shikai, he was wanted by Li and abandoned his post to escape to Gannan, Ningbo, Shanghai, etc. He then participated in the "Second Revolution", but after its failure, he was wanted again by Li Yuanhong and tried in absentia, forcing him to flee to Japan. In 1914, he joined the Chinese Revolutionary Party, and later that autumn returned to Hubei, where he was appointed as the commander of the Hubei army against Yuan Shikai by Sun Yat-sen. He then followed Sun Yat-sen in the movement to protect the constitution, serving as a military advisor to the Guangzhou Grand Marshal's office. After the founding of the Kuomintang, he served as a member of its Military Affairs Committee. In April 1928, he was appointed as a committee member of the Hubei Provincial Government and also hired as a committee member for the preparation of the Hubei Revolutionary Museum. In 1930, he concurrently served as the mayor of Wuchang. In 1931, he was transferred to serve as a major general advisor in the Military Council of the Nationalist government in Nanjing, retiring in 1946.

  After the founding of New China, he served as a standing committee member of the Hubei Provincial Political Consultative Conference, a member of the Hubei Provincial People's Committee, an advisor to the Hubei Provincial Advisory Office, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a preparatory committee member for the 90th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's birth. In 1961, he represented Hubei Province along with Wen Chu-huang and Li Pei-chen to attend the 50th anniversary celebration of the Xinhai Revolution in Beijing. He passed away on May 31, 1969, and was buried at Jiufeng Mountain in Wuchang.

  When can be considered a true national hero!