Chapter 28 of 100

Chapter 28

14 min read3,448 words

For soldiers, getting into fights is a common occurrence, but using firearms and killing someone is a serious matter. Xiao Ming had long heard the group of intimidating soldiers upstairs arguing, and the innkeeper, undoubtedly on edge, was hiding downstairs, keeping a close eye on the commotion upstairs.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and the innkeeper was frightened to the core. A fight is one thing, but once guns are involved, the situation becomes truly serious. From upstairs came a roar: "You damn fool, you really opened fire! Brothers, let's fight these Guangxi troops to the death. Little Dog, we can't let you die in vain. Kill them!"

The Guangxi army lieutenant, who seemed a bit dazed, hadn't expected the accidental discharge to hit an Hunan soldier right in the forehead. Once that bullet entered, there was no way he could survive!

Seeing the Hunan soldiers on the upper floor attack in a frenzy, the Guangxi soldiers who had run downstairs saw two tables of Guangxi soldiers drinking downstairs. In a hurry, one of them said, "Brothers, the Hunan soldiers upstairs are bullying our company commander. Help us out first. I'll go get more people!"

In those times, anyone wearing the same military uniform was considered a comrade. The warlord troops, accustomed to sticking together, would immediately come to the aid of their own when they heard someone was being bullied.

By the time the Hunan soldiers upstairs, except for He Zhengdao and his group who seemed to have brought guns but didn't use them, realized they hadn't brought guns when they went out. They could only throw whatever they could find upstairs at the Guangxi soldiers.

It was either fate favoring He Zhengdao or the Hunan soldiers feeling uncomfortable carrying guns on their own turf. The Guangxi soldiers downstairs, who had come out to drink, all had their guns with them.

When they saw a few Guangxi soldiers being beaten to a bloody pulp by the Hunan soldiers, the other Guangxi soldiers, already a bit tipsy, immediately raised their rifles and opened fire.

A few Hunan soldiers who were charging forward were immediately shot down. In this situation, He Zhengdao immediately returned fire. As for the other concealed pistols of the guard company, He Zhengdao strictly ordered them not to be used.

After all, as ordinary soldiers, how could they possibly have such pistols?

With He Zhengdao's pistol accurately hitting a few Guangxi soldiers who had just climbed upstairs and opened fire, the Hunan soldiers, who had been intimidated by the Guangxi soldiers' volleys, immediately gathered around He Zhengdao's group. Relying on He Zhengdao's precise shooting, they suppressed the continuous fire from the Guangxi soldiers.

Seeing that these Hunan soldiers hadn't called for reinforcements, He Zhengdao, feigning anger, said, "These Guangxi soldiers dare to massacre our Hunan brothers. Are you all dead? Don't you know to call for help? This is our territory. Why should we hide? Quickly, a few of you go call for help. I'll cover you!"

With He Zhengdao's words, which seemed to be standing up for the Hunan soldiers, the frightened Hunan soldiers looked at him gratefully. They immediately jumped out of the window onto a nearby civilian house and quickly ran down the street.

What made He Zhengdao happy was that the few who went to call for reinforcements were shouting as they ran, "The Guangxi soldiers are killing people! The Guangxi soldiers are shooting! Hunan brothers, come to Old Wang's Inn and help. Our brothers upstairs are almost out of ammunition."

The Hunan soldiers who were idly wandering the streets, upon hearing that the Guangxi soldiers were killing their brothers, couldn't sit still. Those with guns rushed to the inn to help, while those without guns ran back to the barracks to call for reinforcements. The two Hunan soldiers they had held back had already told them that the Guangxi soldiers had killed several of their brothers.

Seeing the few Guangxi soldiers who had been beaten to a bloody pulp being rescued downstairs by the incoming Guangxi soldiers, and at the cost of a few soldiers being killed by He Zhengdao, He Zhengdao, with his capabilities, could have kept them all there. But if he didn't let these Guangxi soldiers go downstairs, how could he make the incoming reinforcements angry?

As the Guangxi soldiers went downstairs, He Zhengdao, seemingly unwilling, said, "Damn, they killed our people and want to run. Chase them! We must kill these Guangxi soldiers and avenge our brothers."

His expression looked as if he truly considered the dead Hunan soldiers as his brothers. He led a few guard company soldiers, who were secretly smiling, downstairs, picking up the rifles and ammunition from the Guangxi corpses, and ran after the Guangxi soldiers.

When He Zhengdao led his group downstairs, the Hunan soldiers upstairs naturally followed, but the rifles next to the corpses had already been picked up by He Zhengdao's group. They could only cautiously follow behind He Zhengdao, guiding the incoming Hunan reinforcements to the direction the Guangxi soldiers had fled.

Seeing the Hunan corpses being carried downstairs, the incoming Hunan reinforcements were furious. They roared and chased after He Zhengdao. As for He Zhengdao and his group, they didn't rush to catch up, occasionally firing to urge the Guangxi soldiers to run faster.

When the Guangxi soldiers who had run back to the camp led a fully armed Guangxi company, seeing their company commander beaten to a bloody pulp, they immediately chased after He Zhengdao and his group without a word.

Seeing the Guangxi reinforcements arrive, He Zhengdao, after shooting a Guangxi platoon leader with a shoulder badge, immediately ordered his guard company soldiers to run back. Because they were far from the Guangxi soldiers and the guard company soldiers were all battle-hardened elites, they weren't afraid of the sporadic gunfire.

But when He Zhengdao and his group saw the incoming Hunan reinforcements, he shouted, "Brothers, run! Those shameless Guangxi soldiers have brought a company. We don't have enough people. Go call for more help! Hurry!"

While speaking, He Zhengdao and his guard company soldiers ran past the scattered Hunan reinforcements. When these Hunan soldiers saw the large number of angry Guangxi soldiers chasing them, they knew the Guangxi forces were overwhelming.

They had no choice but to turn and run. Compared to He Zhengdao's group, they were at a disadvantage. The slower Hunan soldiers were directly shot down by the faster Guangxi soldiers.

Seeing their brothers, who had been chatting with them just moments ago, being killed by the Guangxi soldiers, the fleeing Hunan soldiers didn't forget to wipe away their tears and return fire. Although they couldn't hit one with each shot, they managed to hit a few of the faster Guangxi soldiers as they ran.

Thus, the two armies engaged in a race of life and footspeed on the street. When another Hunan company arrived, the speed of the Guangxi pursuit undoubtedly slowed down.

Hearing the Hunan soldiers who had narrowly escaped cry about the Guangxi soldiers chasing them, the Hunan company commander, who already knew his men had been killed, immediately ordered a counterattack.

The two companies turned the street into a battlefield, fighting like mortal enemies. The gunfire echoed throughout the city, alarming the resting Guangxi, Hunan, and Central Army troops.

When the Guangxi regiment commander, who had arrived in Tongdao, brought his troops to reinforce and ordered the Hunan company commander to stop firing, he was met with a bullet to the head from He Zhengdao, who had hidden in the combat zone with his guard company soldiers.

Seeing their commander's head explode, the Guangxi soldiers, who already felt they were stronger than the Hunan soldiers, refused to back down. They launched a large-scale counterattack, and the retreating Hunan soldiers soon found their leading officers being picked off one by one on the street.

The scene was extremely bloody, no different from their usual battles against the Red Army. Both sides were fighting with red eyes. Even when the later-arriving Hunan commander ordered the Hunan soldiers to stop firing and asked the Guangxi soldiers to do the same,

The Guangxi soldiers, enraged by their commander's death, didn't care. They shot anyone wearing Hunan military uniforms.

Seeing the bullets that almost hit him, the Hunan commander was frightened and felt that the Guangxi soldiers were truly overstepping. He had already ordered the incoming Hunan reinforcements not to fire, trying to calm the situation.

But the Guangxi soldiers continued to pursue relentlessly, almost killing him. Was this a sign of defiance?

Without hesitation, the equally enraged Hunan commander immediately ordered the Hunan troops to launch a full counterattack. For him, only by thoroughly defeating the Guangxi soldiers would they listen.

With the most troops in the city and Tongdao being Hunan territory, did he fear a mere Guangxi regiment?

This full-scale counterattack undoubtedly escalated the conflict, which would only end if one side conceded. But with the two armies already harboring private grudges, they wouldn't back down until the end.

Even when a Guangxi main regiment began a large-scale battle with the Hunan soldiers in Tongdao, the Central Army regiment commander, upon learning of the situation, was content to be a spectator. He told the Central Army troops not to get involved in this internecine conflict.

Only by keeping the warlords divided could the Central Army play a significant role in southern Hunan and western Guangxi!

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