Chapter 039 The Collapse of Faith

The Japanese launched an uninterrupted attack on the Golden Mountain Fort, and the dense artillery covered all corners of the Golden Mountain Fort. The original tall chest wall had already collapsed. The last Armstrong cannon on the fort had also been destroyed by the Japanese naval gun. The bunker of the fort collapsed and the huge gun barrel lay on the tiles. In the gravel pile, the gun body, together with dozens of gunners, was blown into powder.

Without the fire control of the cannon, the Japanese ship rushed into the waterway and into Lushun Port.

The torpedo boats moored in the port were destroyed, and the Fulong and the left one were sunk. The sailors on the left and the left two and the left three were unable to resist the attack of the Japanese cruisers. In order to avoid being captured by the Japanese army, they had to detonate and sank.

Liu Bu Toad took Cai Tinggan, who was seriously injured, and the remaining 100 sailors to the Golden Mountain Fort.

On Erlong Mountain, Guo Erpole and Zhang Zuolin were under less pressure. Although they also suffered heavy casualties, with 500 people in two companies and only more than 100 people left, Xikuan Erlang Brigade suffered heavier losses and their attack power was not as good as before.

The Golden Mountain Fort was besieged by the Japanese army on three sides and became an isolated island in the vast ocean.

However, the resistance is still tenacious.

This is the final resistance. The soldiers of the Zhang army hid in every corner and behind every rock, relying on the ruins and walls to fight tenaciously with the Japanese army.

Cruel hand-to-hand combat occurs all the time.

Just yesterday, the Japanese loudspeaker on White King Mountain announced the full text of the armistice agreement between the Qing Dynasty and Japan to the defenders of the Golden Mountain:

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire of Japan and His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty agreed to end the war peacefully. From now on, the Imperial Japanese army will stop all combat operations against the Qing army in Shandong, Liaodong and Korea. At the request of the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the Imperial Japanese army cooperated with the Qing army to eliminate the Zhang army in Lushun and Pingyang..."

Then, the Japanese army played the order of Da Shanyan, the commander of the Second Army:

"Order the troops in the Shandong and Liaodong theaters under the jurisdiction of the Second Army to gather in Lushun to assist the Qing army to eliminate the rebels under Zhou Charter. All departments of the Second Army should be humanitarian. In addition to the rebel leader Zhou Charter, other rebel members should lay down their weapons, the wounded and sick, and non-combatants provide humanitarian protection from harming their lives.

However, the officers and soldiers who held on the Golden Mountain turned a deaf ear to the shouts of the Japanese army. No one laid down their weapons and walked down the Golden Mountain.

Zhang officers and soldiers have been used to the battlefield of blood and fire and death. The only thing they are not used to is the treachery of the court!

The armistice agreement not only did not disperse their fighting spirit, but also made them determined to die - since they are already rebels, they will rebel to the end!

There are only two ways to survive, either to be a prisoner of the Japanese or a slave of the imperial court!

These two roads must not be taken by Zhang officers and soldiers!

Zhou Charter crawled in the rubble pile on the east side, aiming at shooting with a Type 88 rifle.

This Type 88 rifle is exactly the same as the Hanyang-made in his memory.

That memory is very far away, as far away as a dream.

He seemed to see the towering mountains of western Hunan, the mountains and forests covering the sky, the cliffs of the sky, and the winding and rugged mountain paths.

On the path, an old man with white hair held a child in the mountain with one hand and a child in the other. The child was only eight or nine years old and with a childish childish voice: "Grandpa, Grandpa, I want your Hanyang."

"What do you want Hanyang to do?"

"I want to fight the beast."

"If you want to fight beasts with Hanyang, Grandpa won't give it to you!" Grandpa stopped. In front of him, on the thorny mountain pass, there were two lonely tombs.

"Why?" The child is unwilling.

"Hanyang is not used to fight wild animals!"

"What is that used to fight?"

"Fight the devil!" Grandpa knelt down to the two graves: "Son, come here and kneel down with Grandpa!"

The child knelt honestly beside his grandfather: "Who are they?"

"They are your uncles, dead at the hands of the devils!" Grandpa burst into tears.

"Grandpa, I want to beat the devils!"

Grandpa's eyes showed a dazzling light: "When you grow up, Grandpa will definitely make Hanyang for you!"

A "bang" gunshot.

Zhou Charter pulled the trigger. A hundred meters away, a bloody fog appeared on the head of a Japanese soldier who had just climbed up the broken wall and rolled down the hillside.

"Forty!" Zhou Charter picked up a piece of gravel and put it on the bunker next to him. There were already 39 pieces of gravel.

Every time a Japanese is killed, Zhou Charter will put a small stone.

This is a small game. It was the grandpa in the mountains of Xiangxi who taught him this game!

A shell exploded not far away, and several pieces of bombed gravel flew into his pile of stones.

"Yao Xi, clean up those indiscriminate guys for me!" Zhou Charter shouted, picked up the rifle and pulled the trigger, and another unlucky Japanese soldier hit his muzzle.

Yao Xi carefully detected the flying gravel from the stone pile and said, "Brother, it should be 41 now. When will you teach me how to shoot?

"No problem, as long as you can get out alive."

"Brother, can I go out alive?" Yao Xi curled his lips.

Another shell exploded in front of it and filled with smoke. Zhou Charter scolded, "Dog's life is great!"

"Brother, I have a big life. Songgufeng is not dead, Hufeiling is not dead, and the fetal peak is not dead..."

"I'm talking about that little Japan!" Zhou Charter scolded.

Just now, a Japanese soldier appeared in Zhou Charter's approval. Zhou Charter was about to shoot, the shell exploded, and smoke covered Zhou Charter's sight. The little Japanese saved his life.

"Hey." Yao Xi laughed and said, "Anyway, I have a big life and can't die!"

Feng Guozhang rolled over and crawled over and climbed beside Zhou Charter: "Brother, Cherry woke up. She said that General Nie Shicheng and Ge Ge, with men and horses, killed Gai Ping, and had a fire with Nai Mu Xidian and couldn't get rid of it."

Zhou Charter nodded: "As expected, when I saw the cherry, I knew that Minxiu was coming."

After seeing the cherry, Zhou Charter explained to everyone the identity of Minxiu, that is, Meng Mingshi. The officers and soldiers heard that a man and Shuge personally led the army to reinforce Lushun, and their morale was greatly boosted.

"This grid is really righteous!" Yao Xi praised, "Brother, you have such a big backer in the court. But why does the Empress Dowager Cixi always get along with us? I heard that this Gege is the niece of the Empress Dowager Buddha.

Zhou Charter smiled bitterly: "If the Empress Dowager Buddha could hear a girl, she would not be Buddha!"

"The Empress Dowager can only listen to the slander!" Feng Guozhang said hatefully, "Brother, Gege is far away from Gaiping, and the distant water can't quench his thirst. The Japanese offensive is getting stronger and fierce, and I'm worried..."

On the sea, the gunboat rumbled, and eight Japanese ships lined up and bombarded the Golden Mountain Fort. There are also three injured Japanese ships swimming in the distance.

"Damn, the United Wing is here, and the Beiyang Marines can't save their lives!" Feng Guozhang scolded.

Hannagan, the foreign devil, climbed over and gasped and said, "Mr. Feng, now it seems that the Beiyang Marine Division and the Joint Fleet are allies."

"How can I see it?"

"At least half of the warships of the joint fleet have arrived here! That is to say, in terms of Weihaiwei, the Japanese army's maritime strength is seriously insufficient, which is a good opportunity for the Beiyang Marine Division to counterattack. However, the Japanese are obviously fearless! God, how can you tolerate such a betrayal!"

"Your God can't control China!" Yao Xi said angrily.

Hannagan nodded in frustration: "Master Zhou, there is a bad news."

Zhou Charter smiled faintly: "What, is there any worse news than the Beiyang sailor's death?"

Hannagan lowered his head with tears in his eyes: "Liu Bu toad committed suicide!"

When Hannagan served in the Beiyang government, together with Liu Bu toad, they were both Li Hongzhang's left and right hand, and the two had a good personal relationship. Now that Liu Bu Toad committed suicide, Hannagan is very sad.

Hannagan said and handed Zhou Charter a piece of paper with Liu Bu toad's handwriting:

"Charter: In the battle between the Qing Dynasty, even if my brother defended Lushun, he could not change the fact that the Qing Dynasty was completely defeated! The Qing Dynasty was not defeated on the battlefield, but by the Empress Dowager Cixi! Lost in the hands of the Qing nobles! Lost in the hands of this devastated court! I have been familiar with classics for my brother since I was a child and took loyalty and patriotism as my responsibility. However, now, I have finally found that the loyalty and patriotism I believed in in my life turned out to be just a big dream! Is such a king and such a country really worthy of our loyalty? Perhaps Cai Ting was right. He said that patriotism and loyalty are two different things. Cai Ting was seriously injured, but his life was worry-free. Please take good care of him. I went there for my brother, and my brother took care of himself.

Liu Buqian broke himself, not because he lost confidence in sticking to Lushun, but because his lifelong belief collapsed.

Liu Bujuan is a loyal believer of the loyal and patriotic thought of Confucianism. However, the treachery of the Empress Dowager Cixi made him find that the belief that supported him turned out to be a scam, and Liu Bujuan's spirit completely collapsed!

Zhou Charter sighed: "Maybe this is his best destination!"

Liu Bu Toad is unwilling to be loyal to this court, but he can't give up the concept instilled since childhood. He can only choose to die!

"What should we do?" Feng Guozhang asked.

Zhou Charter looked at the distant sea and said, "Yao Xi, you go."

"Yes!" Yao Xili saluted and asked, "Brother, where do you want me to go?"

"Go to Pyongyang." Zhou Charter took out a letter from his arms and gave it to Yao Xi: "Give this to Qiaoer."

Yao Xi received the letter, took a few steps, and stopped again: "Brother, if you want to deliver a letter, just find any brother. There is no need for me to go. I'm your adjutant!"

Zhou Charter said, "This is my family letter. Of course, the adjutant went there in person! You take a few brothers. After dark, go to Erlong Mountain, and then go out from the northeast to Gaiping. When you arrive at Gaiping and see Minxiu Gege, she will send someone to send you to Pyongyang.

"Brother, you want me to run for my life!" Yao Xi said in protest.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhou Charter scolded: "A few days after I got married, I left Zhao Qiaoer and brought so much trouble to their mother and daughter. I'm afraid that Ye Zhichao will not only send letters, but also protect them. If anything happens, please take good care of them and don't let them suffer any more."

"Big brother..."

"Get out!"

Yao Xi burst into tears, raised his hand to Zhou Charter, and turned away.

Shouting to kill the sky, a group of Japanese troops rushed to the fort, Zhou Charter picked up a rifle and rushed out of the bunker.