Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 309 Commander Su's Righteousness

After Yang Aiyuan said "I agree," the tense atmosphere in the meeting room finally eased up quickly, like a punctured balloon.

After a fierce negotiation, during which Yang Aiyuan repeatedly telegraphed Yan Xishan, who was far away in Kenanpo, the three parties finally reached an agreement.

The contents of the agreement were quickly recorded: the Shanxi militia, the Eighth Route Army, and the Jin-Sui Army would jointly send troops to recapture Taiyuan.

Among them, the well-funded Shanxi militia will be the main force in the attack, deploying two armored regiments, two infantry regiments, two artillery regiments, and two air squadrons.

On the Eighth Route Army side, the brigade commander made the decision to send five regiments from the 386th Brigade to participate in the battle.

On the Jin-Sui Army side, Yang Aiyuan also gritted his teeth and promised to mobilize the 61st Army and 19th Army, which were among the more capable units under Yan Xishan, to assist in the battle.

The combined forces of the three sides numbered approximately 60,000 to 70,000, and they planned to capture Taiyuan, a city occupied by the Japanese army for three years, within three to five days.

With the agreement finalized, Yang Aiyuan's expression softened somewhat. As if wanting to regain some ground, he immediately switched roles, standing before the massive sand table in the center of the command post, picking up a long command stick, and reverting to some of the demeanor of a high-ranking general.

"The 61st Army has now arrived in Fenyang, and the 19th Army has arrived in Yushe."

He used a command stick to mark the locations of the two counties on the sand table, and loudly introduced the deployment of the Jin-Sui Army to everyone, "They are expected to arrive at their designated attack positions tomorrow. Once they arrive together, we can launch a general offensive against Taiyuan."

As he spoke, he subconsciously straightened his back, trying to show that the Jin-Sui Army was still strong and capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he was met with three completely different, but all full of doubt, gazes.

Su Yaoyang spoke first. He was still leaning back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of him, a hint of doubt on his face. He asked in a calm tone, "Commander Yang, will the 61st Army and the 19th Army really arrive on schedule?"

Before he could finish speaking, the brigade commander beside him snorted coldly. Although he didn't say anything, the look in his eyes clearly conveyed the same question that Su Yaoyang had asked.

Bai Chongxi, on the other hand, was even more shrewd. He didn't directly express his doubts, but instead covered his mouth with a handkerchief, coughed lightly with a half-smile, and the playful look in his eyes was more embarrassing than a direct question.

Seeing the three men's clearly distrustful gazes, Yang Aiyuan's old face, which had just regained some color, turned bright red in an instant, as if she had been slapped hard in public.

"What's going on here?" he said unhappily. "Don't you trust me, Yang?"

"Brother Xingru."

Bai Chongxi put down the handkerchief and slowly began to speak. He addressed Yang Aiyuan by her courtesy name, which was a sign of respect. "It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that this kind of thing..." He deliberately dragged out his words, shook his head, and gave her a knowing look.

It's no wonder that Su Yaoyang and his men reacted this way; the Jin-Sui Army has a glorious "tradition" in this regard.

To take a recent example, the Battle of Pingxingguan three years ago, although the 115th Division achieved brilliant results that shocked China and the world, it also suffered considerable casualties.

The root cause was that the various friendly forces responsible for intercepting reinforcements and providing flank support, especially the Jin-Sui Army and Gao Guizi's troops, fought independently or even remained inactive, watching helplessly as the 115th Division fought a bloody battle with the elite Japanese troops. Ultimately, this prevented the gains from being further expanded and caused them to miss a golden opportunity to annihilate a part of the Itagaki Division.

This "unwavering stance when allies are in trouble" attitude has long been ingrained in the minds of people from all walks of life.

Yang Aiyuan also had his pride. Being subjected to such blatant attacks in front of him by these allies, especially a junior and a sworn enemy, was unbearable even for someone with a thick skin. The anger that had just been suppressed suddenly surged up again, making his face turn bright red.

He immediately rebuked, "Don't talk nonsense... I, Yang, will personally supervise this battle here, and there will be no desertion or shirking responsibility for our friendly forces!"
I'm willing to sign a pledge on the spot, if such a thing really happens... I..."

His voice trembled with excitement, but he trailed off at the end, unsure of what oath to use to prove his resolve.

"Brother Xingru...you flatter me..."

Seeing that Yang Aiyuan was about to lose face, Bai Chongxi quickly stepped forward and gently pressed down on Yang Aiyuan's arm, stopping him from saying anything more.

After all, he is the deputy commander of the theater command. It's fine for the three of us to make some jokes and give him a little nudge, but to really force him to sign some kind of military pledge would be going too far and ruining things.

"Commander Yang, we're all on friendly forces, it was just a joke, don't take it to heart."

The brigade commander immediately understood, dropped his aggressive demeanor, forced a smile, and echoed Yang Aiyuan's words, giving her a way out.

Su Yaoyang, who had been leaning back in his chair, watching the "show" with great interest, finally sat up straight. He knew that the probing and testing had been done, and it was time to get the conversation back on track.

“Commander Yang… let’s not dwell on the past,” Su Yaoyang naturally took over the conversation, pulling everyone’s attention away from the awkwardness. “Now let’s discuss how to fight this battle.”

He pointed to the model representing Taiyuan City on the sand table.

"The Japanese will not stand idly by and watch Taiyuan fall back into our hands; they will definitely come to our aid at all costs."

Although I recently deployed all my aircraft to bomb the Japanese 27th Division and the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade, halting their advance, there's no guarantee that Yoshio Shinotsuka won't make a desperate move and transfer all available troops from Shanxi.

He glanced around at everyone and continued, "Even if the guys in my flight squadron had three heads and six arms, they wouldn't be able to handle this. So, we must allocate some troops to block enemy reinforcements. Which unit do you think would be the best choice?"

Su Yaoyang then presented this most crucial and difficult task.

To block reinforcements meant using inferior forces to fight against the elite Japanese troops, which would inevitably result in heavy casualties and would be a thankless and arduous task.

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Chongxi, who had been silently observing, stroked his chin and spoke thoughtfully.

"I think, regardless of which unit to send, this unit responsible for blocking enemy reinforcements must be a unit skilled in defensive warfare..."

As soon as Bai Chongxi finished speaking about "troops skilled in defense," an eerie silence fell over the conference room. The atmosphere, which had just eased slightly due to Yang Aiyuan's compromise, became heavy again.

To launch a sniping attack?
Any soldier who has been through a hail of bullets knows what this means.
These three words sound simple, but behind them lies a bottomless pit filled with human lives.

The blocking battle was the toughest one, the hardest to crack, and it was against Japanese reinforcements who outnumbered them and were better equipped.

They won, and the achievement was simply noted in the record book as "effectively supporting the main attacking force".

If they lose, the entire army will be wiped out, and there won't even be anyone to collect their bodies. It's a thankless and arduous task, a thankless job where you risk your own brothers' lives to pave the way for the main attacking force.

For a moment, no one spoke. The brigade commander's resolute face was tense, his brows furrowed, and his gaze was fixed on a certain point on the sand table, as if he were calculating how many men his 386th Brigade would need to send in to block the Japanese advance.

On the other side, Yang Aiyuan was completely absorbed in his own world, with his hands behind his back, looking like a meditating monk, as if he wasn't the one who had just suggested sending troops.

They were all shrewd people; no one wanted to be the first to take on this hot potato.

Seeing the two of them both so silent, Su Yaoyang, who had been keeping quiet all along, cleared his throat and broke the silence.

“Since neither the brigade commander nor Commander Yang is saying anything, then let me do it.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly to everyone’s ears. “This mission will be taken over by our Shanxi militia…”

"No..."

Before Su Yaoyang could finish saying "accept," he was abruptly interrupted by two unanimous and urgent voices of opposition.

The brigade commander and Yang Aiyuan raised their heads almost simultaneously, their movements and expressions so synchronized that it seemed they had rehearsed countless times.

"Commander Su, you don't need to put me and Commander Yang like this."

The brigade commander was the first to react. He looked at Su Yaoyang with a helpless smile on his face.

He knew he had been outmaneuvered by this young man. He sighed deeply, his tone tinged with resignation: "Alright, our 386th Brigade will take on this mission. I'll arrange two regiments to conduct a blocking action in the Jin Yuan area. If all else fails, I'll request reinforcements from headquarters."

"You two regiments alone are not enough!"

Yang Aiyuan also sighed; he knew that the bleeding was inevitable today.

He couldn't let the Eighth Route Army take all the credit and credit, nor could he let Su Yaoyang look down on the Jin-Sui Army. He gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "I will draw a division from the 19th Army to form a defensive line in the Xinxian area to block the Japanese attack."

Seeing this dramatic scene, Bai Chongxi, who had been standing by and observing, couldn't help but chuckle.

This Su Yaoyang is really cunning!
Everyone knows that the Shanxi militia was the real main force in this attack on Taiyuan.

Without those two armored regiments that everyone coveted and that heavy artillery regiment capable of blasting down city walls, attacking Taiyuan's fortified defenses with infantry alone would be ten times more difficult, and the casualties would be incalculable.

At this crucial moment, Su Yaoyang "volunteered" to fight a blocking attack. This was not a volunteering; it was clearly a challenge to the brigade commander and Yang Aiyuan: If you don't take this job, then don't expect me to go all out in the main attack!

Seeing that the brigade commander and Yang Aiyuan, who had just looked reluctant, were now eagerly jumping out to "volunteer," Su Yaoyang smiled and said to them.

"Commander Yang, you don't need to worry too much."

I know that holding off the enemy is hard work; the main challenge is dealing with the threat of Japanese aircraft, artillery, and armored vehicles.

Su Yaoyang pointed out the biggest difficulty in the blocking battle, which made the brigade commander and Yang Aiyuan nod, and their expressions became serious.

They knew that Su Yaoyang was right; these three things were a perpetual source of pain for the poorly equipped Chinese army.

At this point, Su Yaoyang deliberately paused, glanced at everyone, and then continued unhurriedly: "The Japanese 60th Air Squadron was just severely damaged by my air squadron. In the short term, there is no need to worry too much about the threat from the sky."

The only real problem is the Japanese artillery and armored vehicles. Here's what we'll do..."

He pretended to be thinking, tapping his fingers lightly on the table twice, drawing the attention of everyone in the conference room.

"I'll have someone allocate two hundred anti-tank rifles each to the brigade commander and Commander Yang, along with ten loads of ammunition. While these rifles won't be able to deal with the Japanese heavy tanks, they should be more than enough to handle those thin-skinned, bulky 'tiny tanks'."

"hiss……"

As soon as he finished speaking, a collective gasp filled the conference room.

One hundred anti-tank rifles? And one hundred on each side?

This thing is a powerful weapon against Japanese tanks, and it's very precious. They've hardly ever even seen one. Su Yaoyang asked for four hundred of them!

However, the real shock was yet to come.

"Then we will allocate to each of you 20,000 German-made M24 grenades, 100 Czech-made light machine guns, and 30 Maxim heavy machine guns to enhance your defensive capabilities."

If the anti-tank gun incident earlier was shocking, then this string of numbers was like a bombshell, exploding in the minds of the brigade commander and Yang Aiyuan. Their eyes widened like saucers, their mouths gaped open wide enough to fit an egg, and they stood frozen in place, almost unable to believe their ears.

20,000 German-made hand grenades? 100 Czech-made grenades? 30 Maxim guns? This...this is going to be a windfall!

"Commander Su, you are truly righteous!"

The first to react was the straightforward brigade commander, who immediately gave Su Yaoyang a thumbs up and exclaimed "Gao Yi!" from the bottom of his heart, full of admiration and gratitude.

Even Yang Aiyuan, who always thought highly of himself and had just been full of opinions about Su Yaoyang, looked at him differently now.

The calculation and resentment from before were gone from his eyes; instead, they were full of approval and a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

He knew that with these weapons, his division's defenses in Xinxian County would finally have real confidence.

Seeing the two of them so excited, Su Yaoyang simply waved his hand and didn't say anything more.

The reason they were so generous in distributing these weapons to them was purely for their own benefit.

He knew better than anyone else that the stronger the blocking force and the more solid the defense line, the safer the main attacking force would be.

No one wanted a fresh Japanese force to suddenly appear from behind when the attack on Taiyuan was halfway through and at its most intense. After all, no one wanted to experience being attacked from both sides and suffering a complete collapse.

(End of this chapter)