Chapter 8: The Raid on Fuzhou III

"Third brother, you can rest assured. We have already traveled about 10 li, and at most, it will take us another two hours to reach Hongshui Bridge." The speaker was a burly man dressed in the military uniform of the Li Houji faction; he was Wang Bao. He was dressed this way on the suggestion of Wu Ziliang. Since Wang Bao was from Shandong, and many of the officers and soldiers in the Beiyang warlord factions were also from Shandong, his task today was to deceive his way into the arms factory. Once he managed to trick open the doors of the arms factory, a company that was not at full strength would be easy to breach.

Upon receiving this momentous news, Luo Yaoguo ordered the troops to immediately lower their flags and cease all activities, pretending as if nothing had happened. At the same time, he promptly met with Lu Ming.

A small iron door on the large iron gate creaked open, and a middle-aged officer in his thirties stepped out, wearing the rank of lieutenant colonel

"Third Brother, that is Fuzhou City over there." Gao Shaojie’s dull voice pulled Luo Yaoguo back from his reverie as he pointed to the tall and majestic ancient city wall in the distance. Gao Shaojie’s tone also carried a hint of excitement: "Once we enter Fuzhou City, I must dine at the best restaurant and sleep with the most beautiful courtesan." Ah, what lofty aspirations!

"Let them pass, bombard their rear guard." Luo Yaoguo and Li Shunen both knew how to operate artillery. Now, each of them was manning a field quick-firing gun. To prevent Li Houji from being killed or escaping back to Fuzhou, Luo Yaoguo intended to let Li Houji pass, and then use 2 rounds of 75mm shells and two machine guns to eliminate Li Houji's rear guard. He planned to have Wu Ziliang from the munitions factory block his front guard, forcing Li Houji to surrender, and then demand several million as ransom for his life. Luo Yaoguo intended to let Li Houji pass, and then use 2 rounds of 75mm shells and two machine guns to eliminate Li Houji's rear guard. He planned to have Wu Ziliang from the munitions factory block his front guard, forcing Li Houji to surrender, and then demand several million as ransom for his life.

Disarming and not killing, Li Houji absolutely believes in this. In the current situation of warlords fighting in China, it is indeed true that captives are generally not killed. However, Li Houji absolutely does not believe that simply apologizing to Sun Dapao would resolve the matter. There is no such thing as an easy way out in this world; this time, he understands that one must incur losses to avoid disaster.

May I ask your surname, sir? Are you the head of this office? Wang Bao's eyes flickered as a plan formed in his mind

Understood, we received the call. Otherwise, why would we get up early in the morning to guard the door? Open the door, open the door. Listening to this Shanghai person's words, it seems that Li Houji really is coming here to oversee the battle

Boom! Boom! With two loud explosions, two rounds of buckshot shells swept through the crowd of Li Houji's guards, creating two large clouds of blood mist, resulting in at least seventy to eighty people being killed on the spot

This person from Shanghai has a medium build, with a fair and clean round face adorned with a pair of round glasses, giving the impression of a scholar. It is puzzling how he ended up as an officer in Li Houji's army

Around 9 o'clock in the morning, a formation of approximately three battalions of pistol teams marched in an orderly manner from the direction of Fuzhou city. In the middle of the three battalions were several small cars, indicating that Li Houji had indeed come out from the city

"Command the troops to accelerate. Brother, you and the pistol team prepare yourselves; it will be your turn soon. Be careful, as there are high-ranking officials waiting to be attended to!" Luo Yaoguo gently patted Wang Bao's arm and gave a final reminder.

Luo Yaoguo instructed Wu Ziliang to stay at the armory with a company and an aide named Lu Ming to wait for Li Houji. He himself took 2 field guns, 2 machine guns, and the second company led by Li Shunen to ambush in the woods next to the armory. Both artillery pieces were loaded with shrapnel shells, ready to fire at any moment

The sound of gunfire served as the signal, as the machine guns positioned in the small grove and on the rooftop of the munitions factory opened fire simultaneously, unleashing a frenzied barrage against Li Houji's guards. These unfortunate guards, despite being tall and strong, were armed only with pistols! They had no means to fight against an enemy equipped with artillery and machine guns! Why did Li Houji purchase so many artillery pieces yet fail to equip his troops with them? It is truly puzzling

Due to orders, the reinforcement battalion left the temporary camp in Tongling at 2:00 AM the next day, quietly making their way into the woods southeast of Tongling under the guidance of several captives from Li Houji's unit. Approximately 2 hours later, the defense and attack battle at Tongkou, personally commanded by Huang Dawei, would commence. Huang Dawei's elite force of about 5,000 troops would engage in fierce combat with Li Houji's Shiyan Yang unit at the Tongkou front. However, this reinforcement battalion under Luo Yaoguo was no longer of much relevance; Luo Yaoguo's current objective was the arms factory near Hongshan Bridge, as well as Li Houji himself.

"Are you the assistant at the armory? What are you studying? Are there any good items here?" Luo Yaoguo asked Assistant Lu in English.

I asked Mr. Lu a question. Wang Bao opened the big door, disregarding the matter of occupying the armory, and instead engaged in casual conversation with the trembling assistant of the armory: "Mr. Lu just mentioned that Li Houji is coming here to oversee the battle?"

Oh, there is a villa of mine in Cangshan Town across from Hongshan Bridge, which is very quiet and uninhabited. I bought it for investment purposes, and it can accommodate quite a few items and people. Lu Ming adjusted his glasses and then spoke a string of English: "There are still over 300 workers remaining in the arsenal, and there are 10 trucks as well, with drivers available. I can have them help move things."

Upon hearing that they could avoid death, even the elite guards who had benefited greatly from Li Houji in daily life quickly abandoned their fearless fight, discarding their handguns and scrambling to the edge of the woods to await capture. Only Li Houji's personal bodyguards remained steadfast, relying on a few small cars to engage in a futile struggle.

I am the assistant at the armory, my surname is Lu, and my name is Lu Ming. Director Liu has gone out for some matters, and I am in charge here now. It turns out that this person from Shanghai is not a soldier of Li Houji, but rather an engineer he hired from the Jiangnan Arsenal, who has returned from studying in Germany. The armory's director, Liu Shiyuan, has gone to his concubine's house to handle important affairs, so the armory is being managed by this assistant, who is utterly lacking in vigilance.

Surrender your weapons, or you will be killed! Surrender your weapons, or you will be killed! Seeing that the enemy had been largely subdued, Luo Yaoguo ordered his men to shout and demand the enemy's surrender. It was not that Luo Yaoguo lacked compassion, but rather that the enemy was too numerous! With over 1,000 men from four battalions, the mere 200 men under Luo Yaoguo's command could not possibly handle them. Thus, they had no choice but to eliminate a portion of the enemy to instill fear in the rest.

The distant sound of gunfire faintly echoed in the background

I am studying metallurgy and am an assistant at the armory. Here, there are 8,016 imitation Mauser 98 rifles in 7.92 caliber, as well as 300 water-cooled machine guns. However, these are not particularly valuable; the best items are 42 pieces of the 1897 field quick-firing artillery, which are imported directly from France and have never been used. Additionally, there are 100,000 newly minted silver dollars and 1 ton of silver ingots. The English spoken by Assistant Lu has a slight German accent, indicating that he is indeed quite capable; it seems he is the most competent person here.

"What are you doing? Why are you pointing a gun at me with a picture book? Help!" As soon as the door opened, more than twenty armed soldiers rushed in, accompanied by cries for help in a Shanghai accent. Immediately afterward, over three hundred soldiers from the reinforcement battalion appeared from nowhere, flooding in and catching the factory's officials and dozens of drowsy guards off guard.

"We are the supervisory guard, and the commander is coming to the armory to oversee the operations. We are here to serve as the advance team for the commander," shouted a burly man with a Shandong accent, striding confidently towards the entrance.

Elder brother, you and the fourth brother take a company to transport 2,000 rifles, 100 machine guns, 12 field guns, and also bring some ammunition and all the silver dollars and ingots across Hongshan Bridge. Find a place to hide for a while, and be quick. Second brother, fifth brother, let us prepare to welcome Commander Li. " Luo Yaoguo suppressed his inner excitement and immediately issued new orders. Second brother, fifth brother, let us prepare to welcome Commander Li. " Luo Yaoguo suppressed his inner excitement and immediately issued new orders

Oh, as mentioned before, I received the call at six thirty. Are you planning to capture Yi? Just let me know what you need me to do, but please move the gun a little to the side. After all, in these chaotic times, this outstanding metallurgy student from Hamburger University still has some cleverness. He quickly understood that the other party wanted to apprehend Li Houji, and since he has no ties to anyone named Li, he readily sold out Li Houji.

Luo Yaoguo glanced towards the sound of gunfire and murmured, "It seems the battle has already begun; I hope Li Houji's men can hold on a little longer"

After shouting for a short while, Li Houji, who finally came to terms with the situation, had his aide notify that he was willing to surrender. After receiving a promise from Luo Yaoguo regarding his personal safety, a middle-aged man in his fifties, with bulging eyes resembling goldfish and sporting a long mustache, dressed in a general's uniform, emerged from the back of the sedan with the support of several loyal guards, appearing quite composed.

Li Houji! Our party's policy is to disarm without killing, and to treat prisoners of war with kindness. As long as you come out honestly, we will send you to Shanghai to meet our General Sun. If you apologize to General Sun, everything will be fine! Otherwise, we will have to open fire!" Several loud-voiced soldiers from the supplementary battalion shouted loudly according to the prepared script, trying to psychologically intimidate Li Houji.

"Where can I find someone so quick to come?" The lieutenant colonel spoke with a Shanghai accent, which was quite rare in the military during the Republic of China. Perhaps he was recruited by Li Houji when he served as the commander of the Wusong Fort?

We are here to pave the way for the General; he will be coming shortly to oversee the battle. Hurry up and let us in." Wang Bao placed his hand on his waist, displaying a carefree demeanor.

"Oh my! The size of the boss." The Shanghainese looked up at the towering Wang Bao, resembling an iron tower, and couldn't help but exclaim.

Fuzhou is on this side, so the other side should be Hongshan Bridge and the Armory, right? Luo Yaoguo raised his binoculars and searched in the southwest direction, and indeed saw several tall chimneys.

Hehe, big brother, soon it will be your turn to shine. If you can manage to open the gates of the arms factory, how to supplement the battalion would truly be a windfall. With my uncle's connections, expanding to a regiment is not a problem at all. By then, you could be a lieutenant colonel, and if we can expand to a brigade, you would be the colonel deputy brigade commander!" At this point, Luo Yaoguo was also beaming with joy. Wang Bao is the colonel deputy brigade commander, which means he is practically a major general brigade commander, right? Having connections really makes things easier!

Around 7 o'clock in the morning on October 12, a team dressed in the uniforms of the Li Houji Christ Guard's pistol squad suddenly arrived at the entrance of the Fujian Manufacturing Factory located by the Hongshan Bridge