Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 311 Interview
"Commander Su, may we begin?"

"of course."

Su Yaoyang looked at the slightly plump, weathered middle-aged female reporter in front of him and nodded with a smile.

He gestured, and a soldier standing to the side immediately understood. He carried the tea that had been prepared beforehand and, with light steps, poured a steaming cup of tea for each of them.

A faint aroma of tea filled the simple yet tidy reception room.

Zilan nodded politely to the orderly to express her gratitude, and then refocused her gaze on Su Yaoyang.

He then took out a hardcover notebook and a Parker pen from his briefcase with a swift and steady motion.

"Commander Su, the outside world is full of curiosity and speculation about you and your Shanxi militia, and I am no exception."

Without any hesitation, Zilan got straight to the point and asked the first question, "To be honest, I'm very curious how someone like you, who was just a graduate of Changde Normal School a few years ago, could now independently establish the Shanxi Militia and become a banner of resistance against Japan in China."

It would be incredibly difficult for others to reach this point, but you accomplished it with ease.

In your opinion, what is the real secret to the militia's remarkable achievements in such a short period of time?

Su Yaoyang picked up his teacup, gently blew on the floating tea leaves, and steam rose from his face. He did not answer immediately, but instead turned his gaze to the window.

Outside the command post, the soldiers' unified slogans echoed from the training ground, and the roar of aircraft engines could be faintly heard from the sky.

This is a place full of vitality and energy, quite different from the stagnant atmosphere of most places in this era.

"The secret?"

Su Yaoyang withdrew his gaze, looked at Zilan's eyes filled with curiosity, and slowly said, "If I really had to say what the secret is, I think it would probably be two words... 'science' and 'belief'."

He gently set the teacup down, making a crisp sound.

"Reporter Zilan, you've traveled all over the country and seen a lot. What do you think we lack most right now? Is it people? We have 400 million compatriots."

Is it a vast, boundless land? I don't think so.

Su Yaoyang leaned forward slightly, his fingertips interlaced on the table, and an invisible sense of oppression arose spontaneously.

"What we lack are scientific systems, scientific training methods, a scientific logistical support system, and..."

He paused before continuing, “And an unwavering belief in victory. An iron will that we will never perish, and that the invaders will be driven from our homeland. My militia is simply carrying out these two things more thoroughly than others.”

Zilan's fingers tightened slightly as she quickly jotted down notes in her notebook. Su Yaoyang's answer had exceeded her expectations; he neither boasted of his achievements nor tried to be mysterious, but instead went straight to the heart of the matter.

"Commander Su, your command of the Shanxi militia in launching an attack on Taiyuan in conjunction with the Eighth Route Army and the Jin-Sui Army has caused a sensation throughout the country."

Zilan's pen moved across the notebook, leaving behind lines of smooth handwriting. She looked up and stared directly at Su Yaoyang. "Now everyone's eyes are on Shanxi. Do you think this operation can succeed?"

"Victory is certain, I have no doubt about it."

Su Yaoyang answered without the slightest hesitation, as if stating a given fact.

Zilan nodded. This question was within his expectations, but the next question was what she really wanted to explore.

"So what prompted you to launch this campaign? You must understand, this is a major battle involving hundreds of thousands of troops, and any small decision could affect the entire war situation in North China."

Upon hearing this, Su Yaoyang's lips curled into a self-deprecating smile. He leaned back in his chair, sinking into the seat, and met Zilan's probing gaze with an open expression.

"To my shame, the reason I launched this campaign was because the Japanese attempted to assassinate me. In my anger, I decided to launch a large-scale revenge."

The air in the reception room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Zilan's right hand, holding the Parker pen, suddenly paused. The nib hovered above the notebook, and a small drop of ink, having remained still for too long, smudged and left a jarring black dot on the paper.

She even forgot to breathe, her weathered eyes filled with disbelief.

Shocked.

Unprecedented shock.

As a veteran journalist, she has interviewed countless military and political figures.

When they talked about the reasons for launching the campaign, they were all passionate and eloquent, citing classical texts and packaging their motives under the glorious guise of "for the country and the people," "to recover lost territory," and "national righteousness."

She was already used to those high-sounding rhetoric and was adept at finding the truth in the gaps between those words.

But Su Yaoyang, he actually... just said it so bluntly?
Because of an assassination attempt? Because of personal anger?
This sounds like the spoiled behavior of a pampered child!
"You can say I'm willful, or you can say I'm reckless, but I never regret it."

Su Yaoyang's voice echoed calmly in the quiet room. He seemed completely unconcerned about the uproar his words might cause, and even picked up his teacup and took a leisurely sip.

Zilan's mind raced. She looked at the excessively young man before her, trying to find a trace of lying or boasting on his calm face, but there was nothing. Only composure, pure composure.

He attributed the spark that ignited a war that could change the fate of a nation to the most direct and primal personal grudges, as if he were saying, "The weather is nice today."

What arrogance! And what... honesty!
Zilan took a deep breath, her chest heaving. She forced herself to calm down, gripped the pen tightly again, and said seriously:
"Commander Su, as Sun Tzu's Art of War says: 'A ruler should not raise an army out of anger, nor should a general wage war out of resentment.'"

This means that a ruler should not launch a war out of momentary anger, and a general should not rashly go to war out of momentary resentment.

This is a fundamental principle of warfare that all great generals throughout history have upheld. Don't you... know this principle? To entrust the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and the safety of the entire North China region to your own anger—isn't this... isn't this an act of utter irresponsibility?

However, after listening to her erudite questioning, Su Yaoyang showed no signs of being convinced. Instead, he seemed to have heard a very funny joke. He was first slightly stunned, and then couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ha ha……"

His laughter wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the reception room, filled with disdain.

"Reporter Zilan, I understand your feelings and what you're saying makes sense."

Su Yaoyang leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, a playful smile on his face, looking directly into Zilan's astonished eyes. "But have you thought about another question?"

He paused.

"If I can't do whatever I want, why should I work so hard?"

One sentence instantly shattered the imposing aura that Zilan had just built up. She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Su Yaoyang spread his hands, making a matter-of-fact gesture, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing what to have for dinner.

"I will wage war out of anger, I will fight out of resentment. Why? Because I have the ability and the confidence to do so."

"We're all killing Japanese devils, all trying to drive these beasts out of our homes, so why shouldn't I choose a way that allows me to act freely and without restraint?"

His gaze swept over Zilan's face, which was somewhat dazed from shock, and the smile on his lips deepened.

"By adhering to those rules and regulations, you end up internally injured, and then fight a so-called 'rational' victory?"

I'm sorry, I'm neither that noble nor that pedantic.

My men, my soldiers, my guns, obey me.

My anger is their fighting spirit. If the Japanese make me unhappy, I'll make them all suffer along with the entire North China Area Army. It's that simple.

madman!

A complete lunatic!

Zilan's mind was filled with only these two words. She felt that all the knowledge, common sense, and logic she had built up throughout her life had been shattered by the few words of this man in front of her.

He placed his personal will above the laws of war, and in an almost sophistical way, perfectly stitched together the extreme individualism of "doing whatever he wanted" with the most sublime collectivist goal of "defending the homeland".

For a moment, she couldn't even completely refute him logically.

"me……"

Zilan was speechless. Her lips, which had once been eloquent and able to question countless influential figures, now seemed glued shut, and she could only utter a few incoherent syllables.

Her mind was a complete mess, with countless principles, rules, and beliefs churning and colliding within it, yet she couldn't muster a single effective rebuttal.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Su Yaoyang's playful look gradually faded, turning into a faint sigh.

"Reporter Zilan, I understand how you feel."

He looked the other person in the eye and said seriously, "Do you think I'm like a willful child, recklessly squandering my wealth and capital? Is that right?"

"Isn't that right?" she asked almost instinctively. In her view, Su Yaoyang's behavior was essentially the same.

"Ha ha……"

Su Yaoyang smiled again. Instead of directly refuting him, he slowly posed a question.

"Reporter Zilan, let me ask you... If you were in my position and were assassinated by the enemy, what would you do?"

He stared into her eyes.

"Should we swallow our anger? For the sake of the so-called 'big picture,' for the sake of those military doctrines, should we just become cowards? Or should we simply deceive ourselves and pretend that this never happened?"

He spoke slowly, but every word struck Zilan's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Wouldn't this save the lives of millions of soldiers? Wouldn't that fit your image of a 'responsible' commander?"

"I……"

Zilan was speechless again.

Her brain felt like it had been forcibly shoved into a high-speed centrifuge, turning all her thoughts into a paste.

Yes, what would she do if it were her?
To swallow one's anger? Where is the morale and prestige of an army that cannot even guarantee the safety of its commander? The enemy will only think you are weak and easy to bully, and will be even more unscrupulous in the next assassination and sabotage.

Isn't this even more irresponsible towards the soldiers?

Instead of swallowing our anger, we should fight back? Wouldn't that just bring us back to Su Yaoyang's logic... that we should start a war out of anger?
She found herself in a dilemma, forced into a corner by Su Yaoyang.

No matter what she chooses, it seems she can't escape the circle he has drawn.

He used the simplest and most direct method to deconstruct her proud "righteousness" and "reason," showing her how fragile those noble principles are in the face of absolute power and the naked law of the jungle.

Seeing Zilan's bewildered expression, Su Yaoyang said gently, "Reporter Zilan, don't rush to conclusions."

"What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand."

He stood up, walked around the desk, picked up the Parker pen that had fallen on the table, and gently placed it back next to her notebook.

"I suggest you stay here with us first. Use your eyes to see, use your ears to hear. Go see my soldiers, my hospital, my factory, and the people living here."

"It's not too late to decide how to write your article after you've read and understood everything."

After saying that, Su Yaoyang called out to the door, "Xiao Zhao."

The orderly waiting outside immediately pushed the door open and entered, bowing respectfully and saying, "Sir."

"Take reporter Zilan to her guest room in the west wing and settle her in. Give the order that reporter Zilan is free to move around within the militia base and no one is allowed to stop her. Make sure her safety is guaranteed."

“Yes, sir.” Zhao Ma replied, then walked to Zilan’s side and said, “Reporter Zilan, please come with me.”

“No need.” Zilan stood up, took a deep breath, and said, “Commander Su… I am a reporter and have my own professional ethics. According to the newspaper’s regulations, reporters are not allowed to accept help from the parties involved when they are out. So I appreciate your kindness, but I will find a place to stay outside on my own.”

“Of course, that’s your prerogative,” Su Yu said, expressing her understanding.

A few minutes later, Su Yaoyang watched her figure disappear through the door before turning around and walking towards the command post.

As soon as I stepped into the command post, I saw several generals in different uniforms gathered together, having a heated discussion.

Upon seeing Su Yaoyang enter, they all stopped talking and turned to look at him simultaneously.

Bai Chongxi joked, "Oh, our commander-in-chief is back?"
So, did you manage to 'convince' that famous female reporter?

Your twisted logic of "doing whatever you want" might scare the writers out of their pens!

Yang Aiyuan snorted, her tone tinged with sarcasm: "Why waste your breath talking to a woman? You'd be better off going over the siege plan with us a few more times. Taiyuan City isn't something you can take with just words."

Faced with the three bigwigs' teasing, Su Yaoyang didn't take it to heart at all. He smiled and walked forward, slapping the edge of the sand table.

"Stop teasing me, you three. A pen is a weapon too. So, while I was away, have you seen any new changes in the Japanese defenses?"

(End of this chapter)