Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 119 Meeting Li Bai
After taking a shower, Xiao Lu brought over a lunchbox and handed it to Su Yaoyang.

Su Yaoyang, who was feeling hungry, opened his lunchbox and started eating heartily. While eating, he asked Xiao Lu, "Where did Song Mei go? I can't find her."

Xiao Lu told him, "These days, too many wounded soldiers have been sent back to Xuzhou from the front lines. Doctors in all the major hospitals are too busy to handle them all. Sister Song Mei went to help out and won't be back until tonight."

"Into the city?"

Su Yaoyang frowned, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Song Mei was doing just fine in our camp, why did she suddenly decide to go to Xuzhou Hospital to help out?"

"I don't know about that," Xiao Lu shook her head.

Su Yaoyang asked again, "Do you know which hospital it is?"

Xiao Lu thought for a moment: "It seems to be something...right...it's called Xuzhou Christian Hospital."

"Okay, I understand." Su Yaoyang finished his meal in a few bites, wiped his mouth casually, stood up, hugged Xiaolu in his arms, lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead before speaking softly.

"Xiao Lu... I'm going to the city for a meeting now. I'll pick up Song Mei on my way back. You can stay here and wait for me to come back."

Xiao Lu hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Young Master, please go and come back quickly. I'll wait for you here."

"I'll do it as soon as possible."

Looking at Xiao Lu, who was reluctant to part, Su Yaoyang sighed inwardly. No wonder people say that the land of gentle pleasures is the graveyard of heroes. The ancients were right.

He lowered his head and kissed Xiao Lu's pretty face again before walking out of the tent.

Xu Dapeng was already waiting outside. After Su Yaoyang got into the Willys Jeep, a Dodge truck full of soldiers followed closely behind the Jeep and headed towards Xuzhou City.

Half an hour later, Su Yaoyang and his group drove to the outside of the war zone command post. Su Yaoyang first asked Xu Dapeng and all the soldiers to wait a few hundred meters away from the command post, while he himself came to the outside of the command post alone, handed over his identification and explained his purpose.

The guard checked his identification and then called inside to verify it before letting him in.

This was Su Yaoyang's second visit to the war zone command post. Although he wouldn't say he knew the place well, he didn't need anyone to guide him. He arrived at the war zone commander's office by himself and knocked on the door.

"Tuk tuk tuk..."

"Come in!" came Li Zongren's voice from inside.

Su Yaoyang pushed open the door, saluted as soon as he entered, and said loudly, "Report... Su Yaoyang, commander of the Nanjing Security Regiment, has come to report for duty as ordered."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw two pairs of eyes fall on him. One of them was naturally Li Zongren, and the other was a middle-aged man he had never seen before.

His face was thin and gaunt, with slightly protruding cheekbones and deep-set eyes that pierced through the smoke-filled battlefield.

The gray military uniform wrapped around his thin body, the collar worn white, the cuffs stained with pencil dust and tea stains, and his knuckles yellowed from holding a pen for a long time.

What surprised Su Yaoyang the most was that his rank insignia on his shoulder was the same as Li Zongren's, with three gold stars.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Su Yaoyang's heart skipped a beat. He immediately saluted again and said loudly, "Good day, Commander Bai!"

"Oh……"

Upon hearing this, the other person looked at Su Yaoyang with great interest and asked, "Do you know me?"

"do not know."

Su Yaoyang shook his head, but then explained, "Although I have never met Commander Bai, I have indeed heard of the two commanders before."

Both officers hailed from Guilin and joined the revolution together in their early years, experiencing the National Protection War and the Northern Expedition. Decades of shared life and death forged a bond between them that was closer than brothers, though not blood brothers. This story is widely known throughout the country. As I entered, I saw the two officers sitting and chatting so casually. I thought that besides Officer Bai, no one else could be so relaxed and at ease in Officer Li's office.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Su Yaoyang's words elicited laughter from the two of them.

Li Zongren laughed so hard he almost fell over, pointing his right index finger at the other man: "Jiansheng... as the saying goes, you have to accept the consequences of your bet, what else do you have to say?"

This middle-aged man was none other than Bai Chongxi, nicknamed "Little Zhuge Liang".

He shook his head helplessly: "Fine, I've fallen for your trick, Li Delin, this time."

"Fine, fine, what harm is there in giving you that painting?"

After exchanging a few jokes, Bai Chongxi turned to look at Su Yaoyang.

Su Yaoyang then noticed a faint scar on Bai Chongxi's right eyebrow, which was said to be left by shrapnel during the Northern Expedition in his early years. It looked even more sharp in the sunlight shining through the window.

Compared to Li Zongren's magnanimous appearance, Bai Chongxi's aggression was clearly much stronger.

He sized up Su Yaoyang for a while, then suddenly asked, "I heard from Delin that you're going to send him a batch of cannons?"

“Yes.” Su Yaoyang nodded. “This time, I was ordered to return from Taierzhuang. Besides reporting on the military situation, I also asked Lord De to send someone to the military camp in the suburbs to receive this batch of artillery.”

Bai Chongxi clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "You young man are really remarkable. You just gave away more than twenty American-made cannons without hesitation. You should know that with these cannons, you could form an artillery regiment. This is a great opportunity for you to greatly increase your strength."

Su Yaoyang smiled faintly: "Commander Bai is right, but I believe more in the saying: One flower alone does not make spring, but a hundred flowers blooming together make a garden full of spring."

On the vast battlefield of China, it is impossible for a junior like myself to hold up the load alone. Only by striving to improve the strength of the entire Chinese army can we drive out the Japanese invaders more quickly.

"Okay... well said."

Li Zongren couldn't help but shout his approval, and then said to Bai Chongxi with emotion: "Jiansheng... listen to this... listen to this... even a young man understands this principle, but this person just doesn't get it."

If he heard that, he'd probably die of shame.

Bai Chongxi couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Delin, you still can't forget the humiliation of being forced to flee to Hong Kong back then. The Chairman was also... well, never mind..."

He waved his hand: "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."

He then turned to look at Su Yaoyang: "Your name is Su Yaoyang, right? I just mentioned you to Delin."

He really raved about you. At first, I was a little skeptical, but now it seems you definitely deserve his praise.

"You flatter me, sir. I am unworthy of such praise," Su Yaoyang said modestly.

"Alright, don't be modest anymore." Li Zongren said with great satisfaction, "Your security team has done a great job these past few days."

Not only did they severely damage the 33rd Brigade, but they also withstood repeated attacks from the 8th Brigade. Now, Isogai Rensuke is in for a headache.

"But don't be careless," Bai Chongxi said in a deep voice. "Isogaya Rensuke suffered a great loss at your hands, and he will definitely seek revenge."

I estimate that he will definitely request reinforcements from his superiors, the commander of the Second Army, or even the North China Area Army. Therefore, I anticipate that the Japanese army will launch a large-scale retaliatory operation against Taierzhuang, which will be a huge test for you and the Nanjing Security Regiment.

(End of this chapter)