Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 87 Agreement
The reeds along the river rustled in the morning glow, their withered yellow leaves swaying in the wind like a turbulent golden ocean.

Xu Shixiang squatted by the campfire, holding an aluminum lunchbox and blowing on it as he drank. The steaming millet porridge blurred his vision behind his glasses.

He glanced discreetly at Chen Shijie, who was squatting opposite him. The major from the Ministry of Military Affairs had oil stains on the collar of his uniform and was squatting on the ground eating a steamed bun made from two kinds of flour.

Xu Shixiang casually remarked to Su Yaoyang, "Commander Su, your unit is truly wealthy and powerful. You can even get your hands on canned meat from America. Your rations are even better than those of the Central Army."

Su Yaoyang smiled and said, "Station Chief Xu is a man who has seen the world. It's just a little can of luncheon meat. Is it really worth making such a fuss about?"

Xu Shixiang smiled and remained silent. Everyone here was a sensible person. If it were just a few officers eating, he wouldn't be surprised if it were a large banquet, let alone this little bit of luncheon meat.

The problem is that this kind of food is eaten by the entire security regiment of several thousand people, which is quite extraordinary.

Looking at China's army of over one million today, no other army can boast such luxurious rations.

It's not that we're reluctant to part with them, but the national treasury simply can't afford it. Where did we get a student like Su Yaoyang, who fled from Rehe?
The food was one thing, but seeing the American-made firearms the soldiers were carrying along the way startled even the two men who considered themselves well-informed.

In their view, these American equipment certainly didn't fall from the sky; the only explanation was that Su Yaoyang had some powerful figure behind him or had the support of the US government.

Su Yaoyang ignored what Xu Shixiang and Chen Shijie were thinking, finished his porridge in a few gulps, and then plopped down on the damp ground.

He took out cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to the people next to him.

Xu Shijie took the cigarette and glanced at it. "Oh... an American product. I'll try something new today."

After finishing the last bite of his steamed bun, Xu Shijie took out a match, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and then tentatively said, "Commander Su... we were blind to your greatness and offended you before. We hope you won't take it to heart."

Su Yaoyang simply waved his hand lightly without saying a word.

"Commander Su, the two of us have come here today not only to deliver a telegram from Chongqing, but also because we have some questions and would like to ask you for your guidance."

"You mean the origin of those American weapons in my team?" Su Yaoyang asked before Chen Shijie could even ask.

Chen Shijie was taken aback, then said somewhat awkwardly, "Commander Su, you are wise."

"There's no such thing as clear judgment or unclear judgment." Su Yaoyang exhaled a smoke ring, which was then dispersed by the cold wind blowing from the reeds.

“One branch of our family moved to the United States decades ago, settled there, and got to know some people in the military.”

After my parents were killed by the Japanese settlers in Rehe, I decided to start my own team.

So I contacted my uncles in the United States and asked them to help me procure a batch of equipment and store it in Nanjing. I came to Nanjing this time intending to bring the weapons back to my hometown, but I never expected to encounter the Japanese attack on Nanjing, which led to the events of this period. It can only be said that fate is unpredictable.

After listening to Su Yaoyang's explanation, Xu Shixiang and Chen Shijie exchanged glances.

On the surface, Su Yaoyang's words seemed to make no problem, but everyone knew that they couldn't stand up to scrutiny.

What kind of place is Nanjing?
That was the capital of the Republic of China! How could a nobody like you quietly acquire enough American weapons to equip thousands of people? Did you really think the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics were useless?

And those special munitions, which are deadly weapons that are strictly prohibited from being exported by all countries in the world, you just got them and stockpiled them in a country's capital. Is it possible that there was no support from a country's government?
Do they really think they can fool us?

Even though they knew the other party was talking nonsense, they couldn't question them, which made them feel incredibly frustrated. "Commander Su... you're being too..." Xu Shixiang smiled helplessly, but swallowed the words back down.

Su Yaoyang laughed heartily, stood up, patted the dust off his backside, and said meaningfully, "I think Zheng Banqiao said something very well... It's rare to be confused."

If everyone understands the meaning of this sentence, it will be good for everyone, don't you two think?

Seeing Su Yaoyang's smiling expression, Xu Shixiang and Chen Shijie felt a chill, and their expressions changed slightly as if they had thought of something.

They suddenly realized a possibility: if these weapons and special ammunition were not obtained by Su Yaoyang's family, then who obtained them?
There was only one answer: the person in front of them was a front man for certain bigwigs in the Nationalist government. If the two of them were to be so foolish as to pry into the matter, they might be in big trouble one day.

Thinking of this, the two suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.

They knew all too well the darkness of the Nationalist government; once they angered a powerful figure or interest group, it would be a matter of minutes for small fry like them to disappear.

The two exchanged a glance and never mentioned weapons again.

But Chen Shijie then said, "Commander Su, there's something else I'd like to tell you."

"Speak!" Su Yaoyang's answer was concise and to the point.

“Last night, we also received instructions from Chongqing, saying that you released special missiles in Nanjing, causing great losses to the military and civilians in Nanjing. The Japanese government wants our government to give them an explanation.”

"Oh...explain...what do they want to know?" Su Yaoyang looked at him with a half-smile.

"This..." Chen Shijie blushed. The Japanese government had indeed sent a stern diplomatic letter to the Chongqing government, which not only severely condemned Su Yaoyang for releasing special bombs in Nanjing, causing significant losses to the Japanese army.

They not only demanded that the Chongqing government guarantee that it would not carry out chemical warfare against the Japanese army again, but also demanded that Su Yaoyang be handed over.

Chiang Kai-shek was not senile; of course, he rejected this request.

"Of course, our government will not agree to such an unreasonable demand."

Seeing Su Yaoyang's unfriendly expression, Chen Shijie quickly offered an explanation.

"However, our government has reached an agreement with the Japanese government that the two countries' militaries will not engage in such inhumane chemical warfare in the future, and violators will be subject to severe punishment and sanctions."

The higher-ups expect you to abide by this agreement as well.

After saying that, Chen Shijie stared intently at Su Yaoyang, afraid that the guy would blurt out something like "It's none of your business."

Su Yaoyang pondered for a long time before finally nodding slowly.

"Since the higher-ups have given the order, I will naturally obey. However, I also hope that the Japanese side will keep their promises. If I find that the Japanese have torn up the agreement, then don't blame me for being impolite!"

"That's natural...that's natural..."

(End of this chapter)