Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 132 Recognition of relatives
Although he was somewhat surprised, he wasn't too panicked. Perhaps these big shots could figure out the details of his subordinates, but unless those people could read his mind, no one would know his true secrets.

Li Zongren walked to the central cannon, reached out and touched the barrel, a satisfied smile appearing in his eyes: "Mingxi, is this the cannon you said you'd give me?"

"Yes."

Su Yaoyang smiled slightly: "Those cannons are ready and are stored in the supply camp behind. They are all brand new, and you can send someone over to pick them up at any time."

"and many more……"

Bai Chongxi suddenly asked, "If I remember correctly, your artillery battalion commander just said that these cannons weigh 2.2 tons. They can't be pulled by mules and horses; they'd have to be pulled by trucks, right?"

"Yes."

Bai Chongxi turned to Li Zongren and asked, "Delin, does the Fifth War Zone have that many trucks?"

“Well…” Li Zongren thought for a moment, “We do have them, but it’s still a bit difficult to mobilize dozens of trucks at once.”

Bai Chongxi's eyes darted around. "I'm telling you, Mingxi, that's not very fair of you. Since you've already sent cannons, why don't you just send trucks too?"

“Hey… I’m telling you, Officer Bai, that’s not right.”

Su Yaoyang retorted indignantly, "Each of these cannons is worth 40,000 silver dollars, and I gave you 24 cannons in one go. Each shell is worth 100 silver dollars, and I gave you three basic quantities in one go."

All these things added up to 1.3 million silver dollars, isn't that much? How come it's me who's being unfair?

"That's not enough! You want me to send the truck too? That's too greedy! That's not how you do things."

Bai Chongxi chuckled: "As the saying goes, if you're going to help someone, help them all the way. Why don't you just send a few trucks too?"

“No way!” Su Yaoyang shook his head like a rattle drum. “You can have trucks, but you have to pay for them. I won’t rip you off. Three thousand silver dollars per truck will do. Otherwise, don’t even bother asking.”

"Hey...you're really stingy, kid." Bai Chongxi smiled slightly. "Alright then...while you're at it, get me a hundred trucks, delivered within three days, no problem?"

"Three-day delivery? You might as well kill me." Su Yaoyang rolled his eyes. "It will take at least half a month, and any faster than that is out of the question."

"Alright... half a month it is, just don't forget me." Bai Chongxi chuckled and turned to the group of generals behind him with a smile.

"So...you all saw it, right? This kid is really ruthless. If you need anything, just go to him, you can't go wrong."

Even without Bai Chongxi saying it, the eyes of all the generals present lit up.

Chi Fengcheng, the commander of the 31st Division who had a past relationship with him, was the first to walk up to him and shake his hand. "Brother Su... I won't say any more empty words."

I just want to ask you guys, do you still have those guns that could shoot down tanks like the ones we saw in Taierzhuang last time?

"If you have any, give me two hundred of these, brother. We can negotiate the price."

"Brother Su... I'd like to buy a few 105mm howitzers. Do you have any connections?"

"Brother Su..."

As soon as Chi Fengcheng spoke, all the other generals crowded around him, forming a tight circle around Su Yaoyang.

These people had no choice but to be agitated.

Since the start of the full-scale War of Resistance against Japan, most of China's coastal cities were blockaded by the Japanese navy, making it difficult for foreign military aid to get in.

Moreover, even if you have money, foreigners may not sell you artillery, as can be seen from the fact that the huge Nationalist army did not even have a few decent artillery pieces.

Now that they've finally found someone with extraordinary connections who has this kind of access, these people will be scrambling to buy it like crazy. Once this opportunity is gone, it'll be gone forever. Looking at the swarming generals, Su Yaoyang felt a headache coming on and quickly said loudly, "Officers, I understand your feelings, but we have to do it one at a time."

After lunch, I will have someone send everyone a list. Just write down what you want on the list. Now, please be patient, officers.

After much persuasion, the restless generals were finally calmed down.

Some may find this exaggerated, but it is true. China was extremely poor during this period, especially the generals of the Fifth War Zone, who were almost all from ragtag armies.

Apart from a few machine guns, the army was mostly made of old rifled guns with worn-out rifling and Hanyang rifles. It was already considered good if they had a few mortars.

However... poor equipment does not mean they are poor. On the contrary, these people have worked hard for most of their lives and still have a lot of savings.

I wouldn't dare say much, but buying some anti-tank rifles or mortars shouldn't be a problem.

As for the Garand rifles used by the security forces, forget about them; those things aren't meant for poor people at all.

What was supposed to be a marriage proposal meeting turned into an arms deal, something no one had expected.

As dusk settled, the aroma of stewed meat wafted from the military tents.

A few rays of the setting sun peeked through the gaps in the canvas, casting an orange-red hue on the hanging lantern. Su Yaoyang lifted the pot lid, and white steam carrying the aroma of Sichuan peppercorns rose up. A hint of a smile was hidden in the corner of his eye: "This is a wild rabbit hunted by the brothers down below, paired with bamboo shoots given to us by the villagers."

And with the half-pig we bought in Xuzhou today, along with pig liver and pig intestines, we'll have a whole pig feast today.

Upon hearing this, Sun Lianzhong feigned anger and said, "You, Su Mingxi, are you implying that we are all pigs?"

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. Chi Fengcheng laughed so hard that he slapped the rough wooden table, causing the rice wine in the enamel bowl to ripple slightly.

Bai Chongxi, who was drinking, spat out a mouthful of rice wine.

As the group ate and chatted, after a few rounds of drinks, when Song Mei and Xiao Lu came in to serve everyone more food, Bai Chongxi suddenly asked, "Xiao Song, Xiao Xiao, would you like to be my goddaughters?"

The question came somewhat unexpectedly, and the two women were momentarily stunned, involuntarily looking at Su Yaoyang.

Su Yaoyang was taken aback at first, but then he immediately understood Bai Chongxi's good intentions. He was worried that the two women would be heartbroken if no elders from the bride's side were present at the wedding.

After all, both women had lost their elders and relatives. According to ancient beliefs, both were orphans, and it was very unlucky for them to get married without the blessings of their elders.

Thinking of this, Su Yaoyang nodded slightly to the two women.

What Su Yaoyang could think of, the two women could naturally think of as well.

After seeing Su Yaoyang nod, the two women put down their plates, poured themselves a cup of tea, knelt down, and respectfully served tea to Bai Chongxi, saying in unison.

"Godfather, please have some tea!"

"well……"

Bai Chongxi laughed heartily and took out two jade pendants from his pocket, giving them to the two women as a greeting gift.

"I, your godfather, have fought wars my whole life and don't have much wealth. These are two jade pendants I acquired in my early years. Consider them my gift to you."

"Thank you, Godfather!" The two women's eyes reddened.

(End of this chapter)