Chapter Seventy-Two: The Afterhand

  He raised an eyebrow, "What's the situation with casualties in the second camp?"

  "Report, due to the urgent battle last time, we hastily crossed the river and were unable to bring enough heavy weapons. Currently, the 2nd battalion has lost more than half of its strength. The remnants of the 8th regiment are temporarily blocked between Hankou Jiangtan and Wuchangguan, just one mile away from the British concession. Considering the complexity of the concession, if it's convenient for you, sir, it would be better to go there in person!"

  Li Dongli came over and gave a respectful military salute, then handed the telegram to Li Han.

  "Good job!"

  He took out a neutral pen from his tactical waist bag, signed "read" on the back of the telegram and attached his name to it, then handed it back to Li Dong, who put it away carefully. Li Han stood up, looked around the room with a serious expression, and finally fixed his gaze on Wu Zhaolin, who was not very natural, saluted him and said, "General, the military situation is urgent, my troops have been fighting against the enemy in Hankou, and the current situation is unfavorable. I respectfully request that you allow me to leave first to deploy troops, replenish ammunition, and strive to take down Wuchang Sanzhen with one blow."

  Although Wu Zhaolin was worried that he had offended the foreigners, but after thinking about it, all the previous things proved that Li Hanchao's thoughts and strategies were beyond ordinary people. He thought that Li must be able to understand the situation clearly, but in his heart, he also had the idea of putting Li aside for a while. So he nodded and agreed, "No need, Commander Li is thinking about the success of my revolution, military affairs are urgent, you go ahead. I heard that the First Division's ammunition supply is insufficient, the road ahead is uncertain, and a fierce battle is inevitable..."

  He paused for a moment, but in his heart he was thinking that if he could take the opportunity to destroy Zhang Biao's remaining troops, there would be no force within Hubei province that could pose a mortal threat to the revolutionary army in the short term. He thought again and decided to challenge another battalion to go together, determined to thoroughly defeat Zhang Biao and the Eighth Town at Hankou.

  His eyes scanned the room, his brow furrowed. Neither the Progressive Party nor the Tongmenghui were welcoming to him. Wu Xinghan was not close to the Tongmenghui, but the situation in the city was still unstable, and his patrol battalion could not move. Cai Jimin, who was familiar with him, was the Minister of the Hubei Branch of the Tongmenghui, but he was just a figurehead, and the Tongmenghui had been squeezed out of the province, barely able to recruit anyone. Although the Tongmenghui was an external organization of the Tongmenghui, internal struggles were not uncommon. However, Cai Jimin was one of his old comrades from the New Army, and based on this alone, he had previously secured a position for him in the strategy department, with obvious intentions to win him over. As there were still many places where he needed his support, he naturally could not let him go. And after offending the Tongmenghui's people, Xiong Bingkun seemed to have felt his own awkward position, and was now slowly leaning towards him. Before the second battalion had formed a combat force, he also couldn't let him leave casually. These troops were currently unable to be mobilized, and thinking about it, it seemed that only the 32nd Battalion could be used!

  He thought of this and cast his eyes towards Sun Guoan, "General Sun, one banner will surely have a fierce battle on its way. I'm afraid the military strength is insufficient, so I hope General Sun will lead the troops to go together and thoroughly eliminate the remnants of the Eighth Town!"

  He didn't worry that Sun Guoan would betray him, as he had already surrendered to the revolutionary army and thoroughly offended his superior, Tie Zhong. Although Tie Zhong was somewhat capable, his character was notoriously stingy and calculating. After the uprising, he had escaped on a British cargo ship and was now safely inside the Hankou concession. Sun Guoan would surely understand that if he were to betray him again, he would be sent to Xingtai by Tie Zhong, who would not hesitate to take revenge.

  He paused for a moment, "I'll write an order right away. You two can go to Chu Wangtai to prepare and stock up on guns and supplies, then hurry to the Hankou battlefield!"

  "It is... I will follow your orders."

  Sun Guoan did not hesitate, having experienced the officialdom before, he could see the situation more clearly than the crowd in the house, and naturally wanted to stay away from this dirty and despicable struggle, so he immediately stood up and accepted the order.

  "Li Biao Tong..."

  "Yes, I will follow your orders!"

  Li Han took the order from the guard, saluted with a straight military salute, and then led Li Dong out. As they passed by Du Lanfang's side, he slightly paused, picked up the Browning that had been thrown in front of him, and left a faint sentence in his ear "Teach you anytime", before pushing open the door and walking out.

  "Alright then, let's set a time for half an hour later and meet at that dock. See you there, Sun Biao!"

  "Please..."

  After a few people left the capital council, Li Han chatted with Sun Guoan, the commander of the 32nd division, for a while and made an appointment before parting ways.

  Until the other's figure completely disappeared into the darkness, Li Han only then retracted the expression on his face and opened his mouth to say "Speak, Second Battalion!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  Li Dong came to attention, and after seeing that there was no one around, he took out a letter from his inner pocket. This was the real telegram of the Second Battalion. The previous one he had reported was just a fake telegram made according to plan.

  "Telegram to the First Division Headquarters, our Second Regiment has passed through the German concession and strictly followed your orders without getting entangled with foreigners. We have successfully established a defensive line along the riverbank and after one hour, our Second Regiment encountered the remnants of the Eighth Brigade. Our machine gunners demonstrated their prowess, killing and wounding hundreds of people, completing the first step of the plan, and not allowing any of them to escape into the concession area. Before sending this telegram, half of our troops are still defending the riverbank position, while the rest have followed your orders to pursue and attack the enemy, ensuring they are driven towards the central and western parts of Hubei Province. Respectfully reported by Liu Zequan, commander of the Second Regiment."

  Li Han nodded, "Just now you performed well, let the people around withdraw, be careful not to leave any traces!"

  He pulled out the Browning pistol from his waist, and Li Han's face didn't change color as he removed the empty magazine from the gun in front of him, replaced it with a full one, and then put it back into his waist.

  "Yes, sir!"

  Throughout the entire process, Li Dong's face did not reveal a hint of surprise, or perhaps there was, a thread of well-hidden admiration and silent praise.

  All I can say is that all of this is just a conspiracy, no, or rather it's more accurate to say it's a plan.

  "Sir..."

  "Hello, sir..."

  The two of them quickened their pace after leaving the council chamber, and soon disappeared into a nearby alley. As they walked in, the originally quiet and dark alley suddenly had several voices, Li Han's face did not show any surprise, nodded and walked into the alley. Not long after, a faint sound of wooden wheels rubbing against the ground rang out. If someone were to bring a torch in and take a look, they would immediately discover that this alley was hiding several 60mm or even 75mm caliber... cannons!

  When they saw Li Han return safely, the alley was suddenly stirred up, but due to military discipline, they only had a brief cheer before immediately falling into silence. After getting Li Han's signal, Li Dong quickly walked a few steps and came to a hidden place in the alley, where he whispered a few words. Not long after, four soldiers slipped out from various hiding places in the small alley, going to inform the snipers hiding around or at higher ground near the Ziyang Bureau.