When Qiu Jin said, "How many comrades are there in the Liberation Society." How many comrades and people in western Zhejiang are there who are following us now? Who is lighter and who is heavier? Xu Xilin was stunned, he really didn't think about this problem. In the past few days, Xu Xilin has been anxious, thinking more about how to defeat the Beiyang Army that invaded western Zhejiang, and how to correct the "wrong line" of the General Association of Restoration Societies. Therefore, Xu Xilin considered how his subordinates were short of manpower and how to make the entire battle situation develop in a direction favorable to western Zhejiang. As for Qiu Jin's perspective of taking the interests of the western Zhejiang branch as the highest priority, it has never entered the scope of Xu Xilin's thinking.

"What do you mean?" Xu Xilin asked.

"It would be best if the People's Party could help us and help us defend western Zhejiang. If not, we will evacuate all those who can be evacuated to the BJP. Qiu Jin replied very simply, "Bosun, we are no longer members of the Restoration Society. Even if we still think that we are members of the Zhejiang West Branch of the Restoration Society, the Association will no longer recognize us as members of the Restoration Society. In this case, we also need to think of a way out for these comrades who follow us. ”

"It's just ......, but even if we retreat, the Beiyang Army is surrounded everywhere, and we may not be able to withdraw." Xu Xilin hesitated. The current crisis is also another reason why Xu Xilin is difficult to make up his mind.

When the Beiyang Army came to attack Changxing three days ago, although it had received the news in advance, the western Zhejiang branch was still quite flustered. The county magistrate took the lead in directing the battle on the city wall, and the Beiyang army outside the city marched in a dense formation while firing, while the guards of Changxing lay on the head of the city and kept shooting. The firing lasted less than twenty minutes, and the county magistrate, who commanded the battle, was killed by a bullet in the head. The captain of the county security brigade took over the command. At this time, the Beiyang Army had already attacked under the city wall, "Grenades!" Throw grenades! The captain of the security brigade shouted heart-rending in the dense gunfire: "Don't forget to pull the strings!" ”

In terms of military training, these recruits in Changxing County are far worse than the People's Party's Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, but they have recently had relatively sufficient experience in suppressing bandits in mountainous areas, and the commanders of the troops pay great attention to detail in every battle. Shrinking behind the city wall, pulling the grenade's tab with trembling fingers and throwing it down from the city, everyone still has this basic skill. A series of bombardment explosions and the screams and screams of the Beiyang Army passed, and the rain of bullets under the city suddenly began to decrease.

"Hit!" The captain of the security brigade shouted, and he took the lead in picking up his rifle and began to lie on the battlements at the head of the city and began to shoot. Under the city was the Beiyang Army, which began to be chaotic. After firing several shots, the captain shouted, "I killed one!" Come on, comrades! ”

In fact, the density of the Beiyang army under the city is extremely high, and if you shoot casually, you are afraid that you can hit one person, and everyone does not know whether it will be killed or injured. However, this shouting boosted morale, and the other comrades who followed and started shooting also shouted, "I killed one!" "I killed one too!"

Listening to these shouts, the fighters who had been suppressed by the dense rain of bullets gradually gained some courage, and more and more people began to try to get up and shoot. War is a trade-off process, and as long as the density of firepower is sufficient, it can inflict casualties on the enemy. The Changxing defenders put more and more firepower into the battle, and constantly threw grenades at the Beiyang Army under the city. The two sides were shooting at each other above and below the city.

The more enemies you kill in a war, the more daring you become, and this is basically the same for men. The defensive operation relying on the city walls was a big advantage, when the light machine gun fire points also began to spit out fierce flames towards the Beiyang Army. The more than 300 Beiyang troops who could still fight under the city finally couldn't bear it after several officers were defeated, and saw that their comrades-in-arms were knocked down one by one. Clearly seeing the flames spewing from the muzzle of the enemy's black hole, God knows if the next shot will knock him down. The Beiyang Army couldn't stand the pressure of death and began to retreat screaming, and the entire Beiyang Army, whose morale was damaged, immediately retreated like a flock.

The battlefield is such a very realistic place, after experiencing the battlefield, everyone can understand that they are facing death, not a fantasy death, but a real death without mercy. The Beiyang Army made a serious mistake in the war deployment, their pre-war deployment was surrounded on all sides, and the commander thought that he could intimidate the troops in Changxing County and make them dare not fight. Another mistake was that they had artillery to help them go to war, so they only attacked from the south. If it is an attack from all sides, the troops in Changxing County have no experience, and they are afraid that they will be captured by the Beiyang Army in one time.

However, the Beiyang Army did not expect that the defenders of Changxing County would be able to resist the first wave of Beiyang, and when the attack was organized again, the captain of the county security brigade had already readjusted his deployment. The troops that had shown good performance in the battle south of the city were divided into the other three sides, and a defense system was built with them as the core.

The militia among the workers was also incorporated into the battle sequence, and according to the urban defense plan of the People's Party, the troops organized the masses to take refuge in the open areas, and turned the workers and citizens into ambulance teams, extinguishing the fires and carrying the wounded in the city. This is, of course, extremely inefficient compared to the BJP's ability to mobilize and organize. But organized is better than not organized, after everyone is integrated into an organizational system, in the face of strong external pressure, the first reaction of human beings is to follow the team.

It is almost human nature to hide closely, and hiding behind the city walls, the casualties of the western Zhejiang branch have plummeted. And those cadres who had experience in the war took the lead in shooting, and the fighters were encouraged to fight. The firing level of the two sides can be described as half a catty, the Beiyang Army has a fast rate of fire, the western Zhejiang branch has a good bunker, and the second wave of the attack began not long after the sky was very dark, the Beiyang Army had to stop the offensive.

This time, the Third Army of Beiyang was born in the Third Town of Beiyang, Duan Qirui still has two brushes, and the overall quality of the troops is relatively high. Especially on the internal front, the Third Army inherited the old Beiyang customs, and first arrested the officers and soldiers who escaped during the daytime battle, and promised the soldiers that they could let everyone loot after the city was broken. As soon as it was dawn the next day, the Beiyang Army had already regrouped.

Brigade Commander Zhou Fengshan shouted to the Beiyang Army: "Those who advance will be rewarded, and those who retreat will be killed!" This is my military discipline in Beiyang. There are not many people left in this Changxing City, but the things inside are piled up. After the city was broken, these things were everyone's, and I didn't take any of them. ”

In order to rectify military discipline and boost morale, Zhou Fengshan ordered all the officers and soldiers who escaped to be shot in public in front of the battle, and the Beiyang Army immediately launched a siege on all sides. But not long after the offensive began, it had to be stopped. The rear roads of the Beiyang Army on the north and east sides were all copied, and the troops of the western Zhejiang branch that suddenly appeared out of nowhere began to storm from behind. The attacking force is a group of troops gathered by Ji Ye and other regions, and everyone has no experience in warfare, although it is good to adopt the method of trying to sneak attack, the timing is very wrong. As soon as the battle guns rang out, Ji Ye and the others began to carry out a sneak attack, in fact, the formation of the Beiyang Army was not deployed at all at this time, and the troops were still in the stage where they could be mobilized at any time. Moreover, the Beiyang Army was also cautious, and arranged alert troops in the back. Fortunately, the Beiyang Army had just killed the deserters, and their morale was not bad, and even if the alert troops were attacked, they were not defeated by this group of Zhejiang West Branch that suddenly appeared for a while. Zhou Fengshan immediately transferred new troops, and soon they found that the two new troops numbered more than 1,000 people. Because he did not know the reality of the city, and the enemy was besieging from the rear, Zhou Fengshan had to withdraw the troops that were fully encircled, and instead confronted the Zhejiang West Branch in Changxing County.

The western Zhejiang troops who came to the aid did not fall in love with the battle, they quickly withdrew into Changxing County, and began to confront the Beiyang Army. The next few days saw no heavy fighting. The western branch of Zhejiang began to quickly gather teams and return to Changxing County, which numbered from a dozen to hundreds of people. So continue to gather in Changxing County. The Beiyang Army was once frightened, and the scouts had to act cautiously when they discovered so many enemy movements. Zhou Fengshan retreated his troops for more than ten miles to prevent another sneak attack.

Zhou Fengshan doesn't know the truth and the truth, and it is impossible for Xu Xilin not to know. Even if people kept coming, the number of troops in Changxing County did not exceed 4,000. Moreover, Anji County and Deqing County were taken away by Beiyang, and Changxing was alone, and he may be able to hold on. It's just such a simple persistence, and it's always a dead end.

Qiu Jin no longer discussed with Xu Xilin whether she could withdraw, she said calmly: "If we ask Wen Qing to go there, what we have to do is that he can save the remaining thousands of people in our western Zhejiang branch and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in western Zhejiang." For the sake of so many people's lives, we will do whatever Wen Qing wants us to do. Even if Wen Qing wants our lives, we will happily give our heads. Bosun, if you refuse to ask Wen Qing, then you might as well make up your mind to fight to the death with the Beiyang Army to the end. Bosun, you are the political commissar of our western Zhejiang branch, and you are the master of the major matters that determine our direction. If you can't be the master, all the committee members who can make it to us alive have arrived, and we will meet to vote. ”

Seeing that Qiu Jin had already said it so clearly, Xu Xilin saw that the comrades around him had expectant looks in their eyes, and he already knew what the comrades meant. No one wants to die, as long as the People's Party helps, everyone can save their lives even if they lose Zhejiang and withdraw to Anhui, at this moment, it is very clear how to choose.

"Then send someone to contact us, we ask the People's Party for full help, as long as we can save everyone, we will obey what they arrange." Xu Xilin finally made up his mind.