In the village at the foot of the V-shaped ground we met many more of the Revolutionists, some gunners, some infantry, who had fled. All decided that they had been routed; some asked whether the guns had been deserted, and were told that they had; and one, in an eminently Chinese way, made a small purchase of ten cash worth of nuts from an old woman by the roadside, arguing in the heat of battle as to whether he should give her ten or eight cash, and filling his knapsack, whilst his more {66} excited comrades discussed the plan of subsequent events. Thus had the rebels been reversed, completely beaten at the game they themselves had started. The reverse, however, or rather the loss of their position, taught them a valuable lesson. [Illustration: THE CENTRAL MART OF THE WORLD. Thus do the Chinese describe Hankow. In the foreground is a small section of the Hanyang Steel and Iron Works. Across the River Han the city of Hankow is seen.] [1] General Yin Chang, President of the Board of War--a man who was trained in Germany. He has a German wife. {67} CHAPTER VII THE BATTLE OF KILOMETRE TEN After these first hostilities men and things began to move with lightning rapidity. By October 27th the Loyalists, strongly reinforced by Imperial troops from the north, held the situation fairly well, fighting with remarkable persistence. What passed during that day and those immediately ensuing should prove a lesson to the Western world. Warfare opened at dawn, and the Imperialists, fighting against a strongly entrenched army of Revolutionists numerically superior but not so well commanded, won a complete victory. The Revolutionists fought bravely, and their losses were heavy. As will be seen in detail later in this volume, the Revolutionists were expecting the Imperial troops to join them as soon as the real cause of the fighting became known to them, for it was a vital part of the Imperial policy to keep the northern troops in ignorance of the nature of the revolt. The Revolutionists openly declared themselves disappointed. But as a matter of fact, even if the Imperialists had been willing to join, there was no opportunity presented to them. The arrangement of their troops was such that the Honan and Shantung soldiers were in front with the Manchus directly behind them. This was a cleverly designed manoeuvre on the part of the Manchu officers that worked for the success of the Loyalists. The Honan men could neither lay down their arms nor turn back--even if they so wished. An attempt to join the {68} enemy would have brought upon them the fire of the Manchus, and the steady advance of the latter prevented any reverse movement.