Huang Xing and nearly a hundred fellow revolutionaries forced their way into the residence of the Qing Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces (represented in 2011 film 72 Heroes). The uprising was initially successful but Qing reinforcements turned the battle into a catastrophic defeat . Most revolutionaries were killed, only few managed to escape. Huang Xing was wounded during the battle; he lost one of his fingers when it was hit by a bullet. 86 bodies were found (but only 72 could be identified), and the bodies of yet many others were not found. The dead were mostly nationalistic, revolutionary youths with all kinds of social backgrounds -- former students, teachers, journalists, and patriotic overseas Chinese. Some of them were of high rank in the Alliance. Before the battle, most of the revolutionaries knew that the battle would probably be lost, since they were heavily outnumbered, but they went into battle anyway. The mission was carried out like that of a suicide squad. Their letters to their loved ones were later found.