Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 262 The Inertia of History

She paused, then quickly added, fearing Song Mei might misunderstand, "Of course, we're not here to beg for alms! We'll buy from you at market price!"

"That's right."

Song Mei nodded slowly, understanding in her heart.

She said it herself, a batch of medicine shouldn't have been used up so quickly.

She then calmly asked, "Director Yang, how much do you plan to buy this time?"

"Of course, the more the better!" The young man who hadn't spoken until now blurted out without even thinking.

As soon as he said it, Yang Lanjuan glared at him fiercely, and he immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing, so he shut his mouth in embarrassment.

"Oh……"

Song Mei glanced at the young man with a half-smile, and the young man blushed and lowered his head.

Song Mei pondered for a moment, seemingly weighing the pros and cons, and the atmosphere in the reception room became somewhat heavy for a moment.

Just as Yang Lanjuan's heart began to pound, Song Mei suddenly smiled, and the entire reception room seemed to brighten up a bit.

"As fellow compatriots fighting against the Japanese invaders, talking about money is too vulgar."

Her tone became cheerful and generous, "If I really took your money, Yaoyang will definitely scold me for being petty when he comes back."

She stood up and said in an unquestionable tone, "Alright then, I'll make the decision. In the name of the hospital, we'll donate one hundred boxes of penicillin to your department! We'll also provide some gauze, alcohol, sulfanilamide powder, and other medications. You three can take them with you when you go back."

"Oh? This...this is too much!"

Yang Lanjuan was both surprised and delighted, never expecting the other party to be so generous. One hundred boxes of penicillin! This was like a life-saving rain!
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Song Mei waved her hand, then stood up: "Logically speaking, since you have come from afar, I should host a banquet to entertain you."

But Mingxi isn't here, and as a woman, it's not appropriate for me to overstep my bounds and do it for her.

"Alright then, Mingxi will make up for the missed drinks when he gets back. I have things to do at the hospital, so I won't keep you any longer."

After seeing Yang Lanjuan and the other two off, Song Mei pondered for a moment before calling Pi Ruoyu and telling him what had happened. She asked him to send the information by telegram to Su Yaoyang in Yichang before returning to the hospital to continue her work…

The great battle at Yichang was like a boulder thrown into a lake, the ripples of which spread not only throughout China, but also across mountains and rivers, reaching Taiyuan, Shanxi, the headquarters of the Japanese First Army.

The First Army Commander Yoshio Shinotsuka was deep in thought at that moment.

For two consecutive days, he had hardly left his office, and his meals were delivered to his door by his orderly.

He stared intently at the sand table in his office and the huge map of Shanxi on the wall, as if trying to etch every mountain and river into his mind.

The heavy wooden door to the office was gently pushed open, and Major General Hideyoshi Kusuyama, the Chief of Staff, walked in carrying a cup of hot tea.

As soon as he entered, he saw his commander standing like a statue in front of a huge map, his hands behind his back, his gaze sharp as a knife, staring intently at a certain area on the map.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Yoshio Shinotsuka slowly turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot, but he was unusually excited.

Upon seeing that it was Hideyoshi Kusuyama, he didn't exchange any pleasantries, but instead suddenly threw out a question that made the chief of staff's heart skip a beat.

"Kunshan-kun, tell me, if we were to launch a large-scale sweep against the Chinese armed bases in Shanxi, should our main attack be directed at the Eighth Route Army's Jin-Cha-Ji base area, or... the Shanxi militia around Wutai Mountain?"

Upon hearing this, Hideyoshi Kusuyama almost dropped his teacup, his heart skipping a beat.

My goodness! Things have been quiet for just a few months, what kind of trouble is Your Excellency Commander up to now?
Ever since the First Army was thoroughly humiliated by that Shanxi militia outside Taiyuan, morale has been low. They had finally managed to regain some ground through mopping-up operations and sweeping campaigns, and things had just started to settle down. Why would they want to provoke another tough nut to crack?
He quickly placed the teacup on the table and asked cautiously, "Commander, what's going on...? Has the Army Headquarters issued a new combat mission?"

In his view, only orders from higher levels could inspire such radical ideas in a usually composed commander.

Especially that Shanxi militia. The painful lesson from our last encounter was still fresh in our minds. They were not an ordinary Chinese army, but a tiger armed to the teeth.

Yoshio Shinotsuka shook his head. He walked to the sand table, picked up a command stick, and pointed to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

"No, the order didn't come from the army group, it came from here."

His voice was deep and powerful, "Have you seen the battle report from Yichang? That Su Yaoyang actually dared to bring his main force to Yichang to fight a decisive battle with the Sixth Division! What does that mean?"

Before Hideyoshi Kusuyama could answer, he answered his own question: "This shows that his current stronghold, the Wutai Mountain area, is more vulnerable than ever before! This is our best chance to destroy his base and remove this thorn in the side of our army! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

A near-mad, gambler's gleam shone in his eyes. To him, the battle for Yichang was not a threat, but a golden opportunity!

If we can seize this opportunity and launch an offensive, the situation in Shanxi will definitely undergo a dramatic change.

Facing his commander, who had fallen into a frenzy, Hideyoshi Kusuyama broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that once the commander entered this "gambler's state," any rational persuasion would become futile.

"Commander! Please reconsider!"

Hideyoshi Kusuyama pleaded with him earnestly, his voice becoming hoarse.

"Attack on Wutai County, the stronghold of the Shanxi militia, is far too risky! Haven't we learned our lesson from last time?"
Their fortifications and firepower far exceeded our expectations. Even though their main force is currently in Yichang, the troops remaining there are certainly not to be trifled with.

If our offensive falters and we are drawn into a protracted war, it will be a devastating blow to the morale of the First Army!

However, Yoshio Shinotsuka merely glanced at him coldly, unmoved.

“Kunshan-kun, I understand your caution.”

But soldiers cannot give up a victory that is within their grasp simply because they are afraid of failure!

Yoshio Shinotsuka's tone was resolute: "My mind is made up, this sweep is imperative! The only question is, whose throat should this sharp blade be plunged into!"

He drew three circles on the map with his command stick: the Shanxi militia of Wutai Mountain, the Eighth Route Army of Jin-Cha-Ji, and the Jin-Sui Army, which was wavering between the two. Seeing that Yoshio Shinotsuka was determined and could not be persuaded by nine oxen, Hideyoshi Kusuyama had no choice but to settle for second best.

Since we can no longer stop this attack, all we can do is make the target of this attack more "reasonable" and the risks more controllable.

He took a deep breath and made a suggestion: "Commander, since you have already made your decision, then... could we ask Colonel Yamamoto Ichiki to come over and hear the opinion of a special operations expert? Perhaps he can provide us with a more efficient solution."

"Yamamoto-kun?"

Yoshio Shinotsuka pondered for a moment, then nodded.

Yamamoto Ichiki, the sharpest dagger in his hand, is someone whose opinion should indeed be heard in the current situation.

Soon, a lean, sharp-eyed man strode into the office. He was Yamamoto Ichiki, a war fanatic who held special operations as his guiding principle.

After listening to Yoshio Shinotsuka's briefing and his confusion, Ichiki Yamamoto walked straight to the map without any hesitation, and with his white-gloved fingers, he tapped heavily on the area representing the Eighth Route Army headquarters.

“Commander, my choice is here.” His voice was cold and confident.

"Oh...why?" Yoshio Shinotsuka asked with great interest.

A cruel smile crept across Yamamoto Ichiki's lips as he began to expound on his "decapitation theory":
"Attacking the strongholds of the Shanxi militia is a war of attrition, a war of attrition that only a fool would choose."

The Eighth Route Army, however, was like a slippery eel, constantly shifting its course; if one regiment was wiped out, a new brigade would quickly spring up. But whether a tiger in a fortress or a slippery eel in the water, they all shared a common weakness—their brains!

He emphasized his words, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "Destroy their brains, their command centers, and the tiger will become a trapped beast, the loach will turn belly-up! The will to resist throughout North China will collapse! This is the shortcut to achieving the greatest victory for the Imperial Holy War at the lowest cost!"

Seeing Yoshio Shinotsuka's eyes light up at his words, Ichiki Yamamoto threw out his last, and most lethal, bargaining chip.

“Furthermore, Your Excellency Commander,” he turned around, bowed slightly, his tone filled with undeniable confidence, “I have located the Eighth Route Army headquarters. My special forces have already infiltrated right next to their brain.”

He used a red pencil to draw a blood-red cross on a point on the map.

"Right here... Daxia Bay."

The trajectory of history, at certain moments, reveals a terrifying inertia.

Even with Su Yaoyang, this giant butterfly, flapping his wings and changing countless minor details, the main stream still stubbornly returned to its predetermined course.

Yamamoto Ichiki's special forces, like a group of ghosts in the night, silently tore through the Independent Regiment's seemingly tight defenses.

Kong Jie, a regimental commander who was good at maintaining the status quo but lacked adaptability, never dreamed that the Japanese army's most elite special forces would choose to launch a fatal attack on the heart of the Eighth Route Army... the Daxia Bay headquarters, from his direction.

When the first explosion rang out at the Independent Regiment's headquarters, it was already too late.

Yamamoto's special forces were well-equipped, well-trained, and had well-defined tactics.

Without engaging with any outer outposts, they cut through the Independent Regiment's command system precisely like a red-hot dagger piercing through butter.

The regimental headquarters was attacked, communications were cut off, and the troops were thrown into chaos.

By the time Kong Jie and his guard company reacted and organized a counterattack, Yamamoto's special forces had already caused massive damage and fled into the darkness of the night.

The Independent Regiment suffered heavy losses, and its headquarters was almost completely destroyed.

Even more fatally, they failed to send a timely warning to headquarters.

When headquarters received news of the attack on the Independent Regiment, it was already half an hour later.

"Kong Jie... how did he become the commander of this independent regiment?"

At the Eighth Route Army headquarters, the deputy commander-in-chief's roar nearly lifted the roof off the command post. He kicked over the chair next to him, his eyes bloodshot, pointing at the Independent Regiment's defense zone on the map, his face flushed with rage.

"He let a small Japanese special forces team sneak up right under his nose. And he even wiped out the entire regimental headquarters! What an idiot! Utterly an idiot! He's completely disgraced our army!"

The faces of the deputy chief of staff and others were also extremely grim.

Just a few days ago, I was happy about the medicine that Song Mei gave me. In the blink of an eye, such a major defense oversight has occurred. It is an utter disgrace.

"Order!"

The deputy commander's roar echoed in the command post, "Immediately remove Kong Jie from his post as commander of the Independent Regiment! Send him to the clothing factory to reflect on his actions!"

He paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and a resolute glint flashed in his eyes.

"Go! Bring Li Yunlong back from the clothing factory! Let him replace Kong Jie as the commander of this independent regiment! I want to see if this wolf, Li Yunlong, can get back on his feet!"

The order was issued to the clothing factory as quickly as possible.

At this moment, Li Yunlong was squatting on the ground, bored out of his mind, watching a group of female workers sew military uniforms, with a blade of grass in his mouth and a look of utter despair on his face.

When the messenger rode in on a fast horse, covered in dust, and handed him the telegram, he thought the brigade commander had come up with some new trick to torment him.

But when he unfolded the telegram and saw its contents, he was completely stunned.

The next second, he suddenly leaped up from the ground, spitting out the grass root in his mouth. The pent-up frustration that had been building up on his face for more than a month vanished, replaced by the wild joy and ferocity of a hungry wolf seeing fresh meat!

"Damn it!" Li Yunlong laughed loudly, his voice so loud it made all the windows of the clothing factory vibrate. "Finally remembered your Grandpa Li! Kong Erlengzi, you just wait and see how I get revenge for you!"

He snatched the messenger's whip, mounted his horse, and charged out of the clothing factory without looking back, leaving behind only a cloud of dust and a group of dumbfounded female workers.

Li Yunlong arrived at the Independent Regiment at top speed. His first act was to plead with Brigade Commander Chen to spare Kong Jie's life and allow him to stay and atone for his crimes through meritorious service.
Brigade Commander Chen granted his request, but made it clear beforehand that if he failed to bring the Independent Regiment out, he would be punished for multiple offenses.

(End of this chapter)