Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 48 The Arrival of Prince Asaka Yasuhiko
Su Yaoyang is right. The impact of the battle at St. Paul's Church is rapidly expanding and has already alarmed the high-level officials of both China and Japan.

The entrance to the former Nanjing government building

Today, the area within a one-kilometer radius of the government is heavily guarded, with guards every five or ten steps, and no vehicles or personnel are allowed to pass within a one-kilometer radius.

As evening fell, a convoy consisting of three cars and two troop transport trucks approached from a distance. When the convoy reached the government gate, it stopped, and a captain jumped out of the car and opened the door.

As the car door opened, a middle-aged man wearing the rank of lieutenant general slowly got out of the car and walked towards the government building.

The group that had been waiting went to greet him. The leader, Lieutenant General Matsui Iwane, the current commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, who was thin and looked sick, saluted him first. "Your Highness, you have finally arrived. The generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army and I have been waiting for you for a long time."

The lieutenant general who had just gotten off the car was none other than Prince Asaka Yasuhiko. He had been sent by the Japanese General Headquarters to replace Matsui Iwane, who was bedridden due to a high fever and a relapse of chronic tuberculosis and was unable to preside over military affairs.

It is worth mentioning that in 1923, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko suffered a comminuted fracture of one leg in a car accident, so if you look closely, you will notice that Prince Asaka Yasuhiko walks somewhat unnaturally.

Of course, this was a taboo subject for Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, and generally no one dared to mention it in front of him.

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko sized up Matsui Iwane, who looked sickly, and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Matsui, before I came here, His Majesty the Emperor summoned me and asked for my opinion on the Nanjing war."

My answer is that Nanjing, as the capital of China and a spiritual symbol of the Chinese people, must be occupied. No matter how much the Imperial Army pays, this goal can never be changed.

The Shanghai Expeditionary Army did an excellent job in this regard, and His Majesty the Emperor was very pleased with it, ordering me to convey his regards to all those who had worked so hard and made such great contributions.

Upon hearing this, all the generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army, including Matsui Iwane, smiled.

Matsui Iwane's sickly face broke into a relieved smile, and he waved his right hand, saying, "Your Highness, you have come from afar and must be very tired. Please come inside and rest."

"Ok!"

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko nodded and walked inside first, followed closely by Matsui Iwane and the others.

The group arrived at Matsui Iwane's office. After the orderly brought tea, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko asked first, "Mr. Matsui, how is the cleanup work in Nanjing going?"

Matsui Iwane said, "Currently, most of Nanjing has fallen into the hands of the Imperial Army. There is only a small amount of resistance in some places, which I believe will be quelled soon. Please do not worry."

"Is that so?" Prince Asaka Yasuhiko picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "But I've heard that the Shimonoseki ferry crossing and the Yangtze River coast are still in Chinese hands. Is that true?"

"Yes." Matsui Iwane made no attempt to hide this fact. "Since the troops only entered Nanjing yesterday, the main force is busy clearing out the resistance forces in the city, so there is no spare capacity to occupy the Xiaguan ferry crossing."

But I still maintain that it's only a matter of time.

"is it?"

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko smiled noncommittally, then swept his sinister gaze across the office. "Matsui-kun, I am about to read out the General Headquarters' orders. Are all the generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army present?"

Matsui Iwane turned his gaze to Major General Iinuma, the chief of staff standing behind him.

Iinuma Mori quickly stepped forward and replied, "Your Highness, almost all the generals of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army in Nanjing are present, except for Major General Kunisaki Sono of the Kunisaki Detachment."

"Kunizaki?"

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko paused for a moment, a hint of displeasure flashing across his face, before casually remarking, "It seems Lord Kunisaki is quite busy."

Matsui Iwane's heart tightened. Others might not know, but he knew that this prince was notoriously vindictive and narrow-minded. If he ignored him, Kunisaki Sono would probably be in for a rough time soon. He quickly turned and gave Iinuma Mori a wink, who nodded in understanding and hurried out.

"Alright, let's read the documents now."

A few minutes later, after Prince Asaka Yasuhiko finished reading the appointment and dismissal documents, Iinuma Mori returned. He hurriedly walked over to Matsui Iwane and whispered a few words to him.

"What... such a thing actually happened?"

Perhaps due to his excitement, Matsui Iwane's voice was a bit loud, causing Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, who was drinking tea, to turn his gaze over and ask indifferently.

"Matsui-kun, what happened?"

"This..." Matsui Iwane hesitated for a moment, but quickly looked up at Prince Asaka Yasuhiko and said with a heavy expression, "Your Highness, something has indeed happened. Kunisaki Detachment is in trouble. Chief of Staff Iinuma will report the details to you."

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko's face slowly darkened: "Speak!"

"Hai!"

Iinuma no Kami bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Your Highness, I have just received intelligence."

During the mopping-up operation against the remaining Chinese resistance forces, the Kunisaki Detachment encountered fierce resistance from the Chinese garrison at St. Paul's Cathedral, resulting in very heavy losses.

At this point, he couldn't help but swallow hard: "So far, the Kunisaki Detachment has lost a regiment, and the deputy detachment commander and the commander of the 11th Regiment of the Kunisaki Detachment have both gone missing."

"Nani!"

A collective gasp filled the office, and many people even stood up in shock.

It should be noted that since the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the start of the full-scale invasion of China, the Japanese army had been advancing triumphantly with few defeats, let alone losing an entire regiment, or even having its deputy commander and regimental commander go missing.

If such a thing were to happen, it would inevitably attract the attention of the Imperial General Headquarters and the Emperor.

"How could this happen?" Sixth Division Commander Hisao Tani stood up on the spot. "I warned Kunisaki-kun long ago, how could he still make such a mistake?"

"Um……"

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko's gloomy gaze fell upon Tani Hisao, whom he naturally recognized as the commander of the 6th Division, one of the two pillars of the Japanese Army.

He said in a deep voice, "Gu Jun, do you know what happened?"

"Yes."

Tani Hisao said with a hint of bitterness, "I have a close personal relationship with Kunisaki-kun. I even had tea with him yesterday."

It is said that in preparation for the entry ceremony, the headquarters asked Kunisaki to recruit some Chinese women to celebrate together, and Kunisaki handed the task over to the deputy commander Hasegawa.

Hasegawa heard that there were quite a few female students in a church, so he led a group of men there. Unexpectedly, they encountered resistance from the Chinese army. Kunisaki then sent a regiment as reinforcements, but this unexpected turn of events…

(End of this chapter)