Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 65 The Final Showdown (Fifteen)
At 4:50 a.m., Zhongshan Wharf was shrouded in a thin mist and dim light, and the surrounding silence was suffocating.

The gentle lapping against the shore produced a low, monotonous sound, a stark contrast to the atmosphere at the moment.

Stiff corpses lay scattered haphazardly on the ground, including those of Japanese and Nationalist soldiers, laid out in dense clusters. The numerous bullet craters and debris indicated that a fierce battle had once taken place here.

The surrounding area was a mess, with broken weapons and shell casings, along with personal belongings scattered on the ground, creating a bleak and desolate scene.

This is the scene that the 19th Infantry Regiment saw when they arrived.

A cold wind swept across the river, carrying fine snow. Hitoshi Hidezo's military boots rolled over the frozen pool of blood, and his spurs scraped against the concrete dock with a piercing sound.

"Report! Inventory of the west warehouse completed; over four hundred bound and executed corpses discovered!"

"More than 300 bodies of Imperial Army soldiers were found on the eastern breakwater. Their bodies were completely blackened, and it is estimated that they were burned to death by incendiary bombs."

"Incendiary bomb?"

Regimental Commander Hitomi Hidezo's expression turned serious.

More than ten minutes later, a lieutenant colonel rushed over to report: "Commander, the count at the dock has been completed. We have found about six hundred bodies of soldiers from the Sixth Regiment and more than a thousand bodies of Chinese prisoners of war."

The weapons left behind by our fallen soldiers have also disappeared, and are presumably in the hands of the Chinese.

Seeing that Xiu San dared not delay, he quickly contacted the headquarters via walkie-talkie.

Hitoshi Hidezo gripped the radio, his voice trembling slightly: "Commander, Zhongshan Wharf... is completely deserted. All the Chinese have fled."

Prince Asaka Yasuhiko's angry voice came from the other end of the radio: "What?! What kind of work are you doing? Didn't I tell you to get to the dock as soon as possible and block the Chinese there?"

Seeing the fine beads of sweat on Xiu San's forehead, he quickly explained, "Commander, I... I don't know what happened either. When we arrived, it was already like this..."

"Useless!" Prince Asaka Yasuhiko interrupted him angrily. "You must find out the cause immediately and locate those missing Chinese prisoners of war! If there are any further mishaps, I will hold you responsible!"

The radio emitted a busy tone, and Hitoshi knew that the commander had hung up the phone. He slowly put down the radio and turned to look at the messy dock behind him.

Under the dim light of the flashlight, the corpses scattered on the ground, the strewn shell casings, and the broken guns looked particularly jarring.

Hitoshi Hidezo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

He knew that the most important thing now was to find the missing people and the reason behind it all. He looked around and suddenly noticed a series of messy footprints not far away.

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Hitoshi Hidezo's eyes. He immediately beckoned several soldiers over: "Follow me, there's a clue here!" The soldiers followed Hitoshi Hidezo, tracing the footprints.

After walking for a while, they discovered that the footprints pointed in two different directions.

He summoned his staff officer and, pointing to the direction of the footprints, asked, "Where do these footprints lead?"

The chief of staff took out a map and compass from his briefcase, studied them for a moment, and said, "Commander, this road leads to Xiaguan Wharf, and the other footprints lead to... to the west of the city."

"Xiaguan Wharf? In the west of the city?"

After muttering a few words, Hitoshi Hidezo's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He snatched the map from the chief of staff's hand, glanced at it, his expression changed slightly, and his eyes were fixed on one spot.

"St. Paul's Church...it was them?" "Commander, are you saying that it's possible that the Chinese troops stationed at St. Paul's Church attacked Zhongshan Wharf?"

"It's not just a possibility... it's a certainty."

Hitomi Hidezo's face was somewhat grim. Just last night, Hitomi Hidezo, who was leading the soldiers of the 19th Company in burning, killing, and looting in Nanjing, suddenly received an order from Lieutenant General Higuchi Kiichiro, the division commander, to prepare to take over Kunisaki Detachment the next day and attack a place called St. Paul's Church.

Higuchi Kiichiro also told him that a Chinese army had occupied the area around St. Paul's Cathedral, and that the Kunisaki Detachment had suffered heavy casualties in its attempt to attack it, with even the detachment commander, Kunisaki Sono, being dismissed as a result. He warned him to be very careful.

Upon receiving the division commander's order, Hitoshi Hidezo dared not delay and immediately ordered his troops to begin preparations overnight.

Before dawn, the headquarters attacked the regimental headquarters directly. Major General Iinuma, the chief of staff, gave him orders to rush to Zhongshan Wharf to support the 2nd Battalion of the 6th Regiment.

He also specifically instructed that the first thing to do upon arriving at the dock was to kill all the prisoners of war there, leaving none alive.

Such a harsh order was rare in his more than ten years of military service.

After much deliberation, Hitoshi Hidezo gave the order: "All troops assemble and immediately proceed to St. Paul's Church. We must arrive before dawn."

"Commander, what about the Shimonoseki dock?" the chief of staff asked.

"Xiaguan Wharf is nothing more than a minor ailment," Hitoshi Hidezo scoffed. "The troops at St. Paul's Church that call themselves the Nanjing Security Regiment are our real threat."

Besides, other troops are already dealing with the Xiaguan Wharf. We only need to eliminate the enemy at St. Paul's Church; that would be a great achievement. Why compete with our neighboring troops for credit?

"Yoshi... Your insight is brilliant, Commander." The Chief of Staff nodded repeatedly.

Two hours later

Hitoshi Hidezo kicked aside the corpse of a Japanese soldier blocking his way, his gaze sweeping over the dense bullet holes on the broken wall not far away.

Suddenly, he squatted down, brushed away the snow on the ground, scooped up a handful of dust, squeezed it with his hand, and immediately picked out several shrapnel fragments.

The chief of staff standing nearby couldn't help but gasp in astonishment, "The Chinese firepower is so fierce?"

After a moment's thought, Hitoshi Hidezo ordered, "Set up the heavy machine gun in the blind spot of the clock tower, and also set up a grenade launcher squad!"

"Hai!"

After the chief of staff responded, he walked over to Hitomi Hidezo and said with some concern, "Commander, judging from the traces on the battlefield, the Chinese firepower is extremely fierce. No wonder the Kunisaki Detachment suffered such heavy losses."

"Can our combined force take down this church?"

"We'll fight even if we can't take it." Hitoshi Hidezo turned and glanced at him. "Do you think we have the right to bargain?"

"Yes."

The chief of staff looked solemn. This was an order from the newly appointed commander, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko. He had even bypassed the division headquarters. What did this mean?
This shows that this place and that unit have become a thorn in Prince Asaka Yasuhiko's side, a mental obsession and a desire for him to get rid of them as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)