Chapter 54 "Battle" outside Zhengyang Gate

"Hurry up! Move faster!" Liu Peng, the second platoon leader of the guard company of the Model Regiment, dressed up as a businessman in plain clothes with a long gown and jacket, but he waved a mullet in his hand. In the private room on the second floor of Zhengyang Building near Zhengyangmen Outside Street, he commanded his men to set up a water-cooled machine gun made in Gongxian! The bullet supply chain filled with yellow Chengcheng bullets was also taken out of the wooden box, and several bags were placed on the dining table.

His chest was fluctuating violently. Knowing whether it was because of tension or excitement, he saw that the machine gun was finally set up, so he took a deep breath, pushed open the window, and poked his head out and looked in the south.

It is now at around 6 a.m. on January 18, 1917, and the sky is getting brighter. However, the street outside Zhengyangmen is still deserted and there are not many pedestrians. On both sides of the street, there are soldiers with live ammunition standing there every ten meters. These soldiers have no braids behind their heads. They should have been sent by the Beijing Infantry Commander's Office to maintain order. Because soon, Zhang Xun's 17th Battalion Braids Army will enter Beijing from Zhengyangmen!

At this moment, a sound of stairs sounded. Liu Peng turned around and looked at the door of the private room. The mullet in his hand was also loaded with bullets.

"Dong, dong, dong." Three knocks came from outside the door. This was the agreed secret code, indicating that the person who came was his own. Then a soldier dressed as a student opened the door, and the second row of intern Zhong Zhijie came in.

"Platform Commander, Zhang Xun's braided soldiers have arrived, and they can enter the range of machine guns in at most five minutes!" Zhong Zhijie's facial features were also tight. Although he participated in the North-South War after the Xinhai Revolution and the Second Revolution, like today, less than thirty people were used to raid thousands of troops. Not to mention participating, I have never heard of it! Of course, Chang Ruiqing did not let them work for nothing. Not only did they settle down for a thousand oceans, but also the big cake of promotion to the third level! What attracted Zhong Zhijie was this company to be promoted to the third level. He is now a second lieutenant intern, a lieutenant platoon commander, and a second level was a deputy company commander, and a third level was a captain company commander! For him, a graduate of a Baoding graduate or a military preparatory school in Chang Ruiqing's core circle, besides seeking wealth and danger, what are the shortcuts for development?

Liu Peng's face was not much calmer. He forced a smile at Zhong Zhijie and pointed to the ** bag on the table: "Zhijie, you are very strong, you will be the first ** bag. Follow my command and you must throw it out accurately!"

"Okay, platoon leader, please take a look!" Zhong Zhijie picked up a bag and hugged it in his arms, then squatted beside the window, and poked out half of his head and looked out.

After a while, the sound of stairs came vaguely, and then I saw braided soldiers arranged in columns, wearing blue and gray military uniforms and carrying rifles walking over. The braided soldiers were not from the "newly trained army" of the Qing Dynasty, but the foundation of the patrol battalion. They defeated Jiangsu's anti-Yuan Army during the Second Revolution and were praised as "the strongest soldier in the Southeast". It is hard to say how strong they were on the battlefield, but they were famous for bullying the people! They were even beaten by foreigners on the Jinpu Road! This was the first time in the Republic of China... Zhang Xun did not dare to be too restrictive of such soldiers, and could only let their will.

As for the same sentence, as long as you can get by, you can get by. For example, today, Zhang Xun gave orders to let the braided soldiers enter the city at less than two o'clock in the morning. It was already past six o'clock, so he came late... Get up and have breakfast and smoked big cigarettes. It took less than four hours to set off, and it still could be explained. So Zhang Xun's general Bai Baoshan was still very satisfied. He sat in the sedan chair and hummed a small song while shaking his head and fantasizing about the glory and wealth of the Qing Dynasty after the restoration of the Qing Dynasty. When the Qing Dynasty came back, his master Zhang Xun was the Minister of Beiyang and the Governor of Zhili, and the Chief Minister of Political Affairs! And he, Bai Baoshan, could not escape the errands of a governor, and would not get a few million taels at that time...

At this moment, "Boom!" A deafening loud noise came from somewhere, shattering Bai Baoshan's dream.

Assassination! Bai Baoshan thought of the first thing he wanted was not an enemy attack, but assassination! Throwing homemade bombs at the carriages or sedan chairs of Qing officials on the street was very popular in the late Qing Dynasty! Now that the Qing Dynasty has recovered, the Kuomintang, who are unwilling to withdraw from the stage of history, will of course use shameful assassination to deal with the imperial officials! And isn’t its future governor their target?

Thinking of this, Bai Baoshan immediately lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and rolled out. There was already a chaotic situation outside. Machine guns, rifles, and pistols crackled into a ball, and there were rumbling explosions from time to time! The entire team of braided soldiers who were advancing dispersed and placed them randomly with rifles. Many of them rushed in directly with shops on both sides of the street. I don’t know whether to occupy the position or steal things? I guess they have both. As for the infantry soldiers on the roadside who were sent by the infantry commander's yamen to maintain order, have they seen such a scene? Even the Revolution of 1911 did not perform a full martial arts campaign in Beijing, right? They all lost their rifles and hid in a few corners, closed their eyes and recited the names of gods and Buddhas in the sky. Compared with them, Zhang Xun’s braided soldiers were really elite!

Bai Baoshan’s guard was even more elite among the elite. The explosion and gunshots came together and they automatically siege the city and surrounded Bai Baoshan’s sedan chair in the middle. When Bai Baoshan’s guard saw his master rolling out, he went up to support his master and reported to him loudly: “Sir, it’s the back that he is fighting. It is estimated that the artillery battalion was bombed, and the other party has at least a machine gun!”

"What? The rioters have machine guns!" Bai Baoshan's face turned pale. It didn't look like an assassination, but it seemed like an ambush! The rioters in the south made bombs and other things, and machine guns would definitely not be able to enter Beijing City! Only the Beiyang Army stationed in Beijing City can set up machine guns on the street outside Zhengyangmen in Beijing!

Thinking of this, he yelled: "Send the order and each battalion will occupy the commanding heights! Defend the defense on the spot! The artillery battalion will move to a safe area... and then send someone to report to the commander, and we are ambushing outside Zhengyang Gate! There is probably one enemy army, no, two regiments! Now there is fierce battle!" After the order, he escorted a group of confidant guards into Quanjude at the entrance of the Rushi Hutong next to him, and set up his own temporary command there.

More than a dozen battalions of braided soldiers who received the order also spread on both sides of Zhengyangmen Outside Street. The focus was on seizing the "strategic points" of the Dazhalan area, such as Tongrentang, Zhang Yiyuan, Neiliansheng, Ruifengxiang, Buyingzhai, Ma Juyuan, Daguanlou, etc., all rushed into the brigade of braided soldiers. However, near Zhengyanglou, the "main battlefield", there were not many braided soldiers coming over. There were only a few cannons that were blown up by the ** bag, and dead bodies all over the ground, all of them were officers and soldiers of the braided soldiers artillery battalion.

Liu Peng, the platoon leader of the model regiment commander of the attack, saw most of the braided soldiers scattered into shops everywhere to establish positions. He quickly set off his guns and shouted: "Retreat, hurry! Follow up, walk from behind, and run away separately!"

Zhong Zhijie pulled a bag and threw it to the side of the machine gun, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Platform Leader, this ticket deal is beautiful! He exploded four cannons! He killed dozens of braided soldiers. The fucking number of strongest soldiers in the southeast is like this." As he said that, he pulled Liu Peng out of the private room and ran towards the kitchen downstairs... Not long after, he saw the good second floor of Zhengyang Building in Beijing being bombed, breaking a big gap!
Chapter completed!