Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 185 Good things come in pairs
Upon hearing their words, Yoshito Takagi nearly fainted from anger.

Although he was a brigade commander, once both of his regimental commanders committed seppuku, how could he possibly escape unscathed?

Many things cannot be resolved simply by making a single, decisive move; in fact, such a move might lead to far more serious consequences.

For example, once Kotoko and Kobayashi Tsuneo were forced to commit seppuku, they got what they wanted, but it also meant that his career in the military was over.

No one wants to work for someone who might force their subordinates to commit seppuku at any moment, even if they are a brigade commander.

Moreover, a regimental commander with rich combat experience is not like a leek in the ground that can be found easily. If these two were to commit seppuku, he couldn't possibly lead the charge himself, could he?

After a long silence, Takagi Yoshito finally suppressed his anger and snorted coldly: "Enough, you don't need to put on this act. I also bear responsibility for how this battle turned out. The most important thing now is to take Wolf Valley in the shortest amount of time, otherwise we will not be able to explain to the division commander."

“Brigade Commander, please forgive my bluntness.” Li Dengxing stepped forward. “The Chinese have deployed a large number of anti-aircraft guns in Wild Wolf Valley. I observed dozens of them today alone. When these anti-aircraft guns fire in unison, we are like weeds that are ruthlessly harvested.”

"You think so too?" Takagi Yoshito looked at Kobayashi Tsuneo on the other side.

"Yes," Kobayashi Tsuneo said, forcing a smile. "I think it's best to temporarily halt the attack until we find a way to deal with those anti-aircraft guns, otherwise... otherwise the 39th Brigade will be destroyed!"

"presumptuous!"

Yoshito Takagi slammed his fist on the table: "Do you know what you're saying? What will the division commander think if we stop attacking? What will Commander Umezu think? Who can take responsibility for this?"

“Brigade Commander, this is no longer a matter of responsibility, but a matter of our brigade’s survival.” Koi Tokiichi could no longer hold back.

"Our regiment has suffered over a thousand casualties today alone. If we continue fighting at this rate, our brigade will be wiped out in three days at most!"

"What?!" Takagi Yoshito felt a jolt run through him, his body swaying slightly. "You mean, we've lost over a thousand people in just one day?"

"To be precise, it's 1276 people!" Li Dengxing said.

"Where is your unit?" Takagi Yoshito suddenly turned to look at Kobayashi Tsuneo.

"Our regiment's casualties are no less than those of the 77th Regiment." Kobayashi Tsuneo lowered his head bitterly.

"Thud." Takagi Yoshito staggered, his face turning extremely pale.

One regiment suffered over a thousand casualties, and two regiments combined suffered over two thousand. This was just the casualty figure for one day. At this rate, the 39th Brigade would disappear from the Japanese Army's ranks in just a few days.

"Brigade Commander, perhaps we should report the truth to Division Commander? Judging from today's situation, our brigade alone is not capable of taking Wolf Valley!" Li Dengxing pleaded, his eyes red.

"All right……"

Yoshito Takagi slumped into his chair like a deflated balloon...

…………

"Hahaha... That's great..."

Huang Guantao walked into the command post with a hearty laugh, picked up the large porcelain cup on the table, and drank the water inside in one gulp.

He then wiped the water from his mouth, picked up the Good Luck cigarettes and lighter from the table, lit the cigarette, and casually stuffed it into his pocket.

"Put it down right now!"

A loud shout rang in my ears.

Then he saw Su Yaoyang glaring at him. "You old Huang, taking my cigarettes is one thing, but you even dared to steal my lighter? Is this how you do things?"

"Hehe..." Huang Guantao touched his nose and grinned awkwardly.

"Commander, my lighter was stolen by that old bastard Li Gaoyuan a few days ago, and I haven't been feeling quite comfortable using matches these past few days, so I was thinking of borrowing one from you. You, the Commander, wouldn't be so stingy, would you?"

Su Yaoyang said irritably, "If you don't have a lighter, can't you just buy one yourself? They're three silver dollars each at the service center, you can have as many as you want. Why are you taking my money?"

“That’s different… The three-dollar ones are made of steel, which I don’t like. The copper ones cost eight dollars each, and I have elderly parents and young children to support, so I can’t afford to buy them.”

"Hey……"

Su Yaoyang was amused by the guy's shamelessness: "You old codger, you only make eighty yuan a month and you're telling me you can't afford a lighter? Have you no shame?"

Huang Guantao said with a bitter face, "You know I have elderly parents to support and young children to raise. My wife stays at home taking care of three children, and I also have to support my elderly mother. I send all my salary back home every month. How can I afford to buy such luxury items?"

"Oh... I see. You mean you think my salary is too low and you want me to give you a raise, is that what you mean?" Su Yaoyang glanced at him sideways.

"No, no..." Huang Guantao quickly waved his hands, "The salary offered by the CEO is already high enough, I didn't mean that."

Huang Guantao was indeed speaking from the heart; the salaries of the Shanxi militia were already quite good.

Take Huang Guantao for example. As a colonel and regimental commander, his monthly salary was 80 silver dollars.

如今是1938年，按照这个时间段的购买力，80块大洋足够买2400——3200斤大米（足够五口之家吃2年了）。

If you're buying pork, you can buy 640-800 jin (320-400 catties).

Such a high salary is unique even among the Central Army.

Su Yaoyang snorted: "Alright... I know you too well. You're a stingy old man. If you weren't surnamed Yan, I would have thought you were the Third Master."

"What third uncle?"

"It's nothing." Su Yaoyang waved his hand. "Let's talk about something serious. Although we drove the Japanese away today, we can't let our guard down..."

"Report……"

As they were talking, a communications officer came over and handed him a telegram.

Su Yaoyang casually took the telegram and glanced at it, then exclaimed with delight: "Good news... Li Gaoyuan has woken up!"

"Oh……"

Huang Guantao was also overjoyed and leaned closer, "Good news! Old Li is out of danger!"

Su Yaoyang smiled and said, "Yes, Old Li is really lucky. But if he wants to go back to the battlefield, don't even think about it for three to five months."

Both men were overjoyed to receive the telegram that Li Gaoyuan was out of danger, but as the saying goes, good things come in pairs, and another communications staff officer strode over.

"Sir...a telegram from the Eighth Route Army..."

"What... a call from the Eighth Route Army?" Su Yaoyang and Huang Guantao exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes...

(End of this chapter)