Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 58 The Final Showdown (Part 8)

"The Japanese troops have withdrawn?"

Su Yaoyang's questioning voice rang out in the temporary command center of the church.

"Yes."

"All attacks have stopped?"

"It has stopped."

"hiss……"

Su Yaoyang's gaze met that of Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao, and all three of them felt a surge of vigilance.

Something unusual must be going on; there must be something they don't know about this.

Even if they were incredibly capable, they never imagined that the old Japanese devil Kunisaki would be dismissed. Now they were facing the commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army.

Li Gaoyuan frowned and asked, "What are those Japanese devils trying to do?"

Huang Guantao pondered for a moment: "No matter what the Japanese want to do, this is a good thing for us. Why don't we withdraw the Third Battalion?"

"No way." Su Yaoyang rejected the suggestion without hesitation. "Our defense zone is not very big to begin with. If we abandon the first defense line, our defensive depth will be too small."

"How about this: let the Second Battalion push forward, then have the First Battalion take over the second defensive line, and let the Third Battalion retreat to the church to rest and reorganize. What do you think?"

“I think it’s a good idea,” Huang Guantao nodded in agreement first.

As someone who had been leading troops for a long time, he naturally understood that although the Third Battalion had suffered heavy losses today, with nearly 500 men reduced to less than 300, the survivors had all been trained.

After today's battle, the Third Battalion has shown its fighting spirit. With just a little rest and replenishment, its combat effectiveness will immediately rise to a new level.

Which leader wouldn't want to lead such a force?
As a former deputy regimental commander of the military police, Huang Guantao naturally wanted to make a name for himself. The Third Battalion, which was originally the weakest in the entire regiment, had achieved such outstanding results, so his Second Battalion certainly couldn't be any worse. This was also the pride of a soldier.

"Alright then." Seeing that the two agreed, Su Yaoyang immediately said, "In that case, Lao Huang, you take the Second Battalion and replace the Third Battalion right away."

While resting and repairing the fortifications, we should also lay more mines around the defensive line, and do everything possible to delay the Japanese army.

"Understood!" Huang Guantao replied readily, picked up a submachine gun and helmet from the wall, and strode out.

After Huang Guantao left, Su Yaoyang called out to Li Gaoyuan, who was also about to leave, and said with a smile, "Old Li, wait a minute, I want to discuss something with you."

Seeing Su Yaoyang's slightly strange smile, Li Gaoyuan suddenly had a bad feeling. "Commander, Lao Huang hasn't gone far. Should I go and call him back so we can talk?"

"no need……"

Su Yaoyang quickly waved his hand, "It's a small matter, there's no need for the three of us to discuss it."

Li Gaoyuan's face showed an expression that said, "I don't believe it at all."

Su Yaoyang coughed lightly. "It's like this. I just received news that the Japanese have built several prisoner-of-war camps in Nanjing. One of them is located at Zhongshan Wharf, where at least five or six thousand prisoners of war are being held."

I'm planning to take a team to rescue our brothers from this POW camp. What do you think?

"not so good!"

Li Gaoyuan rejected his suggestion without hesitation, and said earnestly.

"Commander, since Zhongshan Wharf is holding a large number of prisoners of war, the guards there must be quite a few. Currently, most of our troops are deployed on the first and second lines of defense. Where do we have extra troops to rescue the prisoners of war?"

“Who said you didn’t have it?” Su Yaoyang retorted. “Isn’t the Third Battalion preparing to withdraw from the No. 1 defense line? I plan to let them rest for a while and then take advantage of the Japanese army’s retreat to immediately move forward to Zhongshan Wharf and launch a rescue operation.”

"Nonsense!" Li Gaoyuan immediately flew into a rage, about to explode, but then he forcefully suppressed his anger and said earnestly, "My dear Young Master Su, you are no longer an ordinary citizen; you are the leader of a regiment."

The safety of the entire group of over a thousand people rests on your shoulders. How could you take such a risk?

"Do you think I want to take risks?"

Su Yaoyang retorted sarcastically, "You saw it too. The Japanese's sudden retreat just now must be a prelude to an even bigger offensive."

We only have so many men right now. If we really go all out in a fight, I'm afraid we won't even last two days.

And think about it, if we can rescue the brothers imprisoned at Zhongshan Wharf, we will immediately have nearly 5,000 more men at our disposal.

This is nearly a brigade's worth of troops; with a little reorganization, they can be deployed into battle immediately.

If we had that many men, I would dare lead a charge out of Nanjing, instead of waiting to die in this dilapidated church!

Perhaps it was Su Yaoyang's words about waiting to die in this dilapidated church that touched Li Gaoyuan. He remained silent for a long time before finally taking a deep breath: "Alright, Commander, if we absolutely have to lead people to Zhongshan Wharf to rescue people, I'll go. You stay here..."

"No way." Su Yaoyang flatly rejected his suggestion. "I was the one who proposed this, so I should lead the team. You stay here and watch the house."

"Commander, no matter what, I still disagree. This is far too dangerous."

"You said yourself that this is a battlefield, where isn't dangerous?"

The two argued back and forth for a while before Li Gaoyuan reluctantly agreed to Su Yaoyang's proposal. However, he believed that the Third Battalion had suffered heavy losses after a morning of fighting, so he planned to transfer a company from the First Battalion to him, but Su Yaoyang refused.

"No way." Su Yaoyang shook his head vigorously. "The First Battalion just sent a battalion to Xiaguan Wharf for reinforcements. If you send me another company, you'll only have one company left. How can that be acceptable?"

"But you're just planning to take those two hundred-odd men from the Third Battalion out?" Li Gaoyuan asked, both anxious and angry. "You're not going to rescue them, you're going to your deaths!"

"Who said I only brought the men from the Third Battalion?" Su Yaoyang smiled slyly.

"you……"

Li Gaoyuan was stunned.

"I forgot, we still have a tank."

“Tank…you mean that foreigner John?” Li Gaoyuan suddenly remembered that greedy corpse collector and asked hesitantly.

"But they only started handling tanks yesterday. Can they manage? What if the Japanese blow up their tanks as soon as they get into battle?"

"Having a tank is better than having none. Even if it gets blown up, it won't matter."

Su Yaoyang didn't care about that; for him, anything that could be delivered was no problem.

"Moreover, I plan to bring the Second Artillery Company with me as well."

"Xiong Junfeng and his Second Artillery Company?"

"Yes!"

Seeing that Li Gaoyuan was still pondering, Su Yaoyang added fuel to the fire, "As far as I know, the Japanese have always been arrogant, and their military strength is also quite tight. They probably can't spare many people to guard the prisoner-of-war camp. At most, it would be one or two companies."

If we act swiftly and decisively, we have a high chance of success.

"Alright." After thinking for a long time, Li Gaoyuan finally agreed.

(End of this chapter)