Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 161 We Must Be Wary
Wutai County Militia Headquarters
An operations staff officer was speaking eloquently to a group of officers, including Su Yaoyang, Pi Ruoyu, and Huang Guantao.

"Sirs, according to our plan, the Japanese 20th Division is the most elite Class A 4th Regiment, with a total of about 25,000 men."

They possessed a total of 15000 rifles, 300-400 machine guns, approximately 100 artillery pieces, and 500 vehicles.

Therefore, it can be calculated that the Japanese army's daily combat material consumption was approximately 200-300 tons. In this instance, the Japanese army stockpiled enough combat materials in Xinxian County to last for about half a month, totaling 3000-4500 tons.

Ammunition accounted for about 40% to 50% of this, totaling around 1400 tons. If we destroyed these supplies, the Japanese 20th Division would be like a toothless tiger, posing no threat whatsoever to us.

Su Yaoyang thought for a moment and asked, "How do you plan to blow up these Japanese supplies?"

The staff officer replied, "Since Xinxian is a large county with a dense population, the possibility of accidental casualties when using heavy artillery is too great. Therefore, we plan to send an elite reconnaissance team to infiltrate Xinxian. Once we have located the Japanese ammunition depot, we will use a 60mm mortar to fire incendiary bombs and blow up the Japanese ammunition depot."

"What if the infiltration fails? Do you have any backup plans?"

“No.” Pi Ruoyu shook his head. “In any dynasty, the supply and provisions area is the most heavily guarded place for an army. The Japanese are not stupid, and they are no exception.”

We were incredibly lucky to have infiltrated to within a few miles of the armory; how could we possibly ask for more?

"Are you sure?"

"Who can guarantee this? We can only say that man proposes, God disposes."

Su Yaoyang didn't speak, but lit a cigarette. "Send a telegram to Li Gaoyuan. Report to the command center immediately if there is any news."

…………

Zhang Wenshan crouched in the shadows of the corner of the blue brick wall, tightly gripping the Springfield rifle in his hand.

In the distance, Japanese searchlights swept across the area, illuminating the coarse cloth clothes hanging on the clothesline at the alley entrance... those were the people's livelihoods that they hadn't had time to take down.

The smell of cheap tobacco wafted from the damp alleyway, mingling with the oily odor from the armory's iron gate, making it particularly unpleasant.

He stared at the small brick building thirty paces away, which had an advertisement for "Rintan" pasted on it. The outline of a machine gun could be vaguely seen in the second-floor window.

The sparrows under the eaves suddenly took flight, the flapping of their wings startling him so much that cold sweat broke out on his back.

Yes, that small brick building and the row of bungalows behind it were the Japanese army's armory, which stockpiled enough weapons, ammunition and food for a division to use for half a month.

Logically, if they destroyed the weapons and ammunition here, the entire 20th Division would lose its ammunition supply, and they would have won half the battle.

But a plan is just a plan. When it was actually implemented, a loophole that had never been discovered before was found: the Japanese ammunition depot was actually built in the middle of a residential area. This put the special forces team in a bind.

Keep in mind that this place has stockpiled enough munitions to support a division in combat for half a month.

The ammunition alone would amount to at least a thousand tons. If it exploded, half the county would be blown to bits. Yet the Japanese built the ammunition depot in a residential area. They were trying to tie all the nearby people to their war machine!
A few scattered barks came from the base of the city wall, and further away, the crying of a baby stopped abruptly, as if someone had covered its mouth.

Zhang Wenshan turned his head and looked at the captain behind him.

"Boss...should we continue?"

"Continue my ass." The captain only felt a damp sensation coming from his back.

He could no longer suppress his anger: "There are at least tens of thousands of people in this area. It's easy for us to fire these few incendiary bombs, but tens of thousands of people nearby will also perish."

"Captain...we finally made it this far, how can we..." "Shut up...listen to me, retreat..."

The captain roared, "That's an order!"

"Yes!"

Under the captain's orders, the reconnaissance team of more than 20 people withdrew from the way they came without alerting the Japanese patrol.

An hour later, news of the reconnaissance team's failed attempt to bomb the armory reached Su Yaoyang.

"Heh... those little devils have learned to be clever!" Looking at the telegram in his hand, Su Yaoyang was amused and annoyed. He didn't expect the Japanese to build an armory in the most densely populated residential area. They were trying to drag the residents into a game of coercion.

"Sir, this was my oversight. Please punish me." Pi Ruoyu was both annoyed and ashamed, realizing he had overlooked such a big oversight.

"This is not your fault."

Su Yaoyang didn't blame him. "After all, we are all human, while the Japanese devils are a bunch of beasts. It's normal to misjudge the way beasts do things."

Pi Ruoyu took a deep breath: "Sir, since blowing up the armory is no longer an option, we'll have to confront them head-on... We..."

Su Yaoyang patted his shoulder and laughed, "War is a game of strength. Even if it's a head-on collision, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Just do it."

Even if we lose, we can simply retreat to the mountains and wage guerrilla warfare. I guarantee that within a year, we'll have built an even larger force!

If anyone else had said this, Pi Ruoyu would have thought he was bragging, but no one questioned Su Yaoyang's words, because this guy went from a penniless, down-on-his-luck young master to the head of a militia with more than 10,000 soldiers in less than a year.

No one knows how many more miracles he can create.

Pi Ruoyu pondered for a moment, "In that case, we must prepare for the worst."

"for example……"

"For example, we need to be prepared to evacuate at any time. Hospitals, logistics personnel, and other support staff should be the first to retreat to mountainous rural areas. But the problem is, where can we find such a large area for us to rest and recuperate in a short period of time?"

Su Yaoyang paused for a moment, then said, "It seems we have no choice but to ask the Eighth Route Army for help."

Pi Ruoyu sighed: "That's possible. After all, you just made a good connection with them, so asking them for a favor shouldn't be a problem."

"You don't need to make that face."

Seeing Pi Ruoyu's somewhat depressed look, Su Yaoyang patted him on the shoulder: "This is just the worst-case scenario. Although the 20th Division is powerful, we are not to be trifled with either."

If you really push me too far, don't blame us for flipping the table.

"Flip the table, you mean..."

"I can't say right now." Su Yaoyang just smiled mysteriously, turned to look out the window, and thought to himself.

"If it really comes to that, don't blame me for unleashing my ultimate move. But if we do that, will it cause some unpredictable changes due to large-scale alterations to the historical process of time and space?"
That's something we absolutely must be wary of!

(End of this chapter)