The entire eastern part of the city had already been turned into a mess, and the officers and soldiers of the 9th Brigade seemed to have an almost fanatical obsession with attacking. Once they started fighting, they couldn't stop. The combat effectiveness of Mei Xing's 5th Division was also somewhat disappointing, and due to their complacency and lack of effective defense, Song Xianfu and Hao Bing's attacks only lasted for a few minutes before the two regiments of the 5th Division stationed in their respective areas were defeated. The regimental commanders looked at each other's situation, then looked at their panicked subordinates, and decided to surrender directly. Wang Zhenyu, who was following behind to direct the battle, was stunned, thinking it was too incredible.

  Miraculous? That's nothing. Within less than 400 meters of Wan Yao Huang, Lu Di Ping's attack was even more miraculous, and somewhat childish.

  It should be said that Lu Diping, who had already surrendered to Yan Yankui, was still quite righteous. Wang Zhenyu's mutiny was not a trivial matter, and if things went wrong, it would cost him his head. However, although Lu Diping was a notorious turncoat, he became loyal as soon as he joined Wang Zhenyu's side. Without waiting for Wang Zhenyu to give the order, Lu Diping had already tied up several disobedient officers and led his troops out. Then, with a loud shout, he rushed to Wang Zhenyu's side, striking a pose that made Wang Zhenyu feel warm in his heart for a while. However, Lu Diping was still Lu Diping, and he wouldn't do anything that would put him at risk. His direction of attack was different from others, and it was he who had requested it, so Wang Zhenyu couldn't refuse his friend's request and naturally agreed to it.

  Lu Diping's initiative was actually suspicious, as he requested that the commander of the attacking regiment not only be his fellow countryman but also his alumnus. As soon as the siege was completed, he sent someone to invite this old friend out. The two drank a few cups at the camp gate, and Lu Diping persuaded him for a while, and the other party actually ordered his troops to surrender. It turned out that most of the officers in the Fifth Division knew that Mei Xian was now a hated figure in Changsha, and even the military government he had supported didn't want to see him anymore. The fact that their military pay had been delayed for three months was proof. The officers naturally did not want to sacrifice their lives for the notorious Mei Xian. As a result, Lu Diping was a lucky man who didn't fire a single shot and completed the task. Afterward, when Wan Yaohuang mentioned this incident, Wang Zhenyu couldn't help but admire Lu Diping. A few days later, when he talked about this with Yang Wanguo and others, he still sighed: "Our commander Lu is lucky not to have gone into business. It's a blessing for merchants, but a misfortune for us soldiers." In the vast Hunan Army, Lu Diping can indeed be considered a rare talent.

  The entire Fifth Division, the only ones who truly held on were the troops stationed in Mei Xing's division, where his trusted aides and guards, totaling over 400 people, were ordered to defend. These men, whether in terms of equipment, training or treatment, were the best in the Fifth Division. Even when the military authorities withheld their pay, Mei Xing did not forget to take money out of his own pocket to feed them. Therefore, when the time came, the entire Fifth Division was willing to fight to the death for Mei Xing.

  Mei Xing himself, no matter how foolish he was, knew what the situation was now. He summoned the officers around him and gave a confident speech. He told everyone very clearly that as long as they worked together to hold on until dawn the next day, the Provincial Governor's side would send troops to support them, and at that time, he would not be stingy and would heavily reward everyone.

  The morale of the guards was mobilized and everyone shouted as they went to set up their defenses.

  Mei Xing, who was full of bitter water in her belly, knew best in her heart that the so-called reinforcements were not to be expected. Tan Yanqian, that old turtle egg, would rather die himself. If the Governor's Mansion really sent troops out, they wouldn't be reinforcements, but rather the black and white impermanence coming to send herself off on her last journey. Mei Xing was extremely disheartened in her heart, fearing that she might not survive this calamity today.

  When people reach a desperate situation, they will always struggle desperately before dying, and even a cornered dog will jump over the wall.

  Moreover, the morale displayed by the Guards' steel seemed to have given him a bit of confidence, but this little bit of pitiful confidence was immediately extinguished by Wang Zhenyu without mercy.

  He actually ordered the troops to use mortars and hand grenades against the headquarters of the Fifth Division, for goodness' sake, this is in the city! As a result, the entire Changsha was awakened by the explosions of hand grenades and mortar shells. The citizens were huddled with their wives and children on the bed, trembling with fear, praying silently to heaven, hoping that no one would break into their homes.

  Tan Yanqing waited at the governor's mansion for Zhao Hengyu's report. Although it had not been long since Zhao Hengyu set out, Tan felt as if a century had passed, his heart was extremely anxious, and he could only pace back and forth in the flower hall with his hands behind his back to relieve his anxiety a little. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard, and Tan Yanqing was shocked to ask the deputy officer standing beside him: "What is this sound? Artillery? How can they use artillery in a military coup? What do they want to do? You go quickly, send someone to check immediately, and report back quickly."

  Looking at the deputy officer who was stunned and did not immediately execute the order, Tan Yanqing suddenly felt a very weak feeling in his heart, the situation was completely out of control, he no longer blamed the deputy officer's mistake, but only sighed and slumped in the chair without moving.

  The world is always full of injustices, such as this time's Changsha soldiers' riot. As the biggest victim of this riot, the fifth division officers and men had not participated in any real battles before. During the new army era, they did not have the opportunity to participate in the autumn campaign of Zhangde, and during the revolution, they did not go to the front line of Hubei. Although they received a certain degree of military training, it was still just training, and the intensity was even less than street fighting. To be precise, intimidating people is possible, but real fighting is not, going to Baoqing Prefecture to capture revolutionaries is also with ulterior motives, bayonets against bare hands, fundamentally just showing off, and never encountered any decent resistance.

  An army that has not experienced war, its combat effectiveness is extremely watered down. If it's just a matter of standing at attention, the Fifth Division is absolutely no worse than the Ferocious Tiger Brigade. But when it comes to actual combat experience, the gap between them is like heaven and earth.

  At that moment when the hand grenades and mortar shells flew into the military camp, these brave guards surprisingly did not know what those black things were, nor did they even know to lie down. What followed was naturally a big blow, and the morale that had just been boosted immediately dissipated.

  The greatest injustice has emerged, the fifth division's officers and soldiers didn't even have a chance to transition before encountering the ninth fierce tiger brigade, which is considered the strongest of the Xiang Army. This unit first gained fame in the battle at Yudai Gate, then went to Nanjing and recruited several thousand elite militiamen with hard bones, plus good treatment, strict training, high morale among officers and soldiers, and experience in military actions such as suppressing the Nanjing military riot. Such a unit might still be lacking when fighting against the Beiyang Army, but fighting against the fifth division is like taking something by hand, effortless.

  After the first round of firepower attack, the elite of the elite, the ace of the ace, the instructor team led by Wang killed in. The combat characteristics of the instructor team are swift and decisive attacks, once a breakthrough is achieved, they will not hesitate to go all out, giving the enemy no chance at all. This has been proven in the battle to suppress the rebellion in Nanjing. Soldiers fought in units of platoons, conducting alternate attacks, advancing quickly, and rapidly forming supporting firepower to effectively suppress resistance. The soldiers of the Fifth Division had never seen such a fierce fight before, and they collapsed after holding on for just over a minute.

  Due to his outstanding performance in suppressing the Nanjing soldiers' riot, Li Zongren was awarded the rank of lieutenant, but he did not go down to the grassroots level to take up a post. Instead, he stayed with the instructional team as deputy commander of one of its battalions. The original battalion commander, Song Haomin, was transferred to serve as secretary to Wang Zhenyu's Jingwei. Bai Chongxi was transferred to Yang Wanguis command to serve as lieutenant and combat advisor. Yu Zuobai, Liao Xue, and Li Pinxian went down to the troops to serve as platoon leaders, and nearly half of the instructional team was replaced.

  This time, Wang Zhenyu still decided to let the teaching team take the lead in the attack. As a result, Li Zongren, who was acting as the deputy squadron leader, led his troops into the headquarters of the Fifth Division first. He took the lead and used his newly issued shotgun to fire continuously, knocking down several enemy soldiers who were not paying attention.

  At this time, the fifth division headquarters was in a state of chaos, some wooden buildings had started to catch fire, and the smoke was getting thicker. Everywhere were swaying figures, Mei Xing's confidants were still trying to organize the scattered soldiers, hoping to hold on for a while longer. But this was clearly futile, as the previous rounds of explosions had already blown away the last bit of courage from these soldiers.

  Li Zongren is no longer interested in these scattered soldiers fleeing everywhere. From the initial idea of leaving to completely identifying with this team, Li Zongren now has only one ideal: to do a good job in the Ninth Brigade and strive to stand out early, achieving greater ideals and ambitions. So his current goal is to catch Mei Xiang, no matter dead or alive.

  But it was really too chaotic, Li Zongren suddenly saw several military officer-like people running very regularly towards a small three-story foreign-style building tens of meters away, directly telling him that this should be the headquarters of the Fifth Division.

  "First squad leader, second squad leader, bring your men and follow me!" The opportunity is fleeting, if missed it will never come again. Li Zongren made a decisive decision and shouted loudly.

  More than a dozen student soldiers immediately followed Li Zongren and rushed out, with their target being the small Western-style building.

  Mei Xing was right in this small villa, his chief of staff was making a final desperate attempt to persuade him: "Commander, let's change into plain clothes and leave quickly, as long as we have the green mountain, we won't be short of firewood!"

  Mei Xun stood by the window, gazing out at the world outside through the glass. He didn't look at his subordinates who were fleeing in all directions, but instead stared into the dark night sky, as if searching for some kind of answer within it.

  After a long while, he finally let out a sigh and said: "Chief of Staff, where can we escape to now? Everything is over, everything should be over. I was deceived by those bastards in the Advisory Council from the moment I killed the two governors. I am destined for this ending today. You go, Mei Mou is incompetent, sorry to all the brothers in the whole division."

  The chief of staff wanted to persuade him again, when several trusted officers rushed in and were about to join the chief of staff in persuading the commander to leave. Mei Xing suddenly shouted: "Am I still your commander?"

  Those several trusted officers were stunned for a moment, then stood at attention and replied loudly: "Yes."

  Mei Xian nodded: "Then execute Laozi's last order, take the chief of staff out, go quickly".

  Several officers looked at each other and immediately chose to execute the order, carrying the chief of staff out.

  The chief of staff struggled but shouted at the division commander, Mei Xiang didn't care about it anymore, it's time to end this wealth and glory that is like a fleeting wind.

  One minute later, Li Zongren kicked open the door of Mei Xing's living room. He saw a scene that he would remember clearly until his old age: A man wearing a lieutenant general uniform was standing with his back to the door by the window. He turned around and smiled, saying: "I am Mei Xing, the commander of the Fifth Division. I want to see your superior officer."

  The Mǎ Hǔ Lǚ almost captured the headquarters of the Fifth Division without any casualties.

  Mei Xun knew that the situation was already gone, he had no choice but to commit suicide, because he really couldn't understand how his own proud Major General and commander of nearly 10,000 elite soldiers could fall to such a state overnight. He sat in the headquarters, lost and disheartened, until Li Zongren led the instructors' team to rush in...