Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 100: Hard work and hard work
Upon hearing Li Zongren's question, Su Yaoyang replied without hesitation: "In my opinion, the Battle of Xuzhou may seem to be very intense at the moment, but the final result will definitely be the fall of Xuzhou and our retreat."

If it were anyone else, they would have started cursing long ago after hearing Su Yaoyang say that. "Damn it, you're undermining morale!"

But Li Zongren was clearly very composed, and asked calmly, "Why do you think that?"

“I have my reasons for saying this,” Su Yaoyang explained. “In my humble opinion, although China and Japan are now at war, our army is still not fully prepared for a full-scale war.”

Take our military commanders as an example. Some army and division-level commanders neglected their duties, causing the battle to collapse before it even began. Secondly, the command structure was overly complex and redundant, causing delays in battle.

Currently, there are five command levels above the division level in my country: army, corps, group army, corps, and theater command. Orders need to be transmitted through each level.

To put it bluntly, our corps and army groups are completely redundant. Many corps and army groups actually only command one corps. For example, the 28th Corps only has the 68th Corps, and the 26th Army Group only has the 10th Corps. The overlapping command structures have seriously delayed our battle opportunities.

The third reason is "inflexible tactics and failure to make effective use of the terrain".

China's terrain is complex, and many battles with the Japanese army were fought in mountainous areas. However, the National Revolutionary Army failed to make good use of this, instead engaging the Japanese in positional battles on the plains with very rigid tactics.

Another important reason why I said Xuzhou was bound to fall is that Xuzhou is located on a plain, which is not conducive to defense, but rather very conducive to the Japanese army to make use of the advantages of its mechanized forces.

Despite having a larger total force than the Japanese, our troops were far inferior in both quality and weaponry, so Xuzhou was ultimately undefendable.

Su Yaoyang shook his head as he spoke, his eyes filled with emotion.

"Bad words!"

Li Zongren suddenly slammed his fist on the table and angrily rebuked, "How dare you say such things? You're cowardly before the battle even begins! If it weren't for your young age and ignorance, I would have punished you for disrupting the morale of the army!"

The boss's anger was quite something. Su Yaoyang was startled. He was just telling the truth, how did it cause any unrest?

This is no small crime; in serious cases, it's not impossible to be shot.

This old man has no sense of martial ethics.

"I……"

He was about to explain when he saw Li Zongren glare at him again, "What... are you feeling wronged now?"

In other words, it's just the two of us here. If outsiders hear us, you'll be in big trouble.

You're an educated person, do I need to teach you the saying "public opinion is a fearsome thing"?
Countless people throughout history have been ruined by their mouths; you should take heed of this.

After being scolded by Li Zongren, Su Yaoyang lowered his head and said in a low voice, "The commander's reprimand is correct. I will definitely take it as a warning."

Seeing Su Yaoyang's drooping head, Li Zongren couldn't help but smile: "Alright, lift your head up."

If people saw this, they'd think this old man was mistreating veterans of the War of Resistance.

"Hehe... How could that be... You are a universally acknowledged kind and honest elder." Su Yaoyang quickly smiled apologetically and even picked up the teapot to pour him a cup of tea.

Actually, most of his aggrieved look just now was an act. After all, as the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

As for holding a grudge against the other party, that's not true at all. Putting aside everything else, even though this big shot in front of him has been dead for many years, people in later generations almost always give him a thumbs up and praise him as a kind and honest elder. He naturally doesn't believe that such a person is deliberately targeting him.

"You!" Li Zongren chuckled as he looked at Su Yaoyang's eager manner, his gaze now carrying a hint of how he would regard his own nephew or younger relative.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then asked, "By the way, you're not married yet, are you?"

"Yes." Su Yaoyang nodded: "But I already have a girl I like, and I plan to marry her after this battle."

"Hmm...that's possible...I'll...wait a minute..."

Li Zongren casually responded, but then immediately realized that the kid had just said "them" instead of "her".

"If I'm not deaf, were you talking about 'them'? You mean you want to marry several?"

"Me...the two of us..." Su Yaoyang held up two fingers somewhat embarrassedly.

Afraid of being scolded again, he quickly explained, "They are both good girls. One is a maid who grew up with me since I was a child, and the other is a girl I met in Nanjing who is now a doctor in the security team."

I know that the country now advocates monogamy, but I still can't bear to give up any of them, so I'm thinking of just marrying them both to avoid regretting it later.

Anyway, I never planned to pursue a career in politics.

"You...you..."

Li Zongren pointed his finger at the spot, feeling both annoyed and amused. "What can I say about you? You're utterly audacious and reckless!"

Seeing Li Zongren's furious expression, Su Yaoyang suddenly had a brilliant idea. Hadn't he promised Song Mei that he would propose to her after this battle? Wasn't this a perfect matchmaker?
The bigwig of the Guangxi clique, the future acting president of the Republic of China, personally proposed marriage to him. This is a boast he can brag about for a lifetime.

"Sir...why don't you go all the way and propose marriage for my junior after this battle? What do you think?"

"Hey...you little rascal..."

Li Zongren was amused and annoyed. This kid was like a piece of cake, always knowing how to take advantage of others, and he actually dared to set his sights on him.

"No, no, absolutely not!" He shook his head like a rattle drum. What kind of behavior was this? If he really did that, wouldn't he lose all face?
Just as he was about to kick this scoundrel out, Su Yaoyang's voice rang out again: "Lord De... if you agree to propose marriage for me, I'm willing to give you twelve more American-made M2A1 105mm towed howitzers, plus three basic loads of shells for each howitzer. What do you think?"

At this moment, Li Zongren's gaze towards Su Yaoyang changed again. This kid was simply too wicked, actually using this thing to win him over. What kind of cadre could withstand such a test?

He did some mental calculations. Twenty-four cannons! He could form a heavy artillery regiment. With three basic loads of shells, if he used them sparingly, they could last until the end of the Battle of Xuzhou.

What? Not enough gunners?

Don't be ridiculous. Who is he? Finding a few gunners is a piece of cake for him.

"All right……"

Li Zongren took a deep breath and slowly nodded.

"The old man is going all out. Let people laugh at us if they want. After this battle, the old man will go and propose marriage for you."

"Thank you, Lord De!" Su Yaoyang was overjoyed to hear Li Zongren agree; these cannons were such a bargain.

(End of this chapter)