Volume 1 Teacher Chapter 37: Entering Xi'an (Part 2)
At four o'clock in the morning, the darkest hour before dawn, the black hole-like muzzle of the gun had been aimed at the gate of the Governor's Mansion within the range of rifle shooting through the twelve rotating rifling grooves.
"beat!"
The sound was drowned out by even more intense cannon fire that rang out almost simultaneously before it landed. In an instant, orange-red fireworks bloomed in the night sky of the ancient city.
"Where to fire?"
Chen Shufan, who had been excited for the whole day, suddenly woke up from his sweet dream. As an experienced warrior, he immediately recognized that it was the sound of cannons rather than thunder. In confusion, his face suddenly turned pale. The shell clearly landed very close to him. Trembling all over, he grabbed the pistol on the side without even having time to get dressed, rolled on the ground, and hid under the mahogany bed.
"Guards, guards, Cui Shiqing!"
"Governor, Governor!"
The door was kicked open with a bang. Of course, it was not Chen Shufan's shouting that drowned out the sound of the artillery fire, but that someone finally remembered the leader.
"It's bad. The Second Brigade has entered Xi'an. The Guard Regiment has rebelled. The cannons are now at the gate of the Governor's Mansion."
Seven or eight dark shadows rushed in, shouting and yelling, and finally found Chen Shufan under the bed.
"Go quickly, Governor. If the second brigade attacks us, it will be too late."
However, escaping in the chaos was a luxury. Although the Second Brigade failed to completely blockade the entire Governor's Mansion due to insufficient manpower, the originally tall and solid walls became an insurmountable obstacle for the officers and soldiers of the Fourth Brigade.
"boom!"
A section of the wall collapsed under direct artillery fire. However, before the people of the Fourth Brigade could rush out, the Beiyang Army's machine guns had already closed the gap, and anyone who wanted to break out fell in the dense bullets.
"I'll fuck you, He Guangfu. No wonder you're so horny!"
Chen Shufan looked up at the sky. The originally dark night had been illuminated by the flashes of light in the city. It was obvious that the Second Brigade's attack on him was comprehensive and deadly. Thinking of He Oucai's servile appearance, he finally realized that he had obviously fallen into a fatal trap.
But what he couldn't understand was how Dai Jiliang suddenly appeared in Xi'an. Did he fly here? And why had Guo Jian, whom he sent out, disappeared without a trace?
"Never mind. We have to find a way to survive."
Chen Shufan shouted loudly.
"Tear down the door, cover it with a quilt, pour water on it, and rush out for me."
Chen Shufan's idea was obviously quite clever. By combining hard wood with a quilt that absorbed moisture, a classic composite armor was created. If the Second Brigade only had rifles and Maxim guns with black powder, it would surely have been defeated by the Fourth Brigade, which fought hard.
Unfortunately, in order to completely destroy Chen Shufan's command center, Dai Jiliang moved all the artillery here except for the six 75mm guns used in the West Barracks.
Although there is not even a single powerful 75mm gun here, at such a short distance, the power of a six-pound gun or a two-pound gun should be equal.
Following an order, a lightest two-pound cannon was pushed up. Although it was not the direct-fire infantry cannon commonly used on European battlefields, at this distance where it would explode almost the moment it left the barrel, what difference did it make?
"artillery!"
Chen Shufan was so anxious that he was jumping up and down. Originally, his troops had been ambushed while they were sleeping, and the losses were already huge. Add to that the losses in the previous breakout. If he had no strength to compete with the artillery of the Second Brigade, he would have only one way to go.
"The artillerymen are all in the East Barracks."
Old classmate Liu Shilong gave an answer that confused Chen Shufan.
Yes, who would deploy artillery in their own government offices and residences? "Governor, let's find a way to push down a wall."
"Then what are you still standing there for?"
Chen Shufan was completely dizzy.
"Hurry up, hurry up and have someone tear down the wall."
"That's too late."
Zeng Jixian, who was standing aside and watching the battle, stared blankly into the distance. He saw countless sharp bayonets flashing with a biting chill under the light of the blazing flames. The Second Brigade had already pounced on them.
"withstand!"
Chen Shufan waved his pistol and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Hold on, our two camps will come to support us soon."
Chen Shufan, who was at his wit's end, had no choice but to resort to the last resort of quenching his thirst by looking at the plums.
However, Dai Jiliang's best skill was to accompany the charge with artillery. Wherever there was fierce resistance, the accompanying artillery would fire at that place. The already frightened Fourth Brigade was unable to resist such an attack.
Soon, organized resistance gradually disappeared, and all that remained was one-sided massacre.
"Captain, what should we do?"
Chen Shufan, who was surrounded by the crowd and retreated to the last line of defense, was sweating profusely. The opponent's cannons clearly told everyone present that resistance meant death.
But if I don’t resist, will my opponent give me a chance to live?
"Brother Baolin."
Chen Shufan looked around and found that Liu Shilong, Zeng Jixian and others who were originally by his side had disappeared without a trace. Only his fellow villager Zhang Baolin was still by his side, so he prayed.
"Brother Baolin, please come forward. This battle cannot be fought."
Zhang Baolin certainly understood what Chen Shufan meant, but now that everyone was fighting outside, it would be too dangerous to go out . However, Chen Shufan's pleading look and the way he had taken care of him in the past made him soften his heart.
"You have to prepare a white flag, right? Otherwise."
Zhang Baolin didn't say anything else, but everyone present understood.
"Quick! Find it."
Everyone started rummaging through the room like headless flies, but how could they find it in such a hurry? So Chen Shufan gritted his teeth, took off his tight white shirt, and walked away with his bare chest.
"Brother Baolin, I'm leaving everything to you..."
"Brother Xiaoyou, my classmate who is your age has sent someone to ask for surrender. What do you think we should do?"
A stone in his heart fell to the ground, and Dai Jiliang also became humorous.
"Promise him! Why not promise him?"
Ma Kang’s answer was also brilliant.
"One night as the governor, if it gets out, it will be a great story in the Republic of China!"
At this point, Ma Kang became serious.
"Commander, Commander Zhang and Li Guo are still fighting fiercely. It would be a waste if we don't use Chen Shufan's name."
"Brother Park Chu, what do you think?"
Dai Jiliang sought the advice of his chief of staff.
"I think so!"
Zhang Zili nodded.
"We have limited strength and cannot waste it on the Fourth Brigade."
"That's true."
Dai Jiliang thought about it and realized that although the Fourth Brigade was deeply infiltrated by the Kuomintang, its combat effectiveness was not weak. If it could be digested, that would be the best. If it could not be digested, it did not have to be forced.
"Then please ask this Commander Chen to order a ceasefire!"
As the sky grew brighter, the sound of gunfire that had echoed throughout the night gradually died down. Some brave citizens sneaked out of the alley to spy, but they were horrified to find that the eighteen-star flag that was flying high yesterday had once again been replaced by the five-color national flag.
"Report to the brigade commander, all the enemies in the western camp have surrendered!"
Although Zhang Binnan was also a brigade commander, he was as respectful as a small company commander in front of Dai Jiliang.
"One hundred and fifty-seven of our troops were killed in the battle, and the number of wounded is being counted."
Of course, compared with the results of the battle, the Beiyang Army's losses were still very small.
"We captured the entire 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the 4th Brigade and the artillery battalion of the enemy. About 400 of the enemy were killed in the battle, and the wounded are also being counted."
"Report, the enemy in front of our regiment is the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the 4th Brigade in Dongdaying, and its attached machine gun company and miscellaneous militia of 3,000 people. They have surrendered. Our casualties total about 300 people, and the enemy is estimated to be between 800 and 1,200."
The huge difference in losses between the two barracks was obviously due to the lack of training of the militia, which resulted in them running around like headless flies when the war broke out. Of course, now is not the time to worry about whether Li Guo's men had killed prisoners and wounded indiscriminately.
"Our department has also successfully taken over all the checkpoints and gates, and all the major agencies in the city, including the telegraph office, copper coin office, tax bureau, and likin bureau, have also been taken over."
It's ridiculous, isn't it? Chen Shufan had just satisfied his desire to be the governor, but everything he received yesterday fell into Dai Jiliang's hands in the blink of an eye. It's really like the king's flag changing on the city wall.
"Very good, we have won this battle!"
Dai Jiliang nodded, but it was not time to celebrate yet. There was still Hu Liseng's left wing detachment outside the city. Although the threat was not great, it was still a threat after all. In addition, the Kuomintang's resistance forces scattered throughout Shaanxi were also a major concern.
"Brother Guangfu, search the entire city immediately. Commander Lu has done a lot of evil. We cannot continue to tarnish the reputation of the Beiyang Army."
When Dai Jiliang put this big hat on everyone, their hearts trembled and they listened to Dai Jiliang continue to give orders.
"Anyone who dares to use war to bring disaster to the people will be killed on the spot, regardless of official rank or merit."
But Dai Jiliang is obviously not finished yet.
"Close the Xi'an Telegraph Office. For today, only receiving is allowed, not sending. Also, Brother Guangfu, please keep a close watch on all the doors. No one is allowed to enter today, but no one is allowed to leave."
"yes!"
He Oucai naturally didn't dare to act like he was the greatest hero at this time. He just bowed respectfully, turned around and walked out.
It was also thanks to Lu Jianzhang's ruthless decision to completely wipe out the Shaanxi Army that, apart from Chen Shufan, no one in Shaanxi had the qualifications to compete with Dai Jiliang. Now that Chen Shufan has fallen, Dai Jiliang has naturally become the number one person in the Beiyang Army in Shaanxi.
"Brother Xiaoyou, please take the trouble to drive to Fuping this afternoon."
Although the guns and ammunition of the original core regiment had been divided up by the militia, these 3,000 people were a rare and most reliable supplementary force for Dai Jiliang now. He could only feel at ease if he let his most loyal subordinate Ma Kang bring them back.
"Please rest assured, Commander. I will arrange it right away!"
Ma Kang nodded. It was impossible for him not to see the lucrative job like this.
"We will set off promptly at 1 o'clock this afternoon."
"Well, I'll wait for your good news in Xi'an."
Then Dai Jiliang turned to Zhang Binnan.
"Brother Binnan, I'll trouble you to deal with the enemy Hu detachment."
"It is Zhang's duty to share the burden of the brigade commander!"
Zhang Binnan also expressed his opinion that he was still waiting for Dai Jiliang to appoint him as brigade commander.
"Very good. With your help, our group will thrive."
Dai Jiliang stood up and gave a solemn military salute to everyone present.
"Everything is up to you, please!"
The day has finally dawned, and the long night has finally passed. Will everything be as beautiful as Dai Jiliang expected?
