Chapter 322 Raid on Taiyuan!

"Master, the carriage is ready. Do you think it's time to call the master?"

Gao Jue looked at the white-haired but strong-eyed dart master in front of him, and quickly arched his hand and said, "Mr. Dai, I'm going to trouble you this time."

"Master Gao, you're welcome. You'd better ask the master to board the car early and leave early." The dartist waved his hand and said.

Gao Jue also knew that it was not a polite time at this time. As soon as she turned around and was about to be admitted to the hospital, she heard a loud voice suddenly sounded in the door: "Don't scream, I'm coming."

As soon as the voice came out, I saw an old man dressed in elegant clothes and white braids coming out. Seeing this, the bodyguard quickly greeted him and said, "Mr. Qiao, the carriage is ready. This time I took 30 people, which is enough to ensure your safety."

"Ha ha." The old man touched his beard and looked at the brick-carved hundred-shou picture on the wall opposite the door. A trace of indifference suddenly rose on his eyebrows, but he soon returned to normal and said, "Mr. Gao, the matter of the house is up to you. Be sure to ensure safety."

Gao Jue nodded quickly: "Master, don't worry, as long as Gao Jue is in the courtyard for a day, he will keep Qiao's family safe."

"Hmm." Mr. Qiao nodded and quickly got into the carriage under the protection of dozens of men with long guns. The leather whip snapped in the air, and the wheels slowly rolled. Through the curtain of the carriage, Mr. Qiao in the car looked at the words Qiao's courtyard on the courtyard door, and sighed after a long time.

The carriage was in a hurry, and the dart masters seemed to be facing a great enemy. They didn't dare to blink for several hours in a row with a long gun. As soon as the wind blew, they rushed to check it. It was not until Taiyuan City appeared in sight that they breathed.

At the gate of the city, a large number of soldiers were nervous and repeatedly checked the merchants entering and leaving Taiyuan City. When they saw the horse team printed with the word Qiao, they quickly removed the fence and put it into the city. This kind of behavior immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of several porters and shouted, "Why can they leave without checking?" I'm going to freeze here!"

"What are you shouting!" A soldier, carrying a knife, looked at the shouting husband and shouted, "That's Mr. Qiao with the Dade Pass number. Can you compare?"

Seeing the soldiers looking at each other angrily, the husband muttered a few words and dared not say anything more, but there was a trace of excitement in his eyes. He gave a look at several partners and walked into the city immediately after the inspection.

Today's Taiyuan City is obviously extraordinary. A large number of soldiers and civil groups are scattered in the small port on the street, coming and going like facing a big enemy. The husbands immediately turned into a secluded path and surrounded them after seeing no one around.

"Qiao's family is also here. It seems that famous businessmen in Shanxi are coming today. After exploring the terrain later, the three of you will immediately go out of the city to pick you up. The others immediately follow me to find a higher place to see if we can send a telegram to contact the army."

After the leader gave the order, the remaining few people immediately nodded and scattered into the streets and alleys of Taiyuan City with their burdens.

With the handlebar-style horse stopping, Mr. Qiao pulled up the curtain and walked off the carriage. Looking up, there was a three-story brick-and-wood commercial building in front of him. There were only four big characters "Sanjin Chamber of Commerce" on the plaque.

Jin Chamber of Commerce.

As the richest group of people in this era, the fame of Jin merchants in the late Qing Dynasty was almost a household name. The ticket number they founded is now open all over the country. Chambers of commerce like this also spread all over various provinces and cities with their footsteps, but the biggest and best is still the birthplace of Jin merchants. .

Although the Qiao family is rich, the two major ticket numbers of Dadetong and Dadeheng, which were founded, are all over the commercial ports and wharves in China. It is said that the family capital has reached tens of millions of taels of silver, but it is not the richest of the Jin merchants, just because the compound is relatively famous.

Xiang said that Shengchang, Wei Taihou and other ticket numbers, whether in terms of capital or connections, are no worse than Qiao's family, or even stronger, which shows the wealth of Jin merchants.

After staying at home for a long time, it was rare to go out once. Mr. Qiao seemed to be in a much better mood. While greeting his acquaintances, he also asked, "Demonies, has the governor been here?"

"The governor has gone to inspect the defense, and he will arrive later."

"Oh, that's good. Let's wait inside." With that, several people walked into the Chamber of Commerce together and found that there was already a sea of people inside. Almost all the famous people in Shanxi came today. In addition to these masters, there were more bodyguards with waists and nurses, and there were a large number of armed soldiers around, which shows the tension in the atmosphere.

After seeing Mr. Qiao enter the Chamber of Commerce, a porter smiled at the corners of his mouth and quickly walked around the Chamber of Commerce a few times before quietly walking out of the gate under the scolding of the soldiers.

As the sky gradually darkened, the picker quickly came to the only way to Taiyuan, sat on a big stone and took out a cigarette roll, and his face was a little impatient.

When the last touch of red also disappeared under the horizon, the earth seemed to fall into darkness all of a sudden. When he finally began to restless, he suddenly remembered a few unique clicks in the distance.

After the picker quickly took out a bamboo clip from his pocket and pressed it twice, dozens of shadows suddenly emerged in the darkness.

"You guys are here!"

"Ha ha." Wen Xiu came out of the darkness, saluted her husband, handed a cigarette to the other party, and said with a smile, "How's it going? Is there any big movement?

"There is no big movement, but the governor of Shanxi has been running everywhere for a few days, and has also contacted the squire to form two civil groups. It seems that he is going to resist to the end." After the picker cigaretteted a cigarette, he pointed to Taiyuan City in the distance and said.

"Oh? How many people?" Hearing that there were a few more groups, Wen Xiu frowned. After completing the Cuban mission, their squadron had been resting in Honolulu and testing some new equipment. This was the first time to fight with the Qing army. Although everyone said that the Qing army was vulnerable, it did not mean that it could be despised.

"There are about 5,000 people. These people turned out to be the guards of the Jin merchants. They had two subordinates, and they all had their own guns. In addition to them, the governor of Hu Pingzhi didn't know what the cost, and he also found hundreds of horse thieves. Those people were all outlaws. There were not many, but they were really pricky. Hands." Introduce the husband while picking.

"Prick your hand?"

Wen Xiu's pupils suddenly shrank, stared at the two new machine guns that brought the test, and said coldly, "Let's come, we're looking for a prick!" After saying that, he waved his hand behind him: "Check the equipment and do it in half an hour!" -

"All in spirit!"

"The army in the northwest will arrive in two days. The governor said that after these two days, each brother can be rewarded with ten taels of silver." He always held a torch and walked through the city wall with a few soldiers. When inspecting every defense, he did not forget to encourage him.

"Head, will this rebel really come? I heard that they have all fought down Yanjing City. Even the life and death of the emperor and the old Buddha are unknown. Is it true? A soldier asked quietly.

"Don't listen to nonsense. If the emperor's life and death are unknown, how can the northwest army work for the king?" Wu Chang quickly waved his hand and said, "Take good care of it. We just need to protect Taiyuan, and it will be over when the army is over."

After saying that, he patted the soldier on the shoulder and walked to the next post, but he didn't notice that a few dark shadows suddenly passed under the city. Shortly after he left, two long blasting tubes were stuffed into the cracks of the gate.

On the wall, the soldier took a breath and looked at the deep dark night, ready to be lazy to rest for a while.

Suddenly, a earth-shaking sound sounded from under the wall next to him, and the swollen fire suddenly stung everyone's eyes. The wall under his feet seemed to have been raised, and countless bricks and stones flew up suddenly, and the whole wall seemed to shake.

The soldier was stunned by the huge explosion without even reacting. Before he could make any reaction, his soft body suddenly sank, and the wall under his feet seemed to sink into a big hole and drown him.

"Crush!"

A loud shout sounded from the darkness in the distance. Dozens of dark shadows rushed through the blazing gate like ghosts and rushed to Taiyuan City. The dense and accurate bullets directly overturned the Qing army who were observing everywhere in a daze.

From the explosion to the charge, it was only a few minutes, and people didn't even have time to react. It was not until the night eagles rushed into the road and ran in the direction of the chamber of commerce not far away that the Qing army guarding the city suddenly realized and hurriedly chased after them--

In the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Qiao's eyes were almost narrowed into a line. He looked at Hu Pingzhi and asked, "Your Excellency, I'm sorry, I just want to ask, what's going on with the emperor and the empress dowager?"

Mr. Qiao's words suddenly silenced the chamber of commerce, which was still lively just now, and everyone looked at Hu Bingzhi, the governor of Shanxi.

Hu Pingzhi took a deep breath and smiled bitterly: "Guys, you don't want to tell lies. I still don't know what's going on with the emperor and the empress dowager." After saying that, his voice suddenly lit up: "However, as ministers, we can't turn a blind eye to the emperor in the Jedi, so Lord Geng, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, has personally led 100,000 iron riders to come quickly. As long as they stay for another two days, they can reach Taiyuan and borrow the way from here to enter the King of Beijing!"

"Moreover, Li Zhongtang in the south has contacted several governors and governors from all over the country, and has also raised 100,000 soldiers to protect the king. Although we in Shanxi do not send troops directly, we must also be prepared to protect our family and the country when we support the national disaster!"

Although Hu Pingzhi is vague, who are the people here? I don't know how much the wind and waves have seen. How can I not hear the sound outside the string? Suddenly, everyone raised their hearts.

"The governor is right. We are all the people of the Qing Dynasty. It is everyone's responsibility to protect the country. What's more, don't forget that Li Mo promotes paper money outside the customs and learns foreigners to play the gold standard. If he sits in the world, what will we do? What about the silver in your ticket numbers? Do you all watch it become a waste?

The voice said what everyone was most worried about. Jin Shang was famous for exchanging ticket numbers. Who doesn't have a lot of cash in his hand? If he really wants to abolish silver like Guanwai, then I'm afraid it's a disaster for everyone here!

"You can't say that." Mr. Qiao took a sip of tea: "The foreigners also issue paper money. The bills issued by our ticket numbers are also paper money, and I haven't seen that they don't want money anymore."

"Mr. Joe!" The person who spoke just now stood up excitedly when he saw someone tearing down the platform and said excitedly, "You are the master of our Jin merchants. Why did you flinch at this time? Do you really want to watch the Qing Dynasty fall?

Mr. Qiao did not show weakness. He was about to defend a few more words. Suddenly, a loud noise came from afar, and even the cups and saucers on the table suddenly vibrated loudly. Before everyone could understand what had happened, the sound of gunfire came from the outside. At this time, both Mr. Qiao and the governor Hu Pingzhi's face changed greatly. An idea arises at the bottom of my heart at the same time.

"The rebels are coming?"

Just as everyone was in a mess and ready to go out to have a look, several people dressed as husbands suddenly appeared outside the Chamber of Commerce. They all held two large pistols that they had never seen before, so that the surrounding protected Qing army and nurses fell down one after another, and the door was blocked in a short time.

After seeing the situation, the bodyguards and nurses who came with their surnames fired back one after another, and immediately the door of the Chamber of Commerce was also very lively.

At this time, on the street in the distance, it was also the most critical time. Wen Xiu knew that if it was delayed for too long, he would definitely not be able to stop the other party with a few barge guns from the intelligence department, so when he saw the Qing army and the civilian regiment running densely in front of him, he immediately shouted, "Machine gun squad!"

Listening to this sound, the two machine gunners who had been carrying machine guns suddenly shouted excitedly and immediately opened the foot in front of the machine gun and lay on the ground. One of the two gunners next to them connected the circulating water tank to the cooling pipe, while the other took out a round iron box and quickly inserted it into the gun box.

The Type 88 machine gun is a result of many years of hard work by the Light Weapons Research Institute of the Ministry of Equipment. It is one of the important equipment for wildcat armored vehicles. This kind of machine gun proposed by Li Mo is completely based on the prototype of the German MG8/15, the peak of the water-cooled machine gun.

Many people have heard of the famous Maxim and know that it was called a battlefield meat grinder in World War I, but they rarely know that under its aura, the peak of another water-cooled machine gun can be regarded as the soldiers' favorite weapon.

MG8/15 is the pinnacle of the water-cooled machine gun. Compared with the earliest MG8, it uses a lighter receiver, which reduces the original four kilograms of water-cooled cylinder to three kilograms and changes it into a rotary grip. At the same time, the bulky pry machine gun frame is also replaced by a lighter bipod, with a 100-shot cartridge box and cold on the installation side. However, when the water barrel is full of water, the weight is reduced to 19.5 kg, and it already has the ability to move quickly with individual soldiers, which is called the earliest light machine gun by military fans.

As a later generation, although Li Mo did not have the design drawings of MG8/15 and did not know much about light weapons, after he put forward the concept, the equipment department immediately listed it as a priority development object. After several years of efforts, the development was finally successful, and Li Mo also used other Some means have reduced the weight again. For example, the machine gun frame uses lighter aluminum alloy, and he does not use a bullet box, but uses the famous drum design in later generations, which reduces the weight a lot.

Drumming is a very good way to provide dense bullets without taking up space. In later generations, the famous Type 81 drum is simple to load. As long as you open the lid and stuff the bullet and tighten the spring in the middle, you can use it. Therefore, Master Li of course wants to pirate it and let the equipment department concentrate on research, although it is 60 rounds. The capacity is much smaller than that of later generations, but it is enough for the Nighthawk to have a strong cover firepower for the first time!

"Dad"" In the dark, hundreds of Qing army and civil regiment soldiers who rushed here did not expect that the night eagle would have such a big killer. They were torn into pieces by the dense bullet rain before they could think at all. The two long tongues of fire swept repeatedly in the night like practice, and in the blink of an eye, they rushed to the hurried Qing army.

Seeing this, Wen Xiu immediately patted his comrades-in-arms on the side and ran to the Chamber of Commerce building in the distance with the cover of the machine gun. One bodyguard boxer after another in the scope fell down quickly. Almost all of them were headshots targeted by him.

The dense sound of gunfire outside, especially the later machine gunfire, made the chamber of commerce into a mess. These Jin merchants who were coaxed in the past were all so scared that their faces were like dirt. They loudly greeted the nurses who took the handle outside and were ready to rush out desperately.

Only Mr. Qiao sat on the chair, listening to the dense gunfire outside, and pushed away the darts master to protect him: "Lao Dai, you go first. I'm old, and I will only waste time to follow you."

"Sir, what are you talking about? I haven't left the guardian yet!" The dartsman was so anxious that he pulled out two money darts and hid them in the palm of his hand. He waved to his opponent: "You, follow Master Qiao behind my back and kill me!"

After saying that, he threw the struggling Mr. Qiao on his disciple's back and rushed out with everyone, but as soon as he reached the door, a black muzzle had already stared at his forehead!

"Ban Bang."

After knocking down those who tried to resist, Wen Xiu fired several shots at the sky and shouted, "Everyone has a good seat. If anyone dares to resist, don't blame us for being rude!"

Looking at the night eagle rushing in, strangely dressed and fierce. Even the old world like the darts master who has been in the world for decades, he couldn't help shivering, and the money darts in his hand couldn't go out. He hurriedly protected Mr. Qiao and retreated and sat down. At this time, the two covered machine gun squads also ran into the chamber of commerce, not waiting to look at it. These people behind him who stamped their feet could make the land of Sanjin tremble. They immediately chose their position, set up the machine gun again, and plugged in the drum. The two tongues of fire, which had not stopped for a long time, burst again, and immediately tore the Qing soldiers who were trying to approach and the civil regiment soldiers equipped with big knives and spears.

Because the machine gun was at the door of the hall, everyone was scared by this kind of gun that could fire. Looking at the soldiers who kept falling in the fire outside, Hu Bingzhi, the governor of Shanxi, finally knew what a stupid thing he had done!

Compared with these people, the soldiers of the civil society and Shanxi are simply like wooden stakes!

The sound of machine guns, like a dense drum hitting everyone's heart. After a moment later, when the two machine guns stopped, Hu Pingzhi saw that hundreds of flesh and blood bodies had already fallen outside, and the soldiers in the distance were so scared that they all shrank far away and did not dare to approach, even those murderers they invited. The Hummer thief has already escaped.

"It is said that Shengchang, Wei Taihou, Tianchengheng, Datongde, Guangtaixing, Heshengyuan."

When the companions of the intelligence department took the list and passed in front of the trembling Jin merchants one by one, even Wenxiu, who didn't care much about it, were almost smiling. From the beginning of the explosion, the 40-minute raid harvested almost 80% of the Jin merchants on the previous list.

However, he also knew that if it weren't for the partners of the Intelligence Department, they would have relied on a few people to block the door at the risk. If it hadn't been for the first time with such a light machine gun, I'm afraid that I wouldn't have had a chance to catch so many people if I was killed!

When the list was completed, Wen Xiu's razor-like eyes swept the audience. Although he had a huge harvest, he knew very well that there was no way to defend Taiyuan by relying on them, so he immediately said, "Contact the airship and tell them to forward the telegram immediately and ask for support for the troops to speed up the action. Taiyuan City is already in me. We are under control!"

(to be continued)