Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 258 Determination
After Chen Shijie left with the preliminary agreement on a ten million US dollar arms purchase, feeling both satisfied and heartbroken, an eerie silence fell over the operations room of the Fifth War Zone Command.

Su Yaoyang and Li Zongren looked at each other, their eyes filled with the same undisguised shock and confusion.

After a long silence, it was Li Zongren, the seasoned leader of the Guangxi clique who had seen it all, who broke the silence first. He slowly sat back down in his chair, picked up the now-cold tea and took a sip, as if he needed to calm his overly excited emotions in this way.

"Mingxi..." Li Zongren's voice sounded somewhat hoarse.

"Nobody expected that those tightwads in the Ministry of Military Affairs would actually be willing to spend real money, and even precious US dollars, to buy your cannons."

His face was etched with the words "I've never seen anything like this before."

As an "old friend" who had dealt with Chongqing for half his life, Li Zongren knew better than anyone how dire the financial situation of the Nationalist government was.

He stretched out his fingers and tapped them unconsciously on the table, his brows furrowed as he fell into deep thought.

"If I remember correctly, last year, which was the 28th year of the Republic of China, the total fiscal revenue of our entire Nationalist government, converted into US dollars, was only a little over 40 million."

However, government spending was twice the revenue, reaching a staggering 80 million! This deficit was entirely filled by borrowing and printing more legal tender.

Li Zongren raised his head and looked at Su Yaoyang, his confusion deepening.

"Now, they want to come up with ten million US dollars to buy your cannons... That's no small amount; it's a quarter of the government's annual revenue. Are they crazy?"
Where will the money come from? How are we supposed to make a living?

A series of questions were also the doubts in Su Yaoyang's mind.

Although he did not understand the economic situation of this era as thoroughly as Li Zongren, he knew that this was a huge sum of money that could cripple the Nationalist government, and Chongqing could not possibly be unaware of this.

The two pondered for a long time, going over all the possibilities in their minds. A new loan from the Americans? Impossible; they hadn't heard of such a large sum of money arriving. Selling off state assets? Even more impossible; that would cause a huge political upheaval.

Even Li Zongren, a veteran official who had been navigating the political landscape for decades, couldn't understand the reason behind this.

Finally, he let out a long sigh and gave an explanation that sounded the most absurd, yet seemed to be the only reasonable one.

“Unless…” Li Zongren’s expression turned strange, “the Chairman… has been provoked.”

"Were you provoked?" Su Yaoyang repeated the word.

"Correct."

Li Zongren nodded, his expression becoming complicated.

"Think about it, his Central Army, equipped with German and Soviet weapons, suffered repeated defeats on the battlefield. Meanwhile, you, an 'unofficial' Shanxi militia, were chasing after the Japanese elite divisions with American equipment that he had never even seen before."

Especially your artillery and air force, which utterly outclass his prized elite troops.

"This time he sent Chen Shijie hoping to get something for nothing, but you turned him down, causing him to lose face. In the end, in order to obtain heavy artillery capable of fighting the Japanese, he had no choice but to humbly hand over real money to you, his 'subordinate,' to buy it..."

As Li Zongren spoke, he couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle, "These incidents were too much of a shock for someone as conceited as him, someone who valued his reputation above all else."

Therefore, he'd rather sell everything he owns to acquire equipment that could overwhelm yours and get his revenge. This isn't rational military procurement anymore; it's purely a matter of losing face and acting out of spite!

After listening to Li Zongren's analysis, Su Yaoyang suddenly understood, and then felt a mix of laughter and tears.

It turns out that behind this astronomical arms deal was a power struggle stemming from the fact that the supreme leader's defenses had been breached.

Although the reason is absurd, it seems incredibly true when combined with his understanding of the historical figure's personality.

Su Yaoyang largely agreed with Li Zongren's speculation that the supreme leader's motives were somewhat driven by "resentment."

He slapped his thigh and a genuine smile appeared on his face: "No matter what Chiang Kai-shek's purpose is, he did a good job this time! The Japanese devils have already occupied most of our China. If we don't use the money to buy weapons now, are we going to save it for reparations to the Japanese later?"
Let me put it this way: as long as the money is in place, I'll have the equipment delivered to them immediately!

"Hahaha... This is the Su Mingxi I know!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zongren laughed heartily, his eyes filled with satisfaction. He hadn't misjudged the man; although this lad could be cunning at times, he was clear-headed when it came to matters of principle and was a man of principle.

The slightly absurd atmosphere inside the headquarters caused by this unexpected arms deal was quickly replaced by the increasingly tense war clouds outside the window.

After laughing, Li Zongren's expression turned serious again. He pointed to the huge military map on the wall, where the red arrows representing the Japanese army looked like sharp knives, piercing straight into the heart of Yichang.

"Let's get down to business."

Li Zongren's tone turned heavy. "The vanguard of the Japanese 6th Division has already advanced. I heard that this time, they specifically named you, Commander Su, and are here to seek revenge."

Although he said this with a smile, there was no smile in his eyes.

"cut……"

Upon hearing this, Su Yaoyang's lips curled into a disdainful sneer, radiating a powerful confidence. "So what if it's the Sixth Division?"

Three years ago in Nanjing, I utterly thrashed them, and this time I'll make them cry their way back home! Commander Li, if you just give the order for our Shanxi militia to hold Yichang, I guarantee you, the Sixth Division will never return!

These bold and inspiring words resonated deeply and were incredibly powerful.

However, Li Zongren was not swayed by his heroic spirit. He simply looked at him calmly and asked in return, "But what if the Japanese bring the entire 11th Army over here?" "This..." Su Yaoyang's heroic ambition was instantly choked by this question.

He was speechless.

He does have the strength to deal with the 6th Division, but the entire 11th Army is the most powerful and strongest strategic mobile force in the Japanese Expeditionary Army in China, with a total strength of nearly 200,000 men and equipped with a large number of heavy artillery, tanks and aircraft.

If Sonobe and Ichiro really went mad and sent the entire 11th Army at any cost, the Shanxi militia, with its small frame, would absolutely not be able to withstand it, no matter how well-equipped they were.

If they fight head-on, the best outcome will be mutual destruction, which is not worth the loss.

Seeing that Su Yaoyang remained silent, Li Zongren knew that he had figured out the key point.

He then slowly stood up, walked to the map, gently tapped the location of Yichang with his baton, and drew a retreat route to the west.

“So, my plan is…” Li Zongren’s voice became low, “to abandon Yichang, with each unit taking turns providing cover and retreating in an orderly manner.”

This decision was exceptionally difficult for him, the commander of the theater command.

Abandoning an important strategic city is undoubtedly a difficult task.

However, as the supreme commander of the war zone, Li Zongren had to consider the overall situation and preserve the strength of the troops, which was the best course of action.

He looked at Su Yaoyang, waiting for his reaction.

Because he knew that the success of this plan largely depended on Su Yaoyang's support.

Meanwhile, in Baiyang County, hundreds of miles away from Yichang, the Japanese Sixth Division had requisitioned the area and made it their temporary division headquarters.

Inside the command center, the air was so oppressive it was almost suffocating.

A tense atmosphere permeated every corner.

A dozen or so high-ranking Japanese officers stood ramrod straight, even their breathing was deliberately quiet, and their eyes were all fixed on the man in the center of the room with awe and tension.

Machijiri Ryoki, Lieutenant General, is the newly appointed commander of the 6th Division.

He was staring intently at the 100,000 scale map spread out on the table in front of him. On the map, the location of Yichang was marked with a menacing circle in thick red ink.

His eyes, as if sucked into that red circle, were bloodshot and filled with an almost morbid fanaticism.

The officers around them didn't dare to breathe.

Because they all knew that the man, the man whose name was etched on the pillar of shame by the entire Sixth Division and even the entire Imperial Army, was in that red circle.

Su Yaoyang!
This name is the 6th Division's eternal nightmare.

Three years ago in Nanjing, the once invincible Sixth Division, known as the "Kumamoto Tiger," was killed by this man who released poison gas, causing it to suffer more than half of its losses and forcing it to return to its homeland for rest and reorganization.

The division commander was dismissed as a result, and the bones of countless imperial warriors littered the land outside Nanjing. It was an unprecedented humiliation for this unit since its inception.

Although Machijiri Ryoki was the new division commander, what he received was not only the sword of command, but also this heavy humiliation that was enough to crush anyone.

Since taking office, what he hears most every day is the legend about that man; what he sees most every day is the appalling battle damage report of the Battle of Nanjing.

That man had become a demon in the hearts of the Sixth Division, a destiny that they had to sever with their own hands.

Three years later, they are about to face off again.

Faced with this archenemy, the entire 6th Division, from the division commander to the ordinary soldiers, was filled with a complex mix of fear, hatred, and a hint of morbid excitement. No one dared to let their guard down.

A combat staff officer carefully carried a cup of hot tea, intending to step forward, but was stopped by the chilling killing intent emanating from Machijiri Ryoki as soon as he took a step.

Machijiri Ryoki didn't turn around. He simply raised his hand slowly and pressed his white-gloved index finger heavily on the red circle on the map, his knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure.

His voice was hoarse and low, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat, echoing in the silent command post.

"He's there... that ghost from Nanjing is in Yichang."

He slowly turned around, his sharp, hawk-like gaze sweeping over every officer present.

"Gentlemen...this time, I will personally twist off his head!"

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his tone filled with unwavering resolve and a frenzied killing intent: "The glory of the Kumamoto Division must be washed clean again with his blood!"

"Hai!"

Inside the command post, all the officers suddenly straightened up, roared in unison, and their eyes flashed with fanaticism.

(End of this chapter)