The militia side was neatly arranged in a phalanx formation, with units lined up by squad.

  Liu Yutang, the commander of the second division of the Hunan Army, looked at the young faces of the thousands of officers and soldiers under his command, then gazed out at the Qing army already arrayed in battle formation in the distance. After a brief moment of hesitation, he drew his own command knife: "Expel the Tartars, restore China, charge! Brothers!"

  A thunderous roar also burst forth from the chests of nearly four thousand officers and men of the Second Brigade: "Kill!"

  The attacking troops advanced in a powerful and majestic manner towards the Qing army's defensive position, keeping pace with the drumbeat of the military band.

  As the attacking troops approached the Qing army's position, the officers and men in the second column of the square formation all felt a sense of tension. Their brains stopped thinking, their eyes fixed on the enemy in front, and their bodies continued to advance with conditioned reflexes following the drumbeat.

  One hundred meters, the enemy still did not open fire, and the faces of the Qing army on the opposite side were already clearly visible. This made people unconsciously produce a kind of oppressive mood, and the officers and soldiers of the second battalion even produced a sense of being executed by firing squad, because they were all waiting for the sound of the enemy's gunfire to start.

  Although he was arranged to stay at the Boai Academy, Wang Zhenyu chose to leave his troops in the academy to organize defense, and he came up with Ma Xicheng. Now he is following Wang Longzhong's side, holding a German-made Zeiss binoculars to watch everything on the battlefield. The Qing army opposite is indeed the elite Beiyang Army, and the enemy has entered within 100 meters of charging distance without firing a shot. This is really an eye-opener, if he had such an army in his hands, it's estimated that not only would survival problems be solved, but there would also be no place that couldn't be gone to, Wang Zhenyu couldn't help but secretly admire.

  At this time, Wang Longzhong put down the binoculars in his hand and shook his head: "Liu Yutang is going to lose some money this time. The Tartar soldiers opposite are not easy to deal with. However, the Jade Belt Gate should still be taken down, Liu Yutang's troops are also quite experienced."

  The sound of gunfire grew louder and the long-awaited Qing army finally opened fire, "Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat..."

  Just like the later generations set off millions of firecrackers, Ma Jixiang's heavy machine gun fired, and the bullets poured down on the civilian army's attacking formation like a free rain. Such fierce firepower made Wang Longzhong, Wang Zhenyu and others immediately stunned, this is not just a matter of losing some advantage, it's completely like kicking an iron plate, losing big time.

  The soldiers of the Second Division fell down in batches like cutting grass, and more than a hundred were injured in an instant. The entire attacking formation was chaotic, and the soldiers stopped charging and lay down on the spot. This piece had been cleared by the Beiyang Army, with 50 meters of open space and no cover at all. Moreover, the Qing army fired from a higher position, and even lying down could not avoid casualties.

  Liu Yutang, who was in the rear guard, was also shocked. The firepower on the opposite side was so fierce that even roughly listening to it, there were at least two or three companies' worth of heavy machine guns. He looked back at Huang Xing with a puzzled expression.

  Huang Xing seemed to see through Liu Yutang's mind: "Brother Yutang, let the brothers add some strength and charge forward. The enemy on the opposite side is just a bit more fierce in firepower, guarding such a large ammunition depot as the Jade Belt Gate, it's not surprising to come up with a town-level firepower configuration."

  Liu Yutang's face turned red, and he thought for a moment before calling his deputy officer: "Quickly, organize the dare-to-die corps immediately. We must capture it."

  The second co-operative hundred-man dare-to-die corps immediately dispersed, and with the most astonishing speed, launched a charge towards the Qing army's position. The officers of the other units of the second co-operative also began to urge their soldiers to stand up and attack.

  This dare-to-die corps really made the Qing army busy for a while, after all, more than 100 people scattered and rushed over, and 30 machine guns couldn't take care of them for a while. However, don't forget that there are nearly a thousand Beiyang infantrymen in the trenches under the railway embankment, now it's their turn to shoot and name names.

  These Beiyang Army soldiers are indeed the elite trained by Yuan Shikai, and their biggest difference from the old army is that they have a high level of marksmanship and great courage. In other words, when facing war, they are much more professional than other Chinese armies of the same period, and the bullets they fired almost hit the flesh every time.

  The officers and men of the dare-to-die corps rushed forward one after another to charge into the Qing army's position, although they all regarded death as their homecoming, with a spirit that could move heaven and earth, yet they couldn't dodge those sinful bullets.

  As the last reluctant revolutionary officer fell to the ground with a bullet wound, this hard-won offensive was easily crushed once again.

  Wang Zhenyu thought for a moment, sighing that it would be great if they had hand grenades or artillery. Both of these would have made this defensive position much easier to take. But artillery was not an option, and as for hand grenades, they seemed to have already appeared during the Russo-Japanese War, so why didn't the new army equip them? It's worth noting that this little thing was a must-have weapon for all warlords during the Republican era of warlordism.

  Wang Zhenyu was thinking, the second battalion's soldiers had slowly retreated back to their starting position, their morale severely damaged. This wave of attacks hadn't even touched the Qing army's camp, yet they had lost over 400 men, accounting for one-tenth of the second battalion's total strength. Such heavy casualties made the remaining soldiers unwilling to face the enemy's fierce firepower again, no matter how much the officers tried to rally them.

  Wang Zhenyu finally broke away from the history textbooks and truly felt the fierce fighting power of the Beiyang Army. The cowhide isn't blown, the train isn't pushed, it's no wonder that it's a famous reactionary army repeatedly criticized in history textbooks, they have capital to be reactionary, and their combat effectiveness is not ordinary cruelty.

  But in the command center, Huang Xing suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness. Faced with such fierce firepower and such elite soldiers, he himself was at a loss for what to do after kicking against an iron plate.

  Liu Yutang was busy checking the troops and comforting the wounded. On the other side, Gan Xingyuan organized the third battalion to attack once, but this old Gan was also intimidated by the Qing army's firepower and retreated before the opponent's bullets could even reach him. Huang Xing shook his head at this sight, thinking that this performance was not even as good as the second battalion.

  Huang Xing could only look to Wang Longzhong now, after all, everyone knew what the situation was with those 4,000 people from the party. Just suppressing them for a while would be giving them face, at most it would just be adding to their numbers and boosting their morale, if they were lucky, they might even get to follow up on a victorious battle, but that's about it. For now, it was estimated that the First Corps would still have to take the lead, previously when they fought against the Boai Academy, the third battalion had performed very well.

  But Wang Longzhong shook his head with a bitter smile: "Commander, don't look at the enemy's firepower, just this distance from here to the train station, even if we consume more and replenish it, it's not a difficult task. Our only advantage now is that we have more people, with such fierce firepower, I estimate that at least half of our 8,000 Hunan brothers will be sacrificed here. You make the decision, old Wang will execute it."

  Wang Longzhong is also a wonderful person. The previous words made Huang Xing want to give up, but the next sentence hooked him again.

  Huang Xing gritted his teeth and slapped the board: "Everyone launches an attack together, with one breath, we must take down this place. Brothers, charge!"

  More than 10,000 militia launched a general attack on Ma Jizeng's position. Wang Zhenyu did not participate in this general offensive. He is now just a bald commander, even if he were to charge forward as a big soldier, it would be useless. His cousin, Wang Longzhong, followed Huang Xing and charged out. Looking at the dark mass of militia surging towards the Qing army like waves, Wang Zhenyu truly felt for the first time what it meant by "an army of 10,000 is boundless and shoreless".

  Unfortunately, this tide of ten thousand people, although surging towards the Qing army's shore, was ruthlessly shattered by their fierce firepower.

  It's also depressing, if Huang Xing had played the overall attack from the beginning, maybe he could have killed him. Firstly, Ma Jiyuan's machine gunners were not good at playing at that time, but after two rounds of unsuccessful attacks by the Republican Army, they became old hands. Secondly, the morale of the Republican Army was still okay at that time, but now after seeing the miserable situation of the Second Division, the morale has become quite unreliable.

  And so appeared before his eyes a miserable scene that was not a battle but a massacre.

  The militia suffered a disastrous defeat, with 800 casualties, and still failed to break through, as the sky gradually darkened.

  According to the "Xinhai War History", during the counterattack on Hankou, in the battle of attacking Yudai Gate Railway Station, the Second Brigade of the Aid-Hunan Army under the command of Liu Yu-tang launched an attack on the Beiyang Army's position at Yudai Gate. The Qing army took advantage of its firepower to repel our people's army's attack, and countless brave men fell on the charging road.

  They fought until nightfall, but the Jade Belt Gate still couldn't be taken down. Huang Xing was really helpless and could only order a retreat. In this era, there was no such thing as a nighttime battle with lanterns, because even military novices knew that nighttime battles were not to be taken lightly. Due to various reasons such as troop quality and night blindness, the outcome of a nighttime attack often resulted in one's own troops dispersing on their own before even reaching the enemy. Therefore, this kind of high-risk operation was generally something no one dared to do. Helpless, Huang Xing could only issue an order to retreat and regroup, and the military campaign to retake Hankou had effectively been declared a failure.

  That night, at the wartime headquarters in Boai Academy, Huang Xing and Wang Longzhong had a fierce argument over whether to retreat or not.

  "Huang Zong Commander, I'm not a military god, but we've fought to this point. Our best choice now is to retreat back to Hanyang tonight. The surprise attack on Yubandao is no longer possible. If we retreat now, at least we can still defend Hanyang. Otherwise, if we exhaust ourselves here and lose Hanyang too, it's all over." Wang Longzhong was the first to shout out in his loud voice.

  Huang Xing also became emotional: "Wang Huaitong, this Yudaomen railway station is crucial for our army. Even if we all sacrifice ourselves, we must take down this station. Do not mention retreat again."

  "Joke, Commander Huang, we've all been wiped out here, who's going to defend Hankou?" Wang Longzhong retorted immediately.

  "Wang Xietong, how can a revolution be possible without sacrifice? I, Huang Xing, do not want our revolutionary comrades to shed blood either. But look, take a look at the fighting strength of the Qing army on the other side! If we don't quickly capture the Yudai Gate railway station and cut off their retreat route, cutting off their supplies to win by surprise, can we withstand it just by retreating back to Hanyang and head-on resisting? Can we withstand it?" Huang Xing also got angry.

  At this time, the tall and imposing Liu Yutang stood up: "Commander Huang, I'm different from Wang Longzhong. I'm not afraid of death. Tell me how to fight tomorrow? I'll be the first one to go."

  Wang Longzhong was furious: "Liu Manzi, who are you saying is afraid of death?"

  Liu Yutang and Wang Longzhong had always been at odds, and the two immediately clashed chest to chest, glaring at each other with eyes that seemed to be spitting fire. If it weren't for Li Shucheng and Gan Xintian's quick reaction, grabbing one person each, the two sides would have almost started fighting on the spot.

  "Wang Longzhong shook off Gan Xing's pull and angrily said to Huang Xing: 'I, Wang Longzhong, also know that military orders are like mountains. But Commander Huang, this order of yours that lets our brothers go to their deaths, I'm afraid I won't be able to follow it. Tomorrow, everyone can do as they please, I'll just be in the back cheering you on. If anyone wants to go to their deaths, I, Wang, will not stop them. This kind of nonsense, I'm afraid I cannot participate.'"

  That means tomorrow, brother won't play with you guys anymore. Liu Yutang immediately shouted: "You're still called Wang Dabao, and you've lost face for our Xiang Army! Are you not going up? Without you, we can still attack this station tomorrow. I don't believe it, without you, Wang Tufu, we'll have to eat hairy pigs!"

  Wang Longzhong glared fiercely at Liu Yutang, didn't say anything else and rushed out of the house.

  Gan Xing hastily said to Huang Xing, "Our Hunan Army brothers are just like that, once they've quarreled, it's over, Commander Huang doesn't need to worry. But what Wang Zuo said is also right, we didn't take it down today, how can we take it down tomorrow? Moreover, after a night has passed, the enemy's reinforcements will probably arrive soon. What do you think, Commander Huang?"