Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 84 Never Abandon, Never Give Up
The security regiment was exhausted after several days of fierce fighting and last night's march. Thousands of soldiers were resting in the ancestral halls and many houses in Banqiao Town.

Just as the soldiers were enjoying a rare moment of leisure, the clouds to the southwest were suddenly torn apart by the sharp sound of engines.

A Kawasaki Ki-32 reconnaissance aircraft (Type 98) with a blood-red Japanese emblem on its fuselage swooped down, its wings gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

After breaking through the clouds, the Type 98 reconnaissance aircraft did not circle for reconnaissance, but instead rushed directly towards Banqiao Town, descending to an altitude of 300 meters. The strong wind whipped up by the propeller overturned the haystacks on the threshing ground, and even the small aerial bombs hanging under the fuselage were clearly visible.

"Enemy aircraft! Scatter!!"

Upon seeing the reconnaissance plane suddenly appear, the officers jumped up and shouted for the soldiers to scatter, but their shouts were drowned out by the roar of the engine.

A young soldier was so startled that he knocked over the earthenware pot containing rice porridge, splashing boiling water at his feet.

Machine gunner Lao Cao staggered toward the M1917 heavy machine gun mounted on the millstone, while several panicked soldiers raised their Garand rifles and fired wildly into the sky, the bullets drawing weak arcs beside the wings.

Looking at the panicked soldiers on the ground and the scattered, ineffective bullets, a hint of contempt flashed in the eyes of the Japanese pilot of the Type 98 reconnaissance plane.

He pulled the control stick, and the plane circled nimbly in the air before diving straight down to the ground. When it was less than two hundred meters from the ground, the fifty-kilogram bomb under the fuselage detached from the hook and fell straight to the ground.

"boom……"

The bomb exploded next to a rice shop, sending thick smoke billowing into the air.

Smoke and wheat flour swirled above the rice shop. A baby, still wearing a red bib, lay quietly beside the millstone, his eyelashes glistening with dew-like drops of blood. Beside him lay his mother.

The mother has closed her eyes forever, and beside her disheveled hair, there is still half a bowl of unfinished rice cereal steaming.

After dropping its bombs, the Type 98 reconnaissance plane contentedly began to climb, swaying its tail, and soon disappeared into the sky.

"Fuck those little devils' grandma!"

Standing next to a residential building, Su Yaoyang watched the Japanese planes swaggering in the sky and heard the crying coming from afar, his eyes blazing with rage.

Before he could speak, Li Gaoyuan immediately said, "We can't stay here any longer. Order the troops to assemble immediately. We need to leave here right away."

"Luckily, that plane was a Japanese reconnaissance plane, otherwise we would have been in serious trouble."

"right……"

Upon hearing Li Gaoyuan's words, Su Yaoyang immediately realized that since the Japanese army had discovered their force, they would be met by Japanese bombers and ground troops. If they remained in Banqiao Town, they would be met by countless Japanese troops coming from all directions.

"Hurry up...assemble immediately!"

Without further ado, Su Yaoyang immediately ordered the troops to assemble.

More than ten minutes later, the entire security regiment was assembled, and thousands of people left Banqiao Town and headed towards their target, Cihu Town. Before leaving, they tried their best to persuade the villagers to temporarily move to the nearby area for a few days to avoid retaliation from the Japanese.

Unbeknownst to Su Yaoyang and his comrades, less than forty minutes after their departure, a bomber formation consisting of six Type 96 attack aircraft visited Banqiao Town. Explosions erupted throughout the town, engulfing it in smoke and flames. Cihu Town was more than twenty kilometers from Banqiao Town. The troops rushed as fast as they could, finally arriving at their destination after 5 PM. Upon arrival, Su Yaoyang was filled with worry.

Cihu Town is a relatively large town with a permanent population of over two thousand. It is also a ferry terminal.

Normally, there are plenty of merchants and passersby, but due to the war and the fact that almost all the large ships have been requisitioned by the National Army, there are only about twenty small boats left. It would be impossible to transport a group of several thousand people across the river in less than a day and a night using only these small boats.

Most importantly, the trucks and the Chaffee tank in the convoy couldn't be moved across the river, which broke Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao's hearts.

These days, China can't manufacture cars on its own; all cars are imported from abroad, so you could say every car is a treasure.

Most importantly, these dozen or so trucks were carrying hundreds of injured people as well as dozens of girls, including Yu Mo, Song Mei, and Xiao Lu.

Without these trucks, not to mention whether the girls could keep up with the marching speed of the troops, the wounded would be in great trouble, requiring at least two or three hundred soldiers to take turns carrying them forward.

This not only wastes a great deal of manpower and resources, but also slows down the entire team's progress.

For the first time, Su Yaoyang, Li Gaoyuan, and Huang Guantao had a disagreement and even argued about this matter.

"It's not that I don't feel sorry for these wounded brothers, but these wounded soldiers have seriously affected the survival of our team."

Huang Guantao said with a serious expression: "You all know that we have several thousand people here, and Japanese planes are watching us from above, and there may be Japanese pursuers behind us."

Once we lose these trucks, if we continue to carry these wounded soldiers on the road, it will inevitably affect our marching speed. If the Japanese catch up with us, none of us will be able to escape.

Therefore, my suggestion is to let these wounded soldiers stay in the homes of the villagers in the town to recover, and give each wounded soldier a sum of money.

Once they've recovered from their injuries, they can choose to go home, or rejoin the Nationalist army, or even rejoin our ranks. Wouldn't that be better than suffering with us?

Li Gaoyuan and Su Yaoyang remained silent for a long time before Su Yaoyang finally said, "Old Huang... I know what you said is true, and keeping them in town is not a bad idea."

But have you ever thought about what would happen to these brothers if they were left in the town and the Japanese pursuers caught up with them?
At that time, they will face certain death!
Moreover, once the Japanese discover that there are so many wounded soldiers in the town, they will inevitably be enraged and turn their anger on the townspeople. At that point, not only the wounded, but the entire town will likely face the Japanese's frenzied retaliation. Have you considered this possibility?

Now it was Huang Guantao's turn to remain silent.

Seeing that Huang Guantao remained silent, Su Yaoyang stood up and said loudly, "I don't care what others do, but in my Su Yaoyang's team, there will never be anyone who abandons their brothers and runs away."

I don't expect you to be invincible and capable of taking on a hundred men, but I ask that you do one thing: never abandon... never give up!

In my ranks, I will never abandon a single brother!

Although Su Yaoyang's voice wasn't loud, it resonated deeply in everyone's hearts.

(End of this chapter)