Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 195 Capturing a Big Fish

Amidst the overwhelming chaos and despair, an even more ironic scene is unfolding.

Ushijima Sanetsune... the highest-ranking commander of the Japanese 20th Division, was in a situation no better than any of his ordinary soldiers, and perhaps even more miserable.

His Toyota sedan, which he drives, was just hit directly by a precise 75mm shell and blown into a twisted, burning pile of scrap metal.

The blast wave knocked Ushijima Sanetsune and his chief of staff, Kinemura Hisazo, to the ground, leaving them dizzy and with ringing in their ears.

Ushijima Sanetsugu's hat had flown off somewhere, and his once impeccable military uniform was now covered in mud and ash. The gold tassel on his shoulder was broken in half and hung limply.

Hisashi Kinemura fared even worse; his left arm was blown off.

Now, Ushijima Minoru is supporting his chief of staff, looking at the apocalyptic scene around him, feeling completely lost and not knowing what to do.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency! I have finally found you!"

Just when Ushijima Sanetsu was at a loss, his adjutant finally found him, accompanied by two guards.

His adjutant was a middle-aged major with round-framed glasses who looked refined. He was also covered in dust and dirt, and one of the lenses of his glasses was broken, cutting his cheek and causing blood to seep out.

He ran over breathlessly, ignoring his own injuries, and anxiously helped Ushijima Minoru, who had also fallen badly.

Ushijima Sanetsugu, the lieutenant general who used to be so confident and assertive at many military conferences, now had a livid face and his eyes were filled with shock and incredulous anger.

He never imagined that his elite division, which he was so proud of, would be defeated in such a short time and in such a humiliating way.

"Ono-kun... my command sword..."

Ushijima Minoru was panting heavily, his voice hoarse. His officer's sword had slipped from his grasp during the explosion and was now nowhere to be found. For a high-ranking Japanese officer, losing his officer's sword was a profound disgrace.

"Commander, now is not the time to look for a knife! We must leave here immediately! Tanks... the Chinese tanks are already charging in!" The adjutant anxiously pulled on Ushijima Sanetsugu, trying to drag him away from this dangerous area.

All around them were Japanese soldiers fleeing in disarray like a receding tide. They cried, screamed, and shoved each other, completely ignoring their two once high-ranking officers.

Faced with the instinct for survival, military rank and prestige become worthless.

Ushijima Minoru staggered as he helped Kinemura Hisazo up, staring blankly at everything.

Now... he has witnessed firsthand the dire state of his troops:
Soldiers crushed into mincemeat by tanks, corpses torn to pieces by artillery shells, and fleeing soldiers with vacant eyes, like walking corpses.

A young soldier ran past him, tears of despair streaming down his face, repeatedly muttering, "Mom...Mom...".

"Baka! Cheer up! You are soldiers of the Empire!"

Minoru Ushijima often tried to reprimand the fleeing soldiers with his hoarse voice, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the roar of tanks and explosions, and no one paid any attention to him.

His face, contorted with anger and humiliation, looked particularly ferocious in the smoke and firelight.

His adjutant was relatively calmer; he knew that any attempt to boost morale at this moment would be futile.

As his adjutant, his most important task now was to protect the division commander and break through the encirclement, even if there was only a sliver of hope. However, fate did not seem to be on their side.

Just as they were trying to cross a relatively sparse grove of trees, several Shanxi militia soldiers armed with M1 Thompson submachine guns, along with several Sherman tanks flanking them from the side, suddenly appeared before them. These soldiers belonged to the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment, which had participated in the raid.

"Hands up! Kneel down! Now!" a tall sergeant roared, his dark gun barrel pointed directly at Ushijima Sanetsune and Kinemura Hisazo.

The tank's turret slowly rotated, its thick 75mm gun barrel radiating a chilling aura of death.

The adjutant instinctively shielded Ushijima Minoru behind him and called out in Japanese, "We are..."

"Shut up! I said hands up!" the sergeant interrupted impatiently, pulling back the bolt with a crisp metallic scraping sound.

Ushijima Minoru's body stiffened.

Looking at the gun barrels pointed at him, at the faces of those young and indifferent Chinese soldiers, an unprecedented sense of humiliation and despair welled up in his heart.

He, Lieutenant General Ushijima Sanetsune, Commander of the 20th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, was about to end his military career as a prisoner of war!
He slowly raised his hands, those hands that once commanded thousands of troops, now trembling slightly with anger and resentment.

His adjutant also raised his hands in despair.

Several soldiers cautiously approached and roughly searched them for any weapons they might be carrying (even though they had nothing left), then tied their hands behind their backs with ropes.

When the young sergeant saw the collar insignia and shoulder boards on Ushijima Sanetsugu's uniform that indicated his rank of lieutenant general, he was first stunned, then his face lit up with ecstatic joy.

He quickly turned his head and shouted, "Company Commander... Company Commander... We've caught a big fish! This old guy is a lieutenant general!"

Soon, a captain ran over, carefully examined Ushijima Sanetsugu's rank, glanced at the armband on Ushijima Sanetsugu's shoulder, and could no longer contain his joy as he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha...We're rich...We're rich..."

Overjoyed, he patted Ushijima Sanetsugu's cheek and said in a language so broken even the Japanese couldn't understand, "Yoshi, General, your war is over!"

Ushijima Minoru kept his eyes tightly shut, his cheeks flushed red with humiliation. He knew that what awaited him was endless interrogation and being displayed as a trophy.

His illustrious military career ended in a shameful way he could never have imagined. And the 20th Division he once commanded vanished completely on this foreign land.

Soon, John, who was pursuing the Japanese army, also received the news.

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to encounter such a good thing. Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly called the communications soldier.

"Quickly... immediately send a telegram to the Commander-in-Chief to report this good news!"

After giving the order, John could no longer contain his joy and murmured, "God, you still have mercy on your servants. I'm going to be rich now!"
I need to think about this carefully. Once my bounty comes in, should I buy a ranch and become a rancher after the war?

Although sporadic fighting continued, John's thoughts had already drifted off to who-knows-where...

(End of this chapter)