Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 86 Meet again
The rustling of the reeds carried by the river breeze swept past his ears, and Su Yaoyang's knuckles turned slightly white under the cuffs of his military uniform.

He squinted and saw two figures parting the waist-high reeds. The withered yellow reeds snapped at the waists of the newcomers, bouncing up and falling like a swarm of startled snakes.

"Why are they?"

Su Yaoyang frowned slightly. The people who came were none other than Xu Shixiang, the deputy head of the Nanjing station of the Military Intelligence Bureau, who had left in a huff a few days ago, and Chen Shijie, who had been sent by the Ministry of Military Affairs.

Su Yaoyang gently stroked Xiao Lu's hair and said softly, "Xiao Lu, go and eat first."

"Okay!" Xiao Lu nodded obediently, glanced at Xu Shixiang and Chen Shijie, and ran off lightly.

Ten paces away, Xu Shixiang suddenly stopped. A clump of reeds brushed against his plump chin, and he raised his hand and snapped a reed stalk in two.

Chen Shijie, who was standing next to him, also stopped and looked at Su Yaoyang with a complicated expression. He said, "Commander Su, we meet again."

"Yes!"

Su Yaoyang nodded: "I originally thought we would never have the chance to meet again in this lifetime, but I never expected that we would meet again after only a few days."

Chen Shijie's expression tightened slightly, feeling that the other person was mocking him.

Fearing the two would start arguing, Xu Shixiang quickly stepped forward, his plump body blocking Chen Shijie's path, and said with a beaming smile, "Commander Su... congratulations... congratulations!"

In the Battle of Nanjing, the newly formed security regiment, under your leadership and that of Commanders Li and Huang, severely damaged the Guoqi Detachment and the Sixth Division, demonstrating the might of our Chinese soldiers.

Upon learning of this, Chairman Chiang Kai-shek praised them highly, commending them as pillars of the Party and the nation, and ordered the Ministry of Military Affairs to award them.

"A commendation?"

Su Yaoyang deliberately raised his voice, "I wonder how Chairman Chiang plans to reward us? Will he promote us, or will he give us a large bonus?"

"This one……"

Chen Shijie paused, unsure how to respond.

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Xu Shixiang's face as he stood beside him.

After a long silence, Chen Shijie said, "Due to the short notice, the Ministry of Military Affairs only sent us a telegram, specially appointing you as the commander of the Nanjing Security Regiment, granting you the rank of colonel, and awarding you 100,000 yuan in legal tender."

After saying that, he took out a telegram from his briefcase and handed it to Su Yaoyang with both hands. "This is a telegram from Chongqing. Due to the time constraints, the official letter of appointment and the reward will not be delivered for some time."

Su Yaoyang took the telegram, glanced at it, and then chuckled: "It's not easy. This time it's finally not some newly formed or temporary organization. They even gave us 100,000 yuan."

Chen Shijie frowned slightly. "Commander Su, although I deeply admire your performance and achievements in Nanjing, this is not a reason for you to disrespect your superiors."

"I'll let it go this time, but if I see you showing such disrespect to your superiors again, don't blame me for reporting you to the higher-ups and getting you disciplined."

"casual."

Su Yaoyang waved his hand dismissively, then, as if suddenly remembering something, asked, "By the way, since I've been appointed as the commander of the Nanjing Security Regiment, how much military pay will I receive each month? And from whom will I collect weapons and equipment?"

Chen Shijie shook his head: "There is no military pay, and we have to procure our own weapons and equipment."

Of course, if you are dissatisfied with the Ministry of Military Affairs' orders, the Ministry can also incorporate your troops into the regular army, at which point the government will be responsible for both their pay and equipment.

"No need...no need..."

Su Yaoyang waved his hands repeatedly, "This is fine. The country is facing difficulties right now, so we shouldn't trouble our superiors with such a small matter."

Although Su Yaoyang had never led troops before, he still knew some basic knowledge.

As the old saying goes, if you're someone's breadwinner, you have to listen to them.

Once you're receiving a salary and have a formal position, it means you'll be subject to orders in all your actions. As the saying goes, military orders are absolute; even if they send you to your death, you'll have to follow without hesitation. Disobeying them will result in a military court-martial or even battlefield discipline.

For a ragtag army with no source of income, being recruited by the government and given a secure job would be a dream come true. But for Su Yaoyang, who had connections, there was no need for that.

Chiang Kai-shek had a habit of sending ragtag troops to their deaths; he would never take the bullet for the Central Army.

Seeing Su Yaoyang's eagerness to avoid him, Chen Shijie snorted, as if he had expected this reaction.

"Commander Su, I have delivered the commendation telegram. Next, I will announce the arrangements for your department."

"arrange?"

Su Yaoyang, Li Gaoyuan, and Huang Guantao exchanged glances, each seeing the other's meaningful look.

The use of "arrangement" instead of "command" is enough to show the Chongqing government's conflicted attitude towards them at that time.

"Okay...you go ahead."

Chen Shijie said in a deep voice: "Considering that you just fought a fierce battle with the Japanese army in Nanjing, and the casualties and losses of your troops must have been considerable, Minister He arranged for the Nanjing Security Regiment to go to Xuzhou for rest and reorganization."

During the rest and recuperation period, they will be under the control of the Fifth Theater Command.

"To Xuzhou?"

Su Yaoyang was slightly taken aback. Others might not know, but he did. At this moment, the Battle of Xuzhou had already begun.

In this battle, the National Revolutionary Army mobilized 60 troops, including the Central Army, Guangxi Army, Sichuan Army, Northwest Army, and Northeast Army, to fight against the Japanese North China Area Army, which numbered 24.

The two sides fought for six months.

If I go there now, I will inevitably get involved in this battle. Can my weak arms and legs withstand it?

Thinking of this, Su Yaoyang hesitated.

Seeing that Su Yaoyang remained silent, Chen Shijie asked curiously, "Commander Chen, don't you want to go to Xuzhou to rest and recuperate?"

"I...Okay then."

Su Yaoyang hesitated for a moment but still agreed.

Anyway, the troops don't have anywhere else to go. Going to Xuzhou will at least allow them to rest for a while and take the opportunity to reorganize the troops.

Moreover, Li Zongren, the commander of the Fifth War Zone, was known for his kindness. Even if his group went to Xuzhou, they wouldn't have to worry about being abandoned or sent to their deaths. This was better than wandering around aimlessly.

Seeing that Su Yaoyang had agreed, Chen Shijie and Xu Shixiang, though their expressions remained unchanged, breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Shixiang suddenly laughed and said, "Commander Su, Commander Chen and I finally got out of Nanjing last night. We rushed all the way and didn't even have breakfast."

"I've finally come all this way, you can't even skimp on breakfast, can you?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Su Yaoyang burst into laughter, then turned to Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao and said, "Look... they've come here to find fault."

Li Gaoyuan also laughed and said, "Gentlemen... although our security regiment can't compare to your Central Army, we can still afford to provide a meal."

As the saying goes, a chance encounter is worse than a planned meeting, so why don't we both step over and grab something to eat together?

"Hahaha...then I shall gladly accept your offer..."

(End of this chapter)