Liangbi would have wanted to shoot some people now, not the rebels of the League, not Wang Zhen or his associates, no doubt he had a lot of accounts to settle with them, but now they had to step aside for the time being, giving up their position to a handful of stupid bureaucrats in charge of the reconstruction of the arrow tower at the front gate, and perhaps a certain auxiliary minister. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

These guys have completely screwed up what should have been a simple job - they have turned the Arrow Tower into an obstacle for him.

Liangbi didn't expect this trouble.

Of course, he knew that the reconstruction of the Arrow Tower had been going slowly, and if the imperial court had a strict timetable, or had appointed qualified overseers, someone would surely lose their hats or even their heads. He had thought it was due to a lack of funds, and that most people, including the Emperor and himself, were not interested in rebuilding an old fortified structure that was more symbolic than practical, but now it became clear that there were other reasons: the internal structure of the turret had been modified, reinforced on the original basis, and many compartments had been divided into thick walls on each floor, apparently to avoid being destroyed by a single cannonball, most or even all of its combat capability.

At least in theory.

Whoever it was on this idea, the Arrow Tower was being transformed into a more "modern" fortress, a massive four-story blockhouse built on a city gate; However, Liangbi never saw it in any reports, and never heard anyone mention it.

If he had known, he would have strongly objected to the use of the power of the Auxiliary Secretary to prevent the idea from being carried out, because it was utterly stupid - the history of the arrow tower was so old that no means of reinforcement could really improve its defensive capabilities, the difference was only how many shells were needed to destroy it, which was not a matter of consideration for an army capable of attacking Peking, and such an army would always be given more powerful weapons. The German military attache in Beijing once privately mentioned the new 15-centimeter howitzer of the Krupp company, and the purpose was self-evident.

And a target tens of meters high, it is impossible for any gunner who has received normal training to miss.

That is, as long as the army attacking Beijing decides to destroy it, it will definitely be destroyed, as it did when the Eight-Nation Coalition attacked Beijing.

The ongoing works are pointless.

However, this was not enough to make the arrow tower an obstacle for him, and even the slow progress of the renovation project was not a real problem, but the bureaucrats in charge were not only stupid enough to put the renovation plan into practice, but also allowed the construction workers to pile up building materials and make a mess of the whole site, and did nothing to solve it.

They only made a superficial statement, asking people to clean up some areas that had not yet been renovated, closing the areas that were being renovated, and using cloth curtains to cover them, so that when Zhang Shaozeng established the temporary headquarters, no one would pay attention to the actual situation and safety hazards in this place, but if someone tried to leave from the other side, he would encounter many unexpected obstacles.

Liangbi met it, as well as Zhang Shaozeng's military adviser and staff officer.

It's been more than ten minutes since they left the headquarters, and yet they are still trapped in a place separated only a few walls or floors from those who want to kill them, listening to the gunfire and explosions that are still far away because they are shielded, and alerting the soldiers who are waiting in fear for the guards to clear the obstacles blocking the exit.

Although there was a reinforced squad of guards to provide close protection, Liangbi was still terrified to death by the terrible power of the bombs and the number of bombs carried by the rebels, hoping that he would be able to return to his headquarters in the next second.

But this trivial wish was destined to be unfulfilled, and he could only concentrate his energies on the stupid bureaucrats who had made a mess of the Arrow Towers - so that he would not continue to focus on the fierce fighting that was still going on, and thus be too terrified to extricate himself - and ponder whether he should prepare for a mass execution for them, or kill them one by one.

Perhaps the British should be followed by the execution of field guns instead of rifles.

Just as Liangbi began to think crankily, finally, the commander of the guard platoon, who had personally directed the soldiers to clear the obstacles, returned to his side.

The officer brought two messages, one good and one bad: "General, the exit has been cleared, but the rebels have blocked the exit." ”

"What do you say? Mess with the party! Ryobi jumped up like an electric shock: he thought his whereabouts had been detected. Soon, though, he realized that blocking the exit of the rebels might be a precautionary measure.

If their number is not very large......

"How many people are out there?"

"Four, or five." The officer told everything he knew, "but they had carbines and submachine guns, and possibly bombs, and my men had to pay a lot to break through ......"

Ryobi forced him to swallow the last word back with a stern look. "I'm here to worry about casualties, you just need to carry out the order."

He lowered his head and stared at his toes, waiting for Liangbi to make a decision.

"But you're right, the cost will be huge." Ryobi continued, partly in agreement, but more in order to make the soldiers feel that he still cares about their lives.

In fact, he didn't care how many soldiers he had to lose, as long as it was safe for him, it would be worth it for them all to die here, but he feared that the exchange of fire would draw in the rebels who were attacking from the other side, and although they would have to make a circle to get to this side—the haphazard piles of building materials had split the top of the gate into two parts—but that might not be enough time for his soldiers to end the battle.

The new exit of the Arrow Tower allowed only two people to pass side by side, and several automatic weapons that fired alternately could keep them out for a long time, and the rebels had bombs.

If you think about it, even if he could end the fight before more rebels arrived, he wouldn't have escaped too far, and if the Guards had lost too much, he would still have been the first and possibly the only one to die in an assassination, and would have gone down in history for it, which was not what he wanted to see.

He needed a plan to get the best of both worlds, to take out the rebels blocking the exit at a small cost and as quickly as possible, and then withdraw before more enemies arrived.

Liangbi set his eyes on the military advisors and staff officers next to him, and now it was their turn to use their ingenuity. "What do you recommend?"

The professionals, who were more experienced in theory and better at judging the situation and making battle plans, discussed in a low voice for a while, and finally looked at the commander of the guard together.

"The rebels didn't find your people?"

"Nope." The officer appeared confident: the new exit of the arrow tower had been designed with possible future attacks in mind, so windows for observation were added on both sides, a narrow slit, probably only ten centimeters and two centimeters in length and width, and his men could see outside, and the rebels knew nothing about it.

However, this was the only advantage the guards had, and if the observation slit was designed to be a little larger, they would be able to aim and shoot, weaken or even eliminate the rebels, but for now they could only watch.

The military adviser and staff officer listened to the officer's explanation with a frown. The situation is far from rosy, and apart from cursing the designers for their stupidity, they can only make a very limited suggestion: "Let your people keep an eye on the rebels." If there's been no movement here, they may retreat, or come in......"

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Advisor, we may not have to wait that long." Liangbi interrupted the military adviser who was speaking, "Maybe soon, the rebels will crush General Zhang's guard force, and then we will be flanked. ”

"Maybe not so soon, Your Excellency." The military advisor spread his hands, "There are some risks associated with handing over the initiative to the rebels, but it's safer than having your soldiers attack. ”

"But ......"

No matter what important thing Liangbi had to say, a soldier who suddenly ran over made him stop.

He's here to report on the latest findings. "General, the rebels are fighting someone."

It took Liang Bi a while to figure out the correct meaning that the soldier, whose language skills clearly needed to be improved, wanted to say. "You mean...... Rebels are exchanging fire with unidentified opponents? ”

"Yes, General!"

"Reinforcements, perhaps, Your Excellency." The military adviser who was chosen as the representative was just right to express his opinion, but Liangbi automatically ignored the most crucial word, "maybe".

"It's reinforcements." He affirmed—what other answer could there be? The idea that the rebels were clearly not exchanging fire with their comrades was not only comical but also stupid, and could not be true.

The people who wanted to kill him were crazy, but not stupid, on the contrary, smart......

But now it's their turn to suffer.

He turned to the commander of the Guards, who was still waiting for orders. "Lieutenant, get your men into battle immediately."

"Yes, General!" Stand upright, salute, and then draw a pistol, and the officer gesticulates to the soldier who is on standby. "The first shift stays, and the others come with me!"

The soldiers he called all moved into action and followed him towards the exit of the arrow tower.

Soon, the door to the exit opened.

The fastest squad of soldiers rushed out of the turret one after another, quickly dispersed, raised their guns, took aim, and opened fire on the enemy at close range......

Prepare to fire.

Not a single soldier was able to shoot a bullet.

Fang Shengdong's reaction was very quick. Although he was shooting at his comrades, trying to repel their bayonet charge, and being amazed at the courage and tenacity shown by these "enemies", he immediately noticed movement behind him.

Instead of turning around, and without warning his companions—it was too late—he did something he had tried twice, but had been prevented from doing both.

This time there was no one to stop him.

So, accompanied by flashes, explosions, shockwaves, and steel balls, his body swept through the small space around him.

And then all that was left was wailing. (To be continued.) )