"Commemorating the 110th Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution Series" Wuchang Shouyi Historical Saying No. 5 - Liu Jia Temple Victory

【Editor's Note】 On October 10, 1911, a gunshot rang out in Wuchang City, kicking off the prelude to China's modern national democratic revolution in its entirety. Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the Xinhai Revolution he led are the common historical memory of all sons and daughters of China, including Taiwan compatriots. On the occasion of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution in various ways, starting from today, this website will serialize a series of articles on "The First Uprising of the Wuchang Revolution of the Xinhai Revolution" to reveal the historical truth, remember the revolutionary ancestors, inherit patriotic feelings, and feast on readers on both sides of the strait.

Wuchang Shouyi History No. 5

Liu Family Temple Victory

The wuchang uprising roared, the Yangtze River roared, and the Qing Dynasty was terrified. On October 12, the Qing court received an urgent telegram from the governor of Huguang, Rui Liang, urgently ordering the Minister of War Yin Chang to lead the army of the six towns of Beiyang to the south quickly. When the vanguard troops of the six towns of Beiyang advanced to Wushengguan, Zhang Biao, the admiral of the Hubei official army and the commander of the eighth town who fled from Wuchang to the area of Liujiamiao, joined forces with the reinforcements of Henan and Hunan to fight back against the nationalist army. After the success of the Wuchang Uprising, the nationalist army successively restored Hanyang and Hankou, and its prestige was greatly enhanced. The eighteen-star banner of the Revolutionary Party was a tree, and people from all walks of life flocked to it, and businessmen, citizens, craftsmen, etc. donated goods and donations to the People's Army, and young and middle-aged people enthusiastically joined the army. Within a few days, the Nationalist Army had expanded by 5 regiments (brigades). The new soldiers stepped up their training, and the arsenal started working day and night. He Xifan, the commander-in-chief of the newly formed Second Association, was the commander-in-chief of the former enemy of the Nationalist Army, and the superintendent went to Liu Jiamiao to fortify and resist the enemy.

On October 18, the Nationalist army began to take the initiative. At eight o'clock in the morning, the nationalist army entered the vicinity of the Jiang'an Station and came into contact with the Qing army's short troops. The Qing army fought back with excellent weapons and fought back wildly. Although the civil army is mostly untrained for new recruits, its morale is high. After a bout of fighting, gradually, the Qing army could not support it. Suddenly, the Qing warships moored in the river fired fiercely, and the Nationalist position was filled with shrapnel and smoke, and the Qing army took the opportunity to pounce on it again. At the critical moment, Zhao Chengwu, the pipe leader of the second battalion of the Third Biao (Regiment) of the Nationalist Army, roared loudly and led dozens of warriors to rush from the left side to kill desperately. The Qing army hurriedly retreated into the train and fled with a whistle. The warriors of the Nationalist army became more and more courageous, and followed the train in hot pursuit. Suddenly, several machine guns in the window of the car fired together, and the rain of bullets came to the face, and Zhao Chengwu and other warriors could not avoid it, and they were shot one after another. The Qing army counterattacked again, and its arrogance became even more arrogant, forcing the nationalist army to retreat to the area around Dazhimen.

The situation was extremely dangerous, and if the nationalist army retreated, the Qing army would attack the downtown area of Hankou. What to do? Bi Zhong, a revolutionary, climbed up to the heights of The Dazhimen Station and shouted: Where are the compatriots going? Where is the way out? The eldest husband should be able to die on the battlefield, but how can a revolutionary retreat from the battle? At this time, Zhan Dabei, the head of the Hankou branch of the Hubei military government, came on horseback and wept passionately and exhorted. The soldiers were moved and invariably returned to their positions, and the fighting continued fiercely.

The military government received a battle report from the front, that is, eight cannons were dispatched to shell the enemy ships at Qingshan, which was across the river from Liu Jiamiao. The first artillery hit the opposite shore, and the enemy was in a commotion. The second cannon landed in the river, stirring up a column of water to soar into the sky. The third shell hit the tail of the Ruiyu ship Chu Yu, who turned the bow of the ship with great difficulty in the violent bumps and fled downstream with serious injuries. The rest of the warships raised a white flag and moved toward the upper concession. The enemy ships were blasted away, and the civilian army regained the initiative in the battle. At noon, the commander-in-chief He Xifan received a report: the enemy's left wing had increased reinforcements, and the Beiyang Army at Wushengguan was about to arrive. He Xifan immediately ordered two death brigades to be added to the fourth and third standards respectively, and the Overseer advanced to attack the enemy's left flank. The Qing army used the trenches to stand for help, and the nationalist army only advanced five hundred meters by three o'clock in the afternoon. The daredevils were extremely angry, and all of them threw themselves into the line of fire, and one of the artillery teams also drove to the front of the position and continuously bombarded the enemy's right side. The two sides are at a stalemate.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, a train carrying a qing army infantry standard and an artillery team drove towards the Liu Family Temple. At this time, more than a dozen railway workers braved artillery fire to dismantle the tracks, and destroyed more than ten inches in an instant. The Qing army train approached the road destruction section, the people's army fired all the cannons, the train was shot, the front of the train derailed, the train was overturned, the qing army's dead blood and flesh were blurred, the wounded cried their fathers and mothers, and the survivors fled the road. The people's army was full of emotion and bravely rushed to kill. The railway workers, peasants and party masses who had been lying in the rice paddies beside the road earlier also rushed to the scene. For a time hoes, flat weights, large knives, spears, hammers, iron guns... The sky was shrouded in darkness; gunshots, cannons, shouts, howls, cries were one in a row. The Qing army, which had been stubbornly resisting in the trenches, witnessed the mighty car of reinforcements falling in the blink of an eye, and was frightened and hurriedly hugged its head and retreated to the three bridges.

"We're victorious! We won! The news of the victory of the Nationalist army in the battlefield of Liujiamiao quickly spread in the three towns of Wuhan. On the same day, the labor brigade spontaneously formed by the Hankou Chamber of Commerce and citizens came to the front line to comfort the heroes of the battlefield and celebrate the great victory of the Liujia Temple.

The next day, the Nationalist army took advantage of the victory and attacked, conquering the Jiang'an Station and driving the enemy twenty miles outside Hankou City, defending the initial results of the uprising. In the evening, the Nationalist army returned triumphantly, and the citizens of Hankou welcomed them. The Yangtze River sings and the Hanshui harmony, and the gongs and drums of the three towns in Wuhan are noisy and the firecrackers are fired in unison. (Author Shan Wu)

(This article is a submitted work and does not represent the views of Taiwan.com)