Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 152 Yan Laochao
Junior officers may seem insignificant on a daily basis, but they are very important. Therefore, any army values ​​these key personnel highly. Now, this guy named Su Yaoyang actually asked Yan Xishan for one or two hundred men right off the bat. I'm afraid his old man will be furious.
As Yan Huiqing tidied up the scattered documents on Yan Xishan's desk, she secretly shook her head.

This time, however, she was wrong. Yan Xishan did not get angry; instead, he remained silent, seemingly considering whether to agree.

Seeing Yan Xishan's expression, Yan Huiqing, who knew him well, was taken aback.

Whenever Yan Xishan showed this expression, it meant that he was truly weighing the pros and cons and seriously considering whether it was worthwhile; otherwise, given his temperament, he would have already thrown the telegram aside.

She couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Old man... who exactly is this person? How dare he send a telegram asking to do business with you?"

Yan Xishan sighed: "His name is Su Yaoyang, and he's a powerful dragon who just came from Xuzhou."

"A powerful dragon?" Yan Huiqing exclaimed in surprise, "Old man, what's wrong with this world? Any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to call themselves a powerful dragon in front of you?"

“He’s no nobody,” Yan Xishan said seriously. “He was personally appointed by the Ministry of Military Affairs as the chief of the Shanxi militia. At the beginning of this year, he fought a fierce battle against the Japanese at Taierzhuang, inflicting heavy losses on the 10th and 16th Divisions. Both division commanders were dismissed and sent back to China.”

"Don't think I'm joking, there's something even worse." Yan Xishan continued, "Last year, this kid, in order to break through the encirclement, released a huge amount of poison gas in Nanjing, crippling the Sixth Division. They still haven't recovered. Do you think he's qualified to do business with me?"

"Hiss..." Even though Yan Huiqing had followed Yan Xishan for several years and considered herself to have seen a lot of the world, she couldn't help but gasp.

She knew all too well the fighting power of the Japanese army. At the end of last year, the Japanese only used four and a half divisions to occupy most of Shanxi. Itagaki Seishiro even used only half a division to defeat the Jin-Sui Army and make them flee in disarray. Such fighting power was more than just formidable.

The fact that this young man has won every battle since his debut is enough to prove how amazing he is.

"What kind of business does he want to do with you?"

“Penicillin,” Yan Xishan uttered a single word.

“Penicillin? This miracle drug is more valuable than gold these days. How could he be willing to part with it and cooperate with you, old man?” Yan Huiqing asked, puzzled.

"Because he's short-staffed right now."

Yan Xishan was a man of great stature. As soon as he read the telegram, he understood that Su Yaoyang was desperately short of manpower, so much so that he had no choice but to share this highly profitable business with him.

However, nothing is absolute, and it cannot be ruled out that Su Yaoyang may indeed want to build a good relationship with this King of Shanxi and has taken the initiative to extend an olive branch.

"Wu Xianzi, you can go down now, and while you're at it, call Jia Jingde over."

"Okay," Yan Huiqing replied and left.

Soon, Jia Jingde, the then Secretary-General, arrived at the cave dwelling.

"Chairman Yan, you wanted to see me?"

As Yan Xishan's chief strategist, Jia Jingde naturally inquired upon entering.

"Yuru, come and sit down." Seeing Jia Jingde come in, Yan Xishan waved him to sit down in a friendly manner.

After Jia Jingde sat down, Yan Xishan handed him the telegram: "This is a telegram sent to me by Su Yaoyang, the head of the Shanxi militia, who just took office in Shanxi last month. Take a look at it yourself."

After receiving the telegram, Jia Jingde quickly read it and then said, "Chairman Yan, this visitor is clearly ambitious and hostile."

“Yes!” Yan Xishan narrowed his eyes. “This kid is treating me like a donkey pulling a millstone, dangling a carrot in front of me.”

Jia Jingde laughed: "It's not really a scam. They're offering real money, but what they want isn't money, it's people."

"Yes!" Yan Xishan exclaimed. "This kid just threw in a hundred boxes of penicillin. What a generous move! Just from these hundred boxes of penicillin, we can make at least 800,000 silver dollars just by reselling them."

Seeing Yan Xishan narrow his eyes, Jia Jingde knew that his old superior had agreed, so he naturally didn't mind going along with it.

"Chairman Yan, in about ten days, our current class of officers will graduate from the accelerated training program, right? We can transfer these officers to him then."

"I think it's quite good to be able to connect with this Su Yaoyang. After all, we're both doing this for the war effort, so why make such a big difference? What do you think?"

"That's true."

Yan Xishan stroked his mustache and sneered, "Didn't Chongqing send this kid over just to make things difficult for me?"

Chiang Kai-shek underestimates me. What's the situation in Shanxi now? The Japanese have occupied most of Shanxi, and the Central Army can only cower in the Zhongtiao Mountains and dare not move. I am stuck in Kenanpo and can't move because of the Japanese. Do you think I'm afraid of a young kid causing me trouble?

As long as he can make a fuss at Wutai Mountain, it will relieve a lot of pressure for me. For that reason alone, what's wrong with giving him two hundred officers?
I, Yan Xishan, still have that much guts!

"it is good!"

Jia Jingde slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Chairman Yan, what courage and magnanimity!"

Faced with Jia Jingde's flattery, Yan Xishan did not show any joy. He just stared blankly out the window and said softly, "Wutai... I really want to go and see Wutai."

Jia Jingde knew that Yan Xishan was homesick. Since the matter was over, he didn't disturb Yan Xishan and quietly left the cave dwelling...

Soon, Su Yaoyang received a reply from the Second World War Zone Command. Yan Xishan agreed to his request in the telegram, but removed the requirement that he send someone to deliver the medicine to Kenanpo first.

Upon seeing the telegram, Su Yaoyang couldn't help but complain to Pi Ruoyu, "Old Yan is as stingy as ever. Does he think I'm going to renege on my debt?"

Pi Ruoyu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Commander Yan is just like this; he'll never change in this lifetime."

There was once an amusing incident: When Commander Yan entertained guests, he always placed only a small dish of pickled vegetables on the table, strictly limiting each person to taking only one serving. If anyone disobeyed and took a second serving, he would tap their hand with his chopsticks and sternly say, "Eating too much salt is bad for your health!"

Later, the guests learned their lesson. The first time they took pickled vegetables, they piled them up into a small mountain. Yan Xishan was heartbroken at the sight, but he couldn't show it for the sake of saving face. Only after the guests left did he berate them for several minutes in front of his subordinates.

Su Yaoyang was both surprised and amused upon hearing this, and couldn't help but say, "Isn't this exactly the behavior of a 'Third Master'?"

"Third Uncle...who is this person?" Pi Ruoyu asked curiously.

"It's nothing...it's nothing."

Su Yaoyang waved his hands repeatedly, but secretly thought to himself, "Sure enough, all the characters in TV dramas have real-life counterparts."

(End of this chapter)