Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 129 Rout
As dusk settled, a village thirty miles north of Taierzhuang was bathed in the dim, golden light of the setting sun.

This was originally a quiet and peaceful village, but now all the villagers have been slaughtered by the Japanese. The 16th Division headquarters is now stationed here.

The once quiet village was now shattered by the distant roar of engines.

Nakajima Kesago stood in front of the courtyard gate, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the scabbard of his military sword at his waist, his gaze fixed like a hook on the winding dirt road at the entrance of the village.

A short while later, a convoy of vehicles arrived from the direction of the village entrance, the dust it kicked up spreading into the air like a yellow snake.

The windshield of the black Toyota sedan in the lead car reflected the blood-red sunset, making him squint.

Soon, the convoy arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

“Isoya-kun…”

Nakajima Kesago took two steps forward to meet him, and the gravel kicked up by his leather boots rolled into the dry ditch beside the road.

The moment the car door opened, a man with two general's stars pinned to his shoulders stepped out of the car.

The two men saluted each other and then shook hands.

"Isoya-kun...you must have had a long journey."

"Nakajima-kun...it's been a long time!"

The newcomer was none other than Reiji Isogai, commander of the 10th Division.

Logically speaking, Nakajima Keisha has been in Taierzhuang for several days now, replacing the 10th Division. Isogai Rensuke should have come to meet him at least, but in fact, today is their first meeting.

The reason is not complicated: the 10th Division had performed poorly this time, and no one likes to be ridiculed by their colleagues. If the situation had not been urgent, Nakajima would never have come.

After shaking hands, the two entered the courtyard together.

Isogai Rensuke's expression was very serious. "Nakajima-kun... I believe you have received Commander Terauchi's telegram, so I won't waste any more words."

I came here to ask if you plan to move towards Linyi with us?

"I have no opinion."

Having learned a painful lesson from these past few days, Nakajima Kesago has also put away his previous arrogance.

As a high-ranking military officer, you can be arrogant, haughty, and bloodthirsty, but you can't be stupid (except, of course, for that famous herbivore general).

Now 100,000 Chinese troops are rushing towards Taierzhuang and are about to form an encirclement. What are you waiting for if you don't run away?
"Now that we have reached a consensus, we should discuss how to retreat."

Rensuke Isogai casually pulled over the map on the table and pointed to it: "There is only one highway from Taierzhuang to Linyi."

What we need to do now is to retreat immediately, have the troops take turns providing cover, and try to reach Linyi by noon tomorrow to join up with the Fifth Division.

"As long as our three divisions unite and stick together, we have nothing to fear, no matter how many Chinese troops come."

“Simply retreating like this isn’t enough,” Nakajima Isaaki shook his head.

“That Nanjing security regiment is very cunning and treacherous. Once they see us retreating, they will definitely chase after us closely. Once they get entangled with us, it will be very difficult for us to retreat.”

"Therefore, we need the support of the Army Air Force to make a safe retreat this time."

The two of them quickly came up with a plan for retreat.

"Whoosh... Boom..." Just as the two were finishing their discussion, an explosion suddenly rang out in the distance, and then Chief of Staff Colonel Nakazawa Mitsuo rushed over to report.

"General, just ten minutes ago, the Nanjing Security Regiment launched a counterattack against us from Taierzhuang, along with the 31st Division of China."

"The Chinese have begun their counterattack; we must hurry." Isogai Rensuke stood up and said solemnly, "There's no time to lose, let's go immediately!"

After saying that, he quickly left the yard, got into the car, and soon the car drove back the way it came.

"Baka! You cowardly coward!"

Seeing Isogai Rensuke come and go in a hurry, Nakajima Kesago was so angry that he cursed loudly.

After finishing his rant, he didn't linger. After giving some instructions, he boarded a vehicle under the escort of a squadron and headed towards Linyi.

With the departure of Isogai Rensuke and Nakajima Kesago, and the retreat of the 10th and 16th Divisions, the Chinese army also began to pursue and kill these two divisions.

Along the more than 100-kilometer stretch from Taierzhuang to Linyi, shouts of battle could be heard everywhere.

Although the Japanese troops took turns providing cover and put up a fierce resistance, the two divisions suffered extremely heavy losses in the face of the relentlessly pursuing Chinese troops.

After retreating to Linyi, when the two divisions were taking stock of their losses, Isogai Rensuke and Nakajima Kesago were so heartbroken that they could hardly breathe.

The 10th Division, in particular, had already suffered more than half its losses after fighting the 31st Division and the Nanjing Security Regiment. Coupled with the defeats along the way, when they arrived in Linzi, the number of casualties reached an astonishing two-thirds.

The 16th Division fared better, but it still suffered heavy casualties as it was tasked with the main blocking mission during the retreat.

The final count revealed that the combined casualties of the two divisions reached over 32,000, with a staggering 28,600 killed in action. Not to mention the losses of weapons and supplies.

When the losses were tallied, the entire North China Front Army fell silent.

No one, including the North China Front Army and the Central China Front Army, expected that the battle of Taierzhuang would result in such heavy losses.

This battle severely weakened both divisions, and they would not be able to recover their combat strength for at least six months.
This incident not only caused the reputations of Nakajima Kesago and Isogai Rensuke to plummet, but also led to questions from the headquarters regarding Terauchi Hisaichi.

"Snapped……"

With a crisp sound, a newspaper was slammed onto Terauchi Hisaichi's desk.

This is a copy of the Asahi Shimbun that was just airlifted from mainland Japan. On the front page, the headline reads in bold lines: "The Imperial Army's Defeat in Xuzhou."

It's almost unimaginable that such an article could appear in a top Japanese newspaper like the Asahi Shimbun.

But now, it has appeared so openly and brazenly.

If there weren't some influential figures involved, Terauchi Hisaichi would gladly gouge out his own eyes and use them as stepping stones.

"Commander-in-Chief," Chief of Staff Naosaburo Okabe said, looking at the furious Hisaichi Terauchi, "Although the Battle of Xuzhou suffered a slight setback, the overall situation is still good. It is unfair for the Asahi Shimbun to report this so carelessly and shift the blame onto you."

Terauchi Hisaichi stared at the newspaper for a while, then suddenly sneered: "Heh... Do they think they can oust me and advance their own careers by doing this?"

"You've blinded him; I'm not so easily defeated."

"Commander, the person you're talking about is..." Okabe Naosaburo hesitated for a moment, then asked with some curiosity.

"Who else could it be... it's that private first class, isn't it?" Terauchi Hisaichi's eyes were filled with anger and a hint of disdain.

(End of this chapter)