The sudden shell bombardment disrupted the formation of the Liberation Society's marching formation in an instant, and Lieutenant Colonel Remington could see clearly from the bridge that the snake-like team was sluggish for a moment after the shelling began, and in the blink of an eye, the whole team was centered on the point where the shelling fell, and the whole team scattered like a frightened ant colony.

The main and secondary guns on the warship were wide open, the rate of fire was not fast, and each shell was fired at the dense crowd. In less than 10 minutes, more than 40 shells were fired.

"Stop shelling!" Lieutenant Colonel Remington ordered. The destroyer's shells were not very large, and although he had his own ideas, Lieutenant Commander Remington knew that if he fired all the shells himself, he would not be able to deal with them when he returned to base.

The shelling ceased in an instant, and although it was not audible from the bridge, the screams of the wounded soldiers on the riverbank and the screams of the fleeing people could be faintly heard. With a smug sneer on his face, Lieutenant Colonel Remington ordered the warship to move forward at full speed. Breaking through the surface of the Yangtze River, the speed of the warship quickly increased.

"Vice-Captain, is that the Red Cross?" Lieutenant Colonel Remington asked suddenly.

The deputy captain also raised his binoculars, and saw that in the chaotic crowd on the riverbank, there was a man in a white military medical uniform, led by a red cross flag on a white background, running towards the shelling point. Against the backdrop of chaos, the red cross flag is so eye-catching. So much so that the deputy captain suddenly wanted to order the warship to go back and see what was going on.

"It's indeed the Red Cross flag of the Military Medical Association, is there a foreigner in these Chinese rebels?" The vice-captain replied. The British also adopted the Red Cross flag in the military medical department, which was quite familiar to the people on the warship.

Lieutenant Colonel Remington also had a sneer on his face, this discovery was really unexpected. If other foreign powers were to intervene first in China's civil war, Britain's intelligence services would be too inefficient.

"Let's stop in Nanjing." Lieutenant Colonel Remington gave the order.

The shelling hit the Liberation Society too hard, and although there were only about 40 shells, hundreds of casualties were caused in an instant. The most stimulated part of the army is the artillery members of the People's Party troops, and the 500-member aid team includes not only medical personnel and escort teams, but also members of artillery, surveyors, and other technical arms. The BJP is already a unit that attaches great importance to military training, and although the artillery units do not have many shells, they try to maintain live firing. In order to improve the troops' perception of the battlefield, the infantry also tried to feel it as much as possible during the artillery live-fire training.

The level of shelling of the British warships was so high that the artillery in the unit was dumbfounded. In the state of direct aiming, the rate of fire is fast, and the point of impact is accurate. The BJP artillerymen could not even reach it in their greatest imagination, let alone be able to fight at such a level. Everyone swallowed saliva and looked at each other, and on the faces of other comrades, the artillerymen seemed to be able to see the word "incredible".

No matter what the BJP thought of the shelling, the forces of the Liberation Society were completely in disarray. Some were so frightened that they fled far away, while others were so angry that they wanted to catch up and shoot at the British ships. However, the boat on the river did not seem to move fast, but it broke through the river and went upstream, and soon left the two-legged Restoration Society fighters far behind.

Tao Chengzhang and the others were lucky not to be in the shooting range, but the entire marching team was so chaotic that he knew that he could not continue the march at all. As a last resort, Tao Chengzhang could only give the order, and the troops returned to the starting point.

After a long toss, the troops finally returned to the starting point. Tao Chengzhang immediately convened a military meeting, and although the cadres kept gathering, no one spoke. The cadres who did not see the tragic situation at the shelling site all had puzzled expressions. The intervention of the British was really unexpected, and the sudden appearance of a strong enemy made the Liberation Society feel at a loss. In addition to being confused, the cadres who had seen the tragic situation at the shelling site also had a sense of grief and indignation. At the shelling point where flesh and blood flew everywhere and the stumps were severed, most of the cadres of the Liberation Society instinctively vomited because of the thick smell of blood. The war is far beyond the imagination of these cadres. These people either turned pale, or subconsciously stiffened their bodies, and some even bit their nails in public. The creaking sound finally made the room feel a little louder.

"Let's not go to the riverside." Tao Chengzhang forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, and said in the voice that was as calm as possible, "Let's avoid the British warships and fight from the south." ”

"Tao Gong, the British are firing at us. Could it be that the foreigners in Shanghai are preparing to attack our Zhejiang? A cadre asked in a trembling voice.

Hearing this, many cadres couldn't help but shudder. They were not afraid of the Qing army, because before they set out, the comrades of the Liberation Society in Shanghai also heard the news of the Qing army in Shanghai, and the Qing army in Shanghai was shocked three times a day, and now they are only thinking about self-preservation. There was no intention of making a sortie at all. However, these comrades are not clear about the movements of the foreigners.

Looking at the comrades with frightened expressions, Tao Chengzhang knew that he had to speak, if he allowed the panic atmosphere to spread, let alone attack Nanjing, he was afraid that the team would dare to disperse. Holding back the uneasiness in his heart, Tao Chengzhang said: "I said a long time ago that when we started the revolution, foreigners did not come to help Manchuria, and we treated each other politely. Wherever the army goes, whether it is a missionary, a merchant, or a traveler in China, it must be well protected; or if he does not want to stay long in the place where we are fighting, we will send him out of the country. When we pacify Manchuria and establish a treaty with extra preferential treatment, no matter who the country is, it will be an equal interest. If someone helps Manchuria, don't say it's a foreigner, the more Han a spy is, the more they have to kill him, needless to say, foreign countries. But we killed the foreigners who fought with us. ”

This is the content of the "Longhua Association Constitution", and most of the cadres attending the meeting have read it. Listening to Tao Chengzhang's retelling, many people understood it in their hearts. Tao Chengzhang's attitude is very clear, "If you want to fight, I will fight." ”

But a warship can deal such a big blow to the Liberation Society, if it continues to fight......

"Comrades, the warships of the British could not sail ashore. We will meet British ships when we go along the river, so we will not go to the riverside, I just said, avoid the British boats and fight from the south. ”

"What if the British come ashore and fight us?" The cadres were quite worried about the British sending troops.

Hearing these timid words, Tao Chengzhang roared angrily, "They fight with us, let's fight with them!" Afraid of what? So hundreds of brothers were killed and wounded by the British, so let's just take it as if we didn't see it? ”

After saying this, Tao Chengzhang stood up, "Since I joined the revolution, I, Tao Chengzhang, have never been afraid of death. Whoever is afraid of death will stand up for me, and now quickly lead people out. There is no room for the faint of heart and fear of death in my Restoration Society! ”

Xu Xilin originally had a thousand thoughts in his heart, but when he heard Tao Chengzhang roar like this, a wave of blood also surged, and he also stood up suddenly, "It is a death to let the Manchus be killed, and it is also a death to let a foreigner be killed." It's all a death anyway, what are you afraid of? If you are afraid, then follow behind our Liberation Army death squad, and let us go first. Whether it is the Manchus or the foreign devils, whoever stands in front of us will either die or they die! This battle must be fought! ”

Seeing that Tao Chengzhang and Xu Xilin had made up their minds, the original frightened heart was gone, and the courage immediately prevailed, and the cadres got up and shouted: "Fight!" Fight with them! Avenge our brothers! ”

The Liberation Army adjusted the direction of the attack, and the troops chose a route away from the river, and re-chose the offensive route from the southeast. This artillery bombardment not only did not suppress the offensive spirit of the Liberation Society, but because it was completely unestimated, after the troops regrouped their mentality, their fighting spirit became even stronger.

The next day, under the leadership of Xu Xilin, the Guangfu Army death squad mixed with other troops who dared to fight, and continued to advance towards Nanjing. The first to confront it was the troops led by Wang Youhong.

Wang Youhong was not only a mouthful, he did his best to make the Manchu troops in Nanjing reach a consensus as much as possible to hold Nanjing and resist the attack of the Guangfu army, and then personally led the troops to the front line. The mixed force under his command not only had the Jiangfang battalion, but also the troops of the ninth town of the New Army.

The Ninth Town has infantry, cavalry, artillery, horses, baggage, engineering and other types of troops, as well as sanitation, balloons, military music, and telecommunications teams, which can be called complete compared with the old army at that time, namely the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion. Most of the infantry's guns were purchased from foreign countries, including the Japanese 38 type, the German Mauser type, and a few Hanyang-made guns. The artillery used Japanese flat-firing guns and German barrel-backed guns.

The ninth town is rated at 12,512 people. (town is the division) under the jurisdiction of the 17th and 18th associations (brigades), the 17th association under the jurisdiction of the 33rd standard (regiment) and 34th standard of the infantry team; The 18th Association has jurisdiction over 35 and 36 bids; In addition, there is a horse standard and an artillery standard, and two battalions of engineering and baggage; Later, there were three battalions of the military police, and the commander of the military police was established.

Xu Shaozhen, the commander of the ninth town of the New Army, was "exiled" to Wuhu, and when he left, he took with him the 33 most of the revolutionary party, and the remaining 34, 35, and 36 standards fell under the command of Wang Youhong.

Knowing that the Guangfu Army was rushing from the southeast, Wang Youhong took the 36 bids in front. A position was set up on a hill on the main road. The balloon of the Balloon Observation Force rose high, and after this behemoth rose into the sky, even the new army members who often saw the balloon observation could not help but look up. This boost to morale is undeniable.

However, the Liberation Army who saw the gathering on the opposite side seemed to turn a blind eye, and saw that under the leadership of the officer, the Liberation Army launched the first round of attack with their weapons raised.

Wang Youhong was on the front line, he drew his command knife and shouted: "Fire!" ”