Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 51 The Final Showdown (Part 1)

The night was gloomy, and a cold wind howled; this year, Nanjing had a chill that penetrated to the bone.

A Toyota AE sedan, escorted by two Nissan trucks full of soldiers, pulled up next to an inconspicuous three-story building.

With a gloomy expression, Kunisaki stepped out of the car. Colonel Tetsujiro Yamada, the burly and fierce-looking commander of the 41st Regiment, strode forward and respectfully said, "Welcome, General, to your inspection!"

"Hmm!" Kunisaki nodded, his sharp gaze fixed on Yamada Tetsujiro, and he said in a sinister voice, "Yamada-kun, have you not found Hase-kun and Nagano-kun yet?"

"no!"

Yamada Tetsujiro shook his head regretfully. According to the descriptions of the retreating soldiers of the 11th Regiment, they were suddenly attacked by the Chinese troops. The troops were eating at the time and were quickly thrown into disarray.

"Why did this happen?" Kunisaki asked angrily. "Are the 11th Regiment a bunch of idiots? Don't they even know how to build fortifications? How could they be defeated by the Chinese army with just one charge?"

"no."

Yamada Tetsujiro explained, "I personally went to the battlefield this afternoon to check, and the 11th Regiment has also constructed the corresponding fortifications in accordance with the infantry manual."

But no one expected the Chinese to use heavy artillery to attack, and the fortifications they had built quickly collapsed under the bombardment.

Moreover, it is said that those Chinese used a large number of fully automatic weapons, and their firepower was extremely fierce. The 11th Regiment had no time to organize a counterattack and was caught off guard, resulting in its complete collapse.

Kunisaki Tadasu gritted his teeth and squeezed out, "What were the losses of the 11th Regiment?"

After a moment of silence, Yamada Tetsujiro said, "So far, we have only managed to gather more than 250 defeated soldiers from the 11th Regiment, including Major Morimura Hachiro, the third battalion commander of the 11th Regiment."

"More than two hundred people?" Kunisaki's eyes widened like saucers. Although the 11th Regiment was not a full-strength regiment when it was transferred to the Kunisaki Detachment, it still had two battalions, totaling more than two thousand people. Now, there were only more than two hundred people left.

Doesn't this mean that the casualties of this unit have reached 90%?
"Where's the regimental flag?" Kunisaki didn't ask where Morimura Juro was. Instead, he gripped his sword tighter and glared at Yamada Tetsujiro.

Fortunately, Yamada Tetsujiro's answer relieved him.

General, please rest assured, the regimental flag is safe. Morimura Juro and his flag-guarding squadron have brought it back.

"Well……"

On the surface, Kunisaki remained calm, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. If even the regimental flag were lost, his position as detachment commander would probably be over. He continued to ask.

"How are the enemy forces on the other side doing now?"

"General," Yamada Tetsujiro said solemnly, "please follow me."

"Lead the way."

Soon, the two arrived at the top floor, the third floor.

"Please take a look, Your Excellency."

Yamada Tetsujiro pointed southeast, and although it was late at night, a towering spire could be faintly seen soaring into the sky.

Yamada Tetsujiro pointed towards the spire and said, "That's St. Paul's Cathedral. According to the intelligence I've gathered, there are about a thousand troops stationed there. They have at least five or six heavy mortars and several light mortars, and are also equipped with a large number of automatic weapons and light and heavy machine guns, making their firepower extremely fierce."

Centered around the church, they occupied several surrounding streets and constructed numerous fortifications using the ruins and buildings as strongholds. Our army would have to pay a considerable price to completely capture the church.

Kunisaki frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly said, "Have you considered that those Chinese might escape under the cover of night?"

Yamada Tetsujiro solemnly replied, "Of course I've thought about that, but please rest assured, I've already dispatched a cavalry squadron to circle around to their rear. If those Chinese dare to retreat, the cavalry squadron will show them what despair truly means!"

"Yoshi!"

Kunisaki nodded in satisfaction. Yamada Tetsujiro was not bad, at least better than the missing Nagano Yuichiro.

“One day. I’m only giving you one day.” Kunisaki looked directly into Yamada Tetsujiro’s eyes. “If you can’t take St. Paul’s Cathedral by sunset tomorrow, I will personally lead the attack. Do you understand?”

"Hai."

Yamada Tetsujiro bowed deeply, said nothing, and his eyes were filled with determination.

If the detachment commander, Kunisaki, were to personally lead the attack, the entire force would collapse. As the regimental commander, he would have no other option but to commit seppuku.

The night was so long that both the newly formed security regiment and the Japanese troops of the Kunisaki Detachment knew that another brutal battle awaited them after dawn.

In preparation for this battle, soldiers from both China and Japan were conserving their strength and waiting for the dawn to break.

Of course, not all the Chinese soldiers on the defensive were asleep; some were still busy reinforcing the fortifications and moving ammunition.

Boxes of grenades and bullets were moved into the bunker, and the machine gunners carefully checked the condition of the weapons. They even drew enough cooling water from the well as a backup.

On a street behind, John even led four newly appointed tank crew members to quickly familiarize themselves with the tank's weapons and performance, patiently explaining all the precautions to them. As for how much they could remember, that depended entirely on their comprehension.

Of course, there were also some surprises.

John was surprised to find that the skinny soldier named Joe Erdan had a real talent for mechanics. He learned it quite well in just one day. Given enough time, this guy could become an excellent tank commander.

Unfortunately, they didn't have enough time. John looked with some regret at the guy sitting in the driver's seat, forcefully pulling the lever.

While the soldiers were busy, Su Yaoyang was not idle either. He took advantage of the night to produce another batch of ammunition and had it delivered to the various garrison positions. In particular, he prepared a full ten loads of mortar shells.

It doesn't matter if we can't finish them all, as long as we have enough. If all else fails, we can detonate the ammunition when the Japanese come.

After doing all this, Su Yaoyang returned to his own little room in the church, cuddled the little girl, and lay down. Exhausted from the day's work, he fell fast asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Young Master...Young Master, wake up...It's dawn. Instructor Li just sent someone to find you."

In a daze, Su Yaoyang was woken up by the little girl.

He jumped out of bed, grabbed the towel the little girl handed him and wiped his face haphazardly. He then took a bag of biscuits, left the room, and went to the top of the church tower, where he saw Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao already there observing the enemy situation...

(End of this chapter)