The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Soon a pot of pork was stewed. When the Qing soldiers smelled the aroma of the meat, they could not wait any longer and grabbed a few pieces of meat from the pot and put them into their mouths. The captain waved his hands and slapped several greedy guys in succession.

"You useless thing, aren't you afraid of burning your paws?"

"Forget about being scalded to death. This is the last meal of his life. I don't even know if I'll be able to eat tomorrow."

"Why are you saying such depressing things? Soldiers eat food, accept orders, and obey orders. That's only natural."

Hey, sir, I'm just saying. This meat is really well cooked, you should try it too!"

Soon the meat was distributed to everyone, and the team leader ate it with great relish. At this moment, the aroma of wine wafted over, and it was Xiong Binkui who ran over holding a large jar.

"Sir, I found a jar of Maotai in the neighboring house. It's a top-quality wine. I'd like to present it to you!"

"You're just messing around! We're in the military area. How can you fight if you're drunk? Look, the Red Bandits are already outside the city. If they're all drunk, they'll charge in and you won't even know how you lost your heads!"

This team was scolding Xiong Binkui loudly, but the Qing soldiers on the side could no longer bear it. Some of these Qing soldiers were old troops left over from the past, and the rest were mostly newly recruited soldiers, and there was basically no military discipline to speak of.

"Sir, this is top-quality Moutai. Let's just take a sip each. It won't delay anything. Please have some pity on us!"

The team leader seemed to be a little tempted as well, thinking that if everyone had a sip it wouldn't hurt anything.

"Then each of you can take a sip. Don't drink more."

Upon hearing that they were allowed, everyone hurriedly snatched the jar of wine from Xiong Binkui's hand, and drank it in big gulps, one bowl after another. They felt so happy in their hearts that the team leader could not bear it anymore and joined in drinking.

At this time, several other team members had taken advantage of the opportunity of these Qing soldiers drinking to secretly take over the weapons of these Qing soldiers. Several people began to equip themselves and aimed their guns at these drinking Qing soldiers, ready to control them, and then be ready to cooperate with the People's Liberation Army brigade to attack the city gate at any time.

Liu Shikang, the commander of the Qing army, was well aware of the Qing army's conduct, but he probably never imagined that his simple offer to improve their food would bring disaster upon the people of Zunyi. Armed with guns, the Qing army knocked on shop after shop, knocking on the doors of wealthy households. Initially, the looting was relatively disciplined, but once the retreating soldiers joined in, the situation quickly deteriorated, and the entire scene descended into chaos. Soon, order in the city was completely lost, and Zunyi's former hooligans, secret societies, and gangs took the opportunity to join in the fun.

Liu Shikang was busy arranging Qing army guards on the city wall while watching the Red Bandits' attack while the Red Bandits were not attacking. But suddenly he heard someone shouting, "Oh no, Commander-in-Chief, there's a fire in the city."

Liu Shikang turned around and was shocked. Sure enough, there were fires everywhere. If they were not put out, the consequences would be disastrous. His first reaction was that the Red Bandits had entered the city and set fires everywhere, so he asked: "Did the Red Bandits cause trouble and set fires?"

The subordinate was speechless after being asked this question, but he could only helplessly say: "No, it was those hooligans who had a conflict with our army that was collecting grain, and those hooligans set the fire."

Naturally, your subordinates won't say that you are the culprit, so they bring out some thugs to take the blame.

After hearing this, Liu Shikang flew into a rage and shouted, "Assholes! These people should all be beheaded. Not only do they not think about serving their country at this time, but they actually dare to cause trouble. Lieutenant General of the First Battalion."

"exist."

"Immediately take a battalion and put out the fire for me, then suppress those hooligans. Don't spare a single one."

"Yes."

After Liu Shikang gave the order, he saw the fire growing bigger and bigger in the distance. He had no intention of continuing to deploy and command the battle on the city wall. He immediately led a group of officers to the foot of the city, intending to go to the command center in the city to command.

At this time, Li Lao Hu, who was outside the city, also saw the flames inside the city. Naturally, he would not miss such a great opportunity. He immediately ordered: "Fire."

Liu Shikang, who had just descended the city wall, suddenly heard artillery fire from the opposing position. Shells whistled toward Zunyi City. He hadn't expected the Red Army to launch an artillery attack at this moment. He immediately ordered his troops to the city walls to defend them, preventing the Red Army from breaching the defenses, while he himself raced toward the headquarters.

Liu Shikang's escape was a big deal. The Qing soldiers defending the city had no intention of staying on the city wall. 80% of their eyes were focused on their commander. Seeing Liu Shikang running, they naturally thought that their commander was going to escape. Suddenly, someone shouted, "General Liu Biao has escaped. Everyone, run for your lives."

These Qing troops were also generally aware of Sichuan's policy regarding prisoners, knowing that as long as they were not killed, there would be no problem, so they naturally cherished their lives. After hearing the call, this was a big deal. The Qing troops who had originally wanted to escape immediately ran away as if they had received an order.

"Run for your life! Liu Biaotong has run away." "Run."

"Run away."

When Liu Shikang discovered the soldiers fleeing, he immediately stopped to stop them. "I'm Liu Shikang. I'm not running away. Go back and fight..."

Liu Shikang's eyes turned red, and he raised his pistol and shot several deserters. This thunderous move immediately frightened some of the Qing soldiers who wanted to escape. Many of them stopped and looked at Liu Shikang.

"Get back, you good-for-nothings! Don't run! Hold the city walls to the death. Killing a bandit will earn you one ounce of silver."

Liu Shikang was indeed a loyal lackey of the Qing Dynasty, still thinking of resisting stubbornly at this time. Regardless of whether there is a big reward for brave men, many Qing soldiers actually turned around and walked towards their original fighting positions.

At this moment, a deafening explosion suddenly sounded at the city gate, and the entire city gate was blown to pieces. A huge gap appeared on the city wall.

Seeing the huge gap, Liu Shikang's eyes suddenly blazed with anger. Zunyi hadn't even been held for half a day before it was breached by the Sichuan Red Bandits. How could he face Governor Xiliang? If Zunyi were lost, the entire Guizhou province would be annihilated. Coming from a landlord family, he naturally understood what would happen if the Red Bandits occupied Yunnan and Guizhou. Therefore, Liu Shikang fought tooth and nail, commanding his men to hold the gap in the city wall while deploying street fighting, determined to fight the Red Bandits to the death.

Xiong Binkui and several of his team members quietly climbed onto the rooftops of the street, and after walking past several houses, they came to a place with a wider view. From this high vantage point, they could clearly see the situation on the battlefield.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the PLA launched a charge towards the gap in the Zunyi city wall and quickly approached the city walls. However, the Qing army, with its advantageous terrain, continued to fire at the PLA. Because the gap was not very large, the Qing army, despite their desperate efforts, was unable to move the attacking army.

"Brothers, take aim and fight me hard! Killing each bandit will reward you with one ounce of silver. The more you kill, the bigger the reward. As long as we prevent the bandits from entering the city, we can wait for the Governor's support!"

Liu Shikang commanded the Qing army to fight back desperately, shouting loudly. Many Qing soldiers, after hearing about the generous rewards and seeing that the Red Bandits' attack was contained, immediately started shooting desperately as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Xiong Binkui saw a ferocious Qing army officer from afar. Seeing so many people standing around him, he guessed that this man was a high-ranking official.

"Over there, take aim, and shoot with me."

When the comrades saw this, they didn't say anything, but immediately raised their guns and aimed at the Qing army officers here.

Xiong Binkui pointed his gun at Liu Shikang. Suddenly, the world fell silent. The distant artillery fire had no effect on him. All he could see was the tiny figure of the enemy. He drew his gun in a straight line, estimated the distance, raised it slightly, and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

After a gunshot, Liu Shikang, who was desperately giving orders, felt as if his back was suddenly hit by a fist. His body trembled, and most of his strength disappeared in an instant, and he slowly fell to the ground.

Suddenly, a burst of rapid gunfire came from behind, followed by screams, and many officers nearby were shot and fell to the ground.

The deputy commander of the nearby army was lucky enough not to be shot, but he was immediately horrified. The shot came from behind, and he immediately knew that Zunyi could not be defended. Moreover, Liu Shikang was the highest-ranking officer of the Qing army in Zunyi. If he was killed, and Guizhou was lost, he would be held responsible. Governor Xiliang would certainly want his head, so Liu Shikang had to be saved.

He could no longer care about anything else and hurriedly asked several people to lift Liu Shikang and fled to the back against the wall. He originally wanted to send Liu Shikang to the military doctor for treatment, but he did not expect that when he fled, the people around him thought that Liu Shikang and his fellow officers had died. They immediately lost their fighting spirit and fled in all directions.

"The ball is dead, Liu Biaotong is dead, run for your life." "Run."

Goodness me! That cry was a godsend, the last straw that broke the camel's back. The Qing army had been forced into a fight, mustering their remaining courage. But upon hearing that the people offering the bounty had died, they immediately lost all their fighting spirit, dropped their guns, and fled.

The deputy commander looked at him and realized that this was not going to work. Without someone to cover their retreat, they couldn't escape. He drew his pistol and shouted, "Everyone, get back here, or you will be subject to military court..."

But the Qing army was so focused on escaping that they couldn't listen to the deputy commander's nonsense. Even if the deputy commander shot two Qing soldiers, it would be useless. The Qing soldiers lowered their heads, bent their waists, and took off their uniforms, fleeing even faster, soon disappearing into the streets and alleys.

Seeing that he could no longer stop them, the deputy commander stopped caring and started to flee with Liu Shikang.

The so-called "a crushing defeat" is a description of the current situation of the Qing army. The uncertainty of Liu Shikang's life and death has made everyone lose their will to fight. They have thrown away all their guns and ammunition, and they all wish they could grow three legs and flee Zunyi or hide in the homes of ordinary people.

Seeing the gunfire from the opposite side weaken, the commander of the attacking force immediately shouted: "Comrades, for the new China, follow me."

After shouting, they immediately rushed into the gap. Other comrades also rushed into the gap. Seeing that the Qing army had been defeated, they did not hesitate to continue attacking the city under the cover of machine guns and artillery to expand the victory.

When I saw this scene later, I knew that Zunyi had been captured. I also showed my face and said hurriedly: "The fifth regiment continues to attack and expand the victory. The sixth regiment immediately captures prisoners and kills murderers and arsonists on the spot. The seventh regiment immediately starts

Start putting out the fire."

Li Lao Hu led a brigade of soldiers, knowing that as long as they could break into the city, they would be considered successful. As a result, with the help of the special operations team, they took Zunyi, which was guarded by more than 2,000 Qing troops, at a very low cost. It was simply too easy.

Chapter 331:

The Qing troops in Yunnan and Guizhou were also aware of the PLA's policies. Now that the city had been broken, they immediately lost interest in resistance. Seeing they could not escape, they simply knelt down and surrendered as prisoners. It took a long time before Zunyi returned to peace.

"This battle, capturing prisoners and cleaning up afterward, took even longer than the actual fighting itself." "Alas, if we hadn't attacked quickly and organized a fire brigade in time, this important town in northern Guizhou, a city famous for its history and culture, would have been burned down."

"Haha, these hooligans and secret society members are really destructive. This time they can be considered as giving us an assist."

"Forget it. We can easily defeat the Qing army without them. With them, look how much property was robbed and how much property was lost. I would rather they didn't come out to cause trouble."

"But with them disrupting things, we can save some comrades. The Chairman has long said that even if they become our enemies the next minute, we must still unite as we should, and we must still divide the cake as we should. We must prioritize dealing with the main enemy."

"Yes, you are the political commissar. I can't argue with you." "This has nothing to do with the political commissar. Let's talk it out logically."

Li Lao Hu completely controlled the situation in Zunyi and immediately sent a telegram to Zhang Yinghao. When Zhang Yinghao received the telegram, he was in the war room discussing the battle situation with everyone.

Zhang Yinghao was still very confident about the start of this war. He had originally arranged so many comrades to enter the Yunnan-Guizhou area in advance. It can be said that Zhang Yinghao had been preparing for more than two years to liberate the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Chief of the General Staff Liu Qi read the telegram and laughed: "Haha, Chairman, Li Lao Hu fought well. I didn't expect him to take Zunyi so quickly!"

"Well, that's really good. After spending so much time in boot camp, it's time to let him go back to the mountains. With proper training, he'll become another formidable general! Now it all depends on the troops from Guiyang."

After Li Lao Hu sent the telegram and left behind the garrison troops, he immediately set off and marched towards Guiyang overnight.

By this time, the seeds sown in Sichuan had already taken root and sprouted across Yunnan and Guizhou, with some capable comrades already developing considerable armed forces. Upon learning of Sichuan's advance into Yunnan and Guizhou, these seeds of hope quickly spread like wildfire. As the PLA advanced, the people along the way offered food and drink, joyfully welcoming the army. Faced with this situation, the PLA quickly accelerated its march.

Of course, this was the image the PLA saw, but in reality, the entire land of Yunnan and Guizhou was now filled with the sound of the Red Bandits approaching. The poor people were naturally delighted to hear this, but the landlords and chieftains were terrified. The brutality of Sichuan's treatment of landlords and chieftains was now legendary among these people. So, upon hearing that the PLA was approaching, they either quickly organized an attempt to resist or fled with their families.

As many armed forces met the PLA, armed uprisings erupted in cities and counties, and many armed forces gradually gathered on their own, unexpectedly surrounding Guiyang. Although everyone had no common affiliation, and many even had conflicts, ethnic and Hakka, but at this moment, they were all put aside.

Until three days later, when the PLA vanguard was approaching Xiuwen, the armed forces formed in Guizhou had spontaneously eliminated all the stubborn elements. The PLA occupied Xiuwen without bloodshed and marched straight to Guiyang. At this time, some of the armed forces could no longer hold back and were directing the armed forces to attack Guiyang.

Lin Shaonian, the governor of Guizhou, was well aware of the Qing dynasty's character, having recently submitted a petition to the imperial court calling for constitutional reform. However, the reforms advocated by these established figures, like the Westernization Movement, were largely aimed at maintaining Qing rule. Lin Shaonian, faced with the righteous advance of the People's Liberation Army, had no intention of surrendering. He deployed his troops to deploy their defenses, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle outside Guiyang. Armed forces from various regions surrounded Guiyang from the southeast, while the People's Liberation Army surrounded it from the northwest. Instantly, Guiyang was trapped.

After several days of bloody battles with scattered armed forces, Lin Shaonian had fewer than 4,000 men left. He was already struggling to deal with these concentrated local forces, and now with the even stronger People's Liberation Army, wouldn't he be even more unable to resist? Lin Shaonian sat in the government office, tightly clutching a telegram that Xiliang had sent him not long ago. It promised reinforcements, guns, ammunition, money and food. If Lin Shaonian could hold out for a few more days, everything would be fine.

Lin Shaonian persevered for six days, filled with hope, only to receive news that the PLA had reached Guiyang, while no reinforcements had been seen. Lin Shaonian was a loyal Qing official, and while he wished to escape, he was unwilling to surrender Guiyang. Now, he had no choice but to fight tooth and nail.

Lin Shaonian immediately ordered a city-wide mobilization, mobilizing all Guiyang men and women aged fifteen and above and fifty to help defend the city. He also personally deployed his main forces in the north city, building several lines of defense to counter the PLA's attack. While Lin Shaonian was frantically preparing for battle, the PLA paused and did not rush to attack.

The PLA's lack of offensive activity did not mean it was idle. On the contrary, it was very busy. The PLA had to reorganize these armed forces from various regions. Those willing to continue serving in the army could be reorganized and join the PLA. Those unwilling to serve in the army could also be reorganized into police forces or even allowed to return home and farm after receiving land distribution.

Anyway, wherever the People's Liberation Army goes, there are only two military forces, the People's Liberation Army and the police force. As for the militia, they will only appear after the village head election. But even so, it will not be possible to recruit them in a short time. It is only the armed forces in the north.

In addition to calmly mobilizing troops, the People's Liberation Army ran to the outskirts of Guiyang every day, calling for surrender and sometimes throwing a few grenades. Although these actions could not cause substantial damage to the Qing army, they were undoubtedly a heavy blow to the morale of the Qing side. Gradually, some Qing troops in the city came out quietly to surrender.

Seeing that some of his men had secretly surrendered, Lin Shaonian immediately showed his ruthless side, which was to behead them to establish his authority. He brought all the people he caught who wanted to desert to the front of the battle and chopped off more than a dozen heads at once. This really frightened some Qing soldiers who wanted to desert.

On the third day, after breakfast, the PLA positions finally heard the rumble of artillery fire. Fiery shells rained down upon the Qing positions, sending up clouds of dust and occasional gusts of blood and flesh. After a brief recalibration, the PLA's artillery fire intensified, sending clouds of dust and smoke billowing into the air. The deafening roar terrified the Qing soldiers.

To boost morale, Lin Shaonian also went to the front to inspect the troops. Seeing this situation, he immediately shouted: "Cannons! Where are our cannons? Fire back! Fire back!"

The Qing army artillery barely managed to load their cannons and began to fire back sporadically. The PLA artillery fire seemed to be suppressed a little, and Lin Shaonian's face seemed to have improved a lot. Little did they know that this was the PLA luring the Qing army to fire. As long as the Qing artillery was destroyed, the PLA could attack with confidence.

"Fire, keep firing..."

At this moment, several shells fell on the Qing army's artillery positions as if they were blotting their eyes. The shells exploded, and the shells on the positions also detonated. In an instant, several cannons were blown into the sky, and more than a dozen artillerymen were blown to pieces, and even more artillerymen were injured.

When Lin Shaonian heard the sound of artillery shells exploding in the artillery position, he forced himself to swallow back the words that he wanted to continue firing. However, after swallowing these words, he felt empty inside. There were only two words left in his mind: It's over.

Half of the Guizhou Qing army's artillery were old-fashioned muzzle-loading guns, most of which were recoil-firing, with limited range and power. The remaining few were imported from France, forming the mainstay of the artillery. In a single round of attack, the PLA artillery precisely destroyed more than half of these newer imported guns. However, the opposing PLA gave them no time to reflect, launching another round of bombardment that shattered the Qing artillery and its positions, instantly crippling the artillery.

The Qing army thought they were safe in the trenches, but they didn't know that the People's Liberation Army had a special weapon, the mortar, which was specially designed to deal with trenches. After a few rounds of artillery shells, the Qing army in the trenches suffered heavy losses.

Immediately afterwards, under the cover of artillery fire, the PLA soldiers rushed out of the trenches and quickly approached the Qing army's positions. Machine guns and artillery provided strong cover for the PLA, enabling them to approach the Qing army's positions with minimal casualties. When the distance between the two sides was only one or two hundred meters, the rifles in the hands of the PLA soldiers began to show their power. Anyone on the other side who dared to show their head would be hit by a storm of attacks.

Many of these Qing troops were conscripted men. Faced with the PLA's violent attack, they could only blindly shoot bullets into the air and could not cause much damage to the PLA.

Finally, the People's Liberation Army pressed forward to the front of the trenches. These Qing soldiers were no longer willing to work for Lin Shaonian. The illusory reinforcements would never arrive, and they were unwilling to sacrifice themselves for the Qing court, so these soldiers retreated one after another.

As the saying goes, a defeat is like a mountain collapsing. If one person flees, there will be a second, and a third. The speed of the Qing army's retreat was no less than an avalanche. Countless soldiers threw away their guns, clutched their heads and fled desperately. In this way, the Qing army collapsed across the board. The People's Liberation Army was not in a hurry either, and followed the fleeing soldiers to start chasing them away.

Seeing this situation, Lin Shaonian quickly ordered the supervision team to open fire. The sharpshooters of the People's Liberation Army behind him called out the names of these supervision teams, and the supervision teams could not stop them. The defeated soldiers directly passed the supervision teams and continued to flee. Lin Shaonian had to retreat into the city under the protection of the guards.

"I didn't expect the Qing army to be so vulnerable. Isn't this like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken?"

Li Lao Hu arrived at the front line and could see the positions set up by the Qing army from afar. The positions looked extremely rough, with only a few shallow trenches that could only cover most of the body, and the rest were all exposed. The number of machine guns and cannons was very small, and the positions were not set up reasonably. Li Lao Hu originally thought that the Qing army's last-ditch or dying battle would bring some trouble to the People's Liberation Army, but now it seems that it is not as difficult as he imagined.

"Guizhou Governor Lin Shaonian even ordered a city-wide mobilization, mobilizing all Guiyang men and women aged fifteen to fifty to help the Qing army defend the city. However, he didn't realize that the current warfare model has undergone tremendous changes. It's no longer possible to defend the city walls by simply mobilizing the entire city, as in ancient times."

"Haha, I've listened to too much opera."

"Perhaps he picked up the idea of ​​mobilizing the entire city from a book. But the Chairman said that PLA soldiers generally have an overwhelming advantage over feudal armies under the same circumstances. Isn't this situation normal? Furthermore, the Qing army fears nothing more than a bayonet fight. As the saying goes, one man's desperate efforts are unstoppable, and even ten thousand men will surely die. If we simply focus on fighting, then even if we fight the Qing right away, it won't matter. But what to do after we defeat them is the real key."

"Yes, it's easy to destroy but hard to build, and it's even harder to build well."

At this time, the People's Liberation Army followed the Qing army into Guiyang City, and the city immediately became a mess. When the people who were forcibly conscripted by the Qing Dynasty saw the Qing army disintegrate, they also began to flee for their lives, wanting to return to their homes as soon as possible to hide. Some of the more resentful people even took up weapons and began to attack the Qing army.

Lin Shaonian led his trusted subordinates to escape back to the governor's office, where a large number of defeated troops had gathered. Many of them had retreated from other directions. When the People's Liberation Army launched the attack, those local armed forces also began to attack the Qing army with all their strength. They fought with their lives. After paying a heavy price, these people also managed to break through the Qing army's defense line and rushed into Guiyang.

Lin Shaonian looked at these defeated generals and was at a loss for words. He could only order his loyal troops to quickly set up machine guns and set up bunkers on the street to block the enemy's attack. These bunkers made of sandbags were piled on the street, with machine guns on top, ready for the final decisive battle.

These local armed forces had long suffered under the Manchus, and once they entered the city, they immediately let loose. Many of them looted, burned, and killed without any regard for the surroundings, even slaughtering a large number of the Qing troops who had already surrendered. This behavior, in turn, gave the Qing army the last bit of courage, and they stubbornly held strongholds such as the Governor's Office and several nearby streets, engaging in fierce street fighting with these armed forces.

Seeing these local armed forces acting so recklessly, Li Laohu immediately pursued the remnants of the Qing dynasty while occupying key locations in Guiyang. He also had to allocate troops to suppress these marauding "bandits." That's right, bandits. The moment the PLA entered Guiyang, the primary conflict shifted. It was no longer about the PLA overthrowing the Qing dynasty in Guizhou, as that conflict had already been largely resolved. The first priority was to immediately resolve the conflicts within these local armed forces and restore order. Because the Qing dynasty didn't ban firearms, the local armed forces possessed a large number of firearms. These weapons posed a significant threat to land reform and other efforts in the liberated areas. They had to be confiscated before redistribution could be considered; otherwise, the Forward Party wouldn't have enough comrades to sacrifice.

The revolutionary army finally reached the last stronghold of the Qing Dynasty in Guiyang, which was already filled with the bodies of local armed forces and Qing Dynasty officers and soldiers.

The attacking local troops no longer dared to attack at will and could only confront the Qing troops from the governor's office.

The arrival of the People's Liberation Army immediately became the main force of the attack and the backbone of the attacking forces. However, the People's Liberation Army was not in a hurry. They immediately sent soldiers to shout: "Listen, Qing soldiers inside, you have been surrounded. Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately. We, the People's Liberation Army, will treat prisoners well."

A battalion officer immediately said: "Surrender, Debiao, shoot that man for me."

The battalion commander said this because many of his men who had surrendered before were killed by these local armed forces, and he now had no trust in the attacking People's Liberation Army.

"it is good."

Wu Debiao heard the order, replied, and immediately raised his gun, took aim, and pulled the trigger. Wu Debiao was a veteran, a true marksman, very skilled with a gun, and the battalion commander always kept him by his side.

With a bang, the PLA soldier who had called out fell to the ground. He couldn't understand how he could be shot by the enemy from such a long distance and in such a well-concealed position. If Zhang Yinghao were here, he would immediately recall those epic anti-Japanese dramas from his past life, where the Eighth Route Army shot down those traitorous translators who tried to persuade them to surrender from a thousand meters away, with no distance limit.

Seeing their soldiers being killed, the PLA naturally launched an attack. When attacking the Governor's Office, the PLA soldiers were somewhat careless, or perhaps their attack was too smooth, unaware that the Qing army was making a final desperate stand. Immediately, a squad of PLA soldiers bent down along the wall and quickly attacked.

The battalion officer glanced at the PLA soldiers making tactical moves on the street, sneered, and said, "Machine guns."

Da, da, da, da~