Chapter 31

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Inside Guangzhou City, Xiguan, Commercial Corps Joint Defense Army Headquarters.

Chen Lianbo's room was thick with cigarette smoke; Chen Gongshou ran in: "Commander-in-Chief, it's bad! Dazhatou Station has been taken, and the City Police Bureau is being besieged by the Hunan Army!"

Chen Lianbo lifted his head, staring with dark circles under his eyes, clearly having not slept all night: "The British have already abandoned us... I see this mutiny will ultimately end in failure."

"This... why don't we just sneak away quickly?" Chen Gongshou clearly couldn't wait any longer.

"Sneak away? Why don't you look behind us?" Chen Lianbo pulled open the curtains of the west-side window of the mansion.

To the west was the Pearl River, a warship was patrolling, eyeing Xiguan covetously.

"Our retreat has long been cut off. Xiguan is Guangzhou's most prosperous commercial district; the Grand Marshal's Office is reluctant to destroy it, which is why that warship hasn't opened fire. But if you want to escape, you'll probably end up buried at the bottom of the Pearl River. Enemies are also approaching from the northeast, south, and three other directions."

Vice Commander-in-Chief Chen Gongshou was clearly panicked: "Why not surrender? I still have a lot of property. I have people in the Grand Marshal's Office. Hu Hanming's attitude toward us isn't bad. With some money, we might still save our lives!"

"Hu Hanming? You old fool! We failed to kill him, and you think he'll let you go?"

"And I'm not reconciled! I still have over eight thousand men. Even without British backing, I can still stir up the situation in Guangdong Province!" Chen Lianbo had clearly become a vicious dog cornered, preparing to fight like a trapped beast.

"Xiguan is a key tax area of Guangzhou. The enemy won't use heavy firepower. We'll defend Xiguan to the death—the longer we drag it out, the better. The Grand Marshal's Office has blockaded the Pearl River and temporarily stopped the British Hong Kong Fleet. But given time, the British and French in the Concession will grow dissatisfied, and Chen Jiongming in the east will seize the opportunity to harass Guangzhou. That will be our chance!"

"So Commander-in-Chief, you mean to use a 'drag it out' strategy?" Chen Gongshou asked.

"Exactly. The enemy is taking trains south along the Guangjiu Railway. I've already arranged troops to intercept them, blunt their momentum, and give them a stern warning!"

The terminal station of the Guangjiu Railway was Huangsha Station, south of Xiguan, and also the terminal of the Southern Route Army.

The Southern Route Army, composed of the Whampoa Student Army, Armored Vehicle Fleet, Workers' Corps Army, and Peasants' Corps Army, would disembark at Huangsha Station and attack the Xiguan Commercial District from the south.

Squeak~

Huangsha Station came to a stop, and several trains pulled in one after another. A force of about fifteen hundred men disembarked from the trains in succession.

The machine guns on the armored train were guarding the surroundings.

He Yingqin had just stepped off the train. Seeing Jiang Dingwen and Liu Zhi beside him, he immediately ordered: "Your Sixth Squad advances to scout and clear the way! And the First Squad! One on the left, one on the right, support each other!"

"Yes!"

The First Squad was led by Squad Leader Jin Fuzhuang, with Instructor Gu Zhutong coordinating command. Jiang Xiangyun, Song Xilian, He Zhonghan, and others were in this unit.

The two squads advanced north in a skirmish line, one on the left and one on the right, scouting the route.

Lv Muzhi was in the Sixth Squad. The squad was filled with a victorious atmosphere, everyone rejoicing over having just taken Dazhatou Station.

"Once we take Xiguan, we can go back and drink Coca-Cola! The Student Squad went to Shaoguan to escort the Grand Marshal, and the Grand Marshal gave the students in that squad a lot of Coca-Cola soda. It's called Kekou Kele. The students brought back quite a bit, saying they'd let us try some..."

"That's for celebrating our victory! Perfect! This is the first battle of our Whampoa Student Army!"

Lv Muzhi walked at the rear of the column, looking ahead. He saw flickering points of firelight on a building in front, and then two or three men in the front rank fell straight to the ground.

"Enemy attack! Get down!" Liu Zhi saw the situation and immediately reminded the Whampoa Student Army to hit the ground.

Rat-tat-tat~ tat-tat-tat-tat~

The moment Liu Zhi gave the order, the gunfire reached Lv Muzhi's ears. It was the sound of machine guns!

The moment Lv Muzhi heard the order, he immediately dropped to the ground, falling prone in the cargo yard north of Dazhatou Railway Station, hiding behind a pile of half-meter-high round logs.

Bullets struck the round logs, sending wood chips flying. Bullets whistled overhead, and classmates who hadn't had time to take cover fell one after another.

Everyone gritted their teeth, pressed tightly against the ground behind cover, pinned down by the heavy machine guns and unable to raise their heads.

"Heavy machine guns! At least three!" Squad Leader Jin Fuzhuang of the First Squad, on the left side of the cargo yard, leaned against cover and shouted loudly.

No one dared to recklessly expose themselves.

"Damn it, the Merchant Corps soldiers are too cunning! Our armored train can't reach them!" Jiang Dingwen angrily pounded the ground.

The Merchant Corps' machine gun position had three Maxim machine guns, operated by veterans bought at great expense from Chen Jiongming's warlord forces.

Three heavy machine guns, coordinated with over a thousand Merchant Corps riflemen, were the appetizer Chen Lianbo had prepared for the Southern Route Army.

The position of the machine gun nest was also tricky; the armored train's heavy machine guns couldn't reach it.

Because the armored train could only move along the railway line, obstructed by the train station platform and buildings, the heavy machine guns on the armored train could not return fire.

Only the Southern Route Army, consisting of five hundred Whampoa Student Army and one thousand Workers' and Peasants' Corps Army, had to face the Merchant Corps' heavy machine guns alone.

The main force of the Southern Route Army was fine, being farther from the front line, but the over one hundred student soldiers of the First and Sixth Squads clearing the way ahead were miserable. Pinned down by the heavy machine guns, they couldn't lift their heads, and over a dozen were killed or wounded.

A classmate who had been shouting about drinking Coca-Cola soda the previous second became a cold corpse on the ground the next second.

"Kill!"

Beside Lv Muzhi, a young student, unable to bear it, shouted loudly and raised his rifle to charge forward.

"What are you doing, Huang Wei!" Lv Muzhi grabbed and pulled him down. Just then, a burst of heavy machine gun bullets swept over the top of the log pile, splintering the round logs and nearly hitting Huang Wei.

"Nonsense! Huang Wei! You stay put for me. After the battle ends, I'll punish you!"

Instructor Liu Zhi gritted his teeth, clearly angry. Huang Wei's actions had been dangerous. It didn't matter if he died alone, but if he led other students to charge up, the price would be paid in blood, and the possibility of the entire army being wiped out was very high.

And the anger rising in Huang Wei's heart was suppressed by that burst of heavy machine gun bullets.

"Brother Muzi, thanks to you for saving me. Thank you!" Huang Wei's face and lips were pale, his chest heaving violently.

Lv Muzhi shook his head: "Younger brother Huang Wei, you're too much of an amateur. No matter how loud you shout, you can't outshout the Merchant Corps' Maxim guns."

Li Zhilong, seeing that Huang Wei was braver than himself, was stunned: "Classmate Huang Wei, you're really brave, daring to charge at heavy machine guns!"

"No, I just can't stand it. Our classmate, my roommate, was fine just now, and now he's lying motionless on the ground..." Huang Wei's eyes were clearly red.

"Even if the sky falls, there's something tall to prop it up. What are you showing off for? The instructor and squad leader haven't spoken yet, so why are you rushing?" The gunfire was too loud. Lv Muzhi patted Huang Wei's shoulder and shouted loudly in his ear.

"Captain Jin, Captain Jiang!" A communications soldier, bowing his waist, crossed the fire line and came to the frontline positions of the First and Sixth Squads. This was to deliver He Yingqin's order.

Squad Leader Jin Fuzhuang of the First Squad, Instructor Gu Zhutong; Squad Leader Jiang Dingwen of the Sixth Squad, Instructor Liu Zhi had already gathered in a circle behind cover, receiving the latest orders relayed by He Yingqin.

"The First and Sixth Squads will restrain the enemy's heavy machine gun firepower on the front. Chief Instructor He Yingqin has already arranged for someone to outflank and strike the enemy's heavy machine gun firepower point. Once the enemy's firepower weakens slightly, your two squads and the Workers' Corps Army and Peasants' Corps Army led by Instructor Wu will immediately launch an attack from the front and seize the enemy position!" The Communications Officer reported Chief Instructor He Yingqin's instructions.

For now there was no other choice; everyone had to obey Chief Instructor He Yingqin's orders.

At Sha Station, Instructor Wu ordered the Armored Vehicle Fleet to dismantle the heavy machine guns and transport them forward for use.

The remaining Whampoa Students split into two groups and outflanked from both sides.

One Thousand Labor Corps and Peasant Corps served as the Frontline Main Attack Echelon, ready to advance and attack at any time once the situation changed.

"Classmates, attract the enemy's heavy machine gun firepower! Open fire!" Squad Leader Jin Fuzhuang of Squad One shouted loudly, exposing his position to open fire on the Merchant Corps Army's firepower point.

The others followed suit, raising their guns to open fire, declaring their presence to the Merchant Corps Army's heavy machine guns and drawing fire.

On the left, the three squads under Combat Team Three were starting to outflank.

"Hurry up! Faster!" Chen Geng moved swiftly, not daring to stop for a moment, muttering under his breath.

"Xiangyun, Xilian, Muzi, and Li Zhilong! You all had better survive and wait for me! Don't let the Merchant Corps kill you!"