Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 95 Kei Seya's Anger

"Have you managed to get in touch with Deputy Regiment Commander Huang?"

"Not yet, Commander!"

"That bastard... he's gone missing!"

Su Yaoyang was so angry that he started cursing.

Ever since he was ordered to rush to Teng County to provide assistance, Su Yaoyang felt that nothing had ever gone smoothly for him.

First, Tengxian fell, and Division Commander Wang Mingzhang died a heroic death. Then, the vanguard encountered the Japanese army. Although they annihilated a Japanese cavalry company and a tank company, the vanguard led by Huang Guantao has now lost contact.

It should be noted that Huang Guantao's vanguard force, apart from an infantry battalion, included all of his armored forces and a heavy mortar company. He couldn't even imagine how he would cope with the brutal Xuzhou Campaign if it were wiped out by the Japanese.

Although his history isn't great, he had still seen the movie "The Battle of Taierzhuang," and the brutal battle scenes in it left a deep impression on him.

Moreover, he had a premonition that Li Zongren would definitely not let his well-equipped team go and would use it to the death.

This wasn't him judging others by his own petty standards; rather, he would have done the same if he were Li Zongren.

Which commander would allow such a well-equipped force to sit idle? Didn't you see in the movie that after several days of bloody fighting with the Japanese army, the 31st Division, which was ordered to defend Taierzhuang, had its commander, Chi Fengcheng, coughing and spitting blood, calling Sun Lianzhong, the commander of the Second Army Group, with tears in his eyes, requesting to withdraw from Taierzhuang so that the 31st Division could have some seed? But he was reprimanded by Sun Lianzhong.

“Even if only one person is left, we will fight! If you want to retreat, first bring me your head, and then I will bring my head to the Commander-in-Chief.”

This demonstrates the ferocity of the Battle of Taierzhuang.

At this time, Su Yaoyang led his security team to a small village more than 50 miles east of Teng County to rest, preparing to send people to investigate the situation in Teng County.

In his view, since he was ordered to rush to the aid of Teng County, he had an obligation to avenge Commander Wang Mingzhang and the 122nd Division.

An hour passed, and they still couldn't get in touch with the advance troops, which made Su Yaoyang extremely anxious.

You have to understand that he was nurturing the tank company as a seed, and if the tank company were gone, it would take an unknown amount of effort to train another batch of armored soldiers.

Just as he was getting anxious, the telegraph operator delivered a telegram.

"Regiment Commander... Telegram from the Theater Command."

Su Yaoyang took the telegram and began to read it.

"Urgent telegram from the Fifth War Zone Command"
To Commander Su Yaoyang of the Nanjing Security Regiment:
We have just received an urgent report from the front lines that Tengxian County fell to the enemy yesterday. General Wang Mingzhang of our 122nd Division led his troops to defend the isolated city to the death, but ultimately, due to being outnumbered, the entire division perished! Commander Wang faced death without yielding and died a heroic death, truly a model for us soldiers.

Now that Tengxian has fallen, there is no point in rushing to its aid. Upon receiving this telegram, you are hereby ordered to immediately halt your advance and lead the entire regiment to retreat to Xuzhou to await further orders! Strengthen vigilance along the route and guard against Japanese pursuit. If you encounter enemy activity, act accordingly, but do not linger in battle; the entire division must return safely.

At this critical juncture for the nation, I urge you, brother, to prioritize the greater good, preserve your strength, and plan for future battles. The revenge for Commander Wang will surely be taken one day!
Li Zongren, Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth War Zone

March 18, 1938, Chen Shi (7-9 AM)

After reading Li Zongren's telegram, Su Yaoyang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this Commander Li was indeed as honest and kind as rumored. Otherwise, if it were someone with a slightly narrow mind, they probably would have already taken their anger out on him.

Perhaps it was because I was in a good mood, but good things kept happening.

"Commander...we've made contact! We've connected with Deputy Commander Huang and the others!" At that moment, the communications soldier rushed in to report.

Su Yaoyang was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Oh...where is Deputy Regiment Commander Huang now?"

"Deputy Regiment Commander Huang said that they are now in a place called Shatun Village, more than 30 kilometers west of Teng County."

The reason they didn't turn on the radio earlier was because they were in a hurry to catch up with an artillery unit of the 33rd Brigade. After a brief battle, they destroyed four 150mm heavy artillery pieces and twelve 75mm mountain guns, killed over four hundred Japanese soldiers, and captured a quantity of firearms and ammunition.

"Good...good..." Su Yaoyang slapped his thigh, "Well done, let's see if the Japanese will feel sorry for us now."

Despite Japan's industrial strength and steel production far exceeding China's, the Japanese army was limited by its scarce resources, making each artillery piece extremely precious to them.

The destruction of dozens of artillery pieces is akin to cutting off a piece of flesh for the 33rd Brigade and even the 10th Division; they will be unable to be replenished for at least two or three months.

"Immediately order Huang Guantao to withdraw from the battlefield to prevent the 33rd Brigade from making a desperate move, and to rendezvous with the main force in... Shatou Town... and then advance towards Xuzhou!"

Oh, and tell Huang Guantao to take photos while he's cleaning up the battlefield. The main focus should be on photographing the destroyed Japanese artillery and the dead bodies, understand?

"understand!"

The telegram in Seya Kei's hand trembled, and not far away, the lingering smoke of gunpowder still drifted from the city wall of Teng County.

He suddenly felt a tightness in his throat, as if someone was choking him, making it difficult to even breathe.

Even though it was already noon and the sun was blazing, he still felt cold all over.

The sunlight cast his long shadow, which was cast diagonally onto the bluestone pavement, and even the shadow itself seemed to tremble slightly.

"idiot……"

He heard his hoarse voice drifting away in the wind, as powerless as a withered leaf.

From afar came the restless snorting of warhorses, and only then did Kei Seya realize that his sword had been drawn half an inch from its sheath, the cherry blossom pattern on the scabbard gleaming coldly in the twilight.

He recalled the words his division commander had said to him on the shoulder before he left: "May your military fortune last forever." Now, the artillerymen of those two artillery battalions were probably cursing themselves in hell.

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander!"

The staff officer's voice rang in my ears.

Suddenly, Seya Kei crumpled the telegram into a ball. The ball hit the rammed earth wall and bounced back, rolling to the side of his leather boot. He stared at the ball of paper, and in a daze, he saw the division commander's flag burning before his eyes, the flames licking the ribbon that read "May your military fortune last forever."

After an unknown amount of time, a voice filled with boundless hatred rang out.

"Do you know which Chinese army annihilated the artillery battalion?"

"According to the surviving officers and soldiers, it was done by a unit called the Nanjing Security Regiment, whose commander was Su Yaoyang."

“Su Yaoyang…” Seya Kei’s teeth were grinding together, and his eyes were bloodshot.

At that moment, he swore he had never hated anyone so much.

"Order the 10th Regiment to assemble immediately and pursue Xu!" Seya Kei roared out each word clearly.

Suddenly, a cool sensation fell on the back of my neck.

He looked up abruptly and saw the leaden clouds crack open, and torrential rain poured down, instantly turning the tire tracks into muddy sludge.

This damned downpour is even extinguishing our last chance for a chase.

(End of this chapter)