Chapter 58: The Final Showdown
“The Japanese army withdrew?”
Su Yaoyang’s puzzled voice rang out in the church’s temporary command post.
“Yes.”
“All attacks have stopped?”
“Stopped.”
“Hiss…”
Su Yaoyang’s gaze collided with Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao’s, and vigilance surged in all three men’s hearts at the same time.
Something unusual must mean something is wrong; there must be something they didn’t know about here.
But no matter how capable they were, they could not have imagined that the old Japanese devil Kunizaki Iwa had been dismissed, and now they had to face the commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force.
Li Gaoyuan frowned and said, “What do the little Japs want to do?”
Huang Guantao thought for a moment: “No matter what the Japanese want to do, this is still a good thing for us. How about withdrawing the third battalion?”
“No.” Su Yaoyang rejected the proposal without thinking, “Our defense zone is not big to begin with. If we abandon the first defense line, our defensive depth will be too shallow.
Like this: have the second battalion move up, let the first battalion take over the second defense line, and have the third battalion withdraw to the church to rest. What do you think?”
“I think it’s fine.” Huang Guantao nodded in agreement first.
They were all people accustomed to leading soldiers, so he naturally understood that although the third battalion had suffered heavy losses today, with nearly five hundred men reduced to fewer than three hundred, the ones remaining were all battle-hardened.
After this battle today, the third battalion’s morale was forged, and as long as they were given a little replenishment and rest, the third battalion’s combat effectiveness would immediately rise a major step.
Who among those who lead soldiers wouldn’t want to command such a unit?
Meanwhile, Huang Guantao, as the former deputy commander of the military police regiment, naturally wanted to make his mark too. Since even the weakest third battalion of the whole regiment could achieve such brilliant results, his second battalion certainly couldn’t be inferior to the third battalion—this was the pride of a soldier.
“Alright then.” Seeing that both agreed, Su Yaoyang immediately said: “In that case, Old Huang, take the second battalion right away to relieve the third battalion.
Along the way, repair the fortifications and lay more landmines around the defense line. Use every means to delay the Japanese army.”
“Understood!” Huang Guantao responded crisply, grabbed 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 smiled: “Old Li, wait a moment. I want to discuss something with you.”
Seeing Su Yaoyang’s slightly odd smile, Li Gaoyuan suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart. “Regiment commander, Old Huang hasn’t gone far. How about I call him back and you can say it?”
“No need…”
Su Yaoyang quickly waved his hand. “It’s just a small matter; no need for three people to discuss it.”
Li Gaoyuan’s face showed an expression of “I don’t believe that at all.”
Su Yaoyang coughed lightly. “It’s like this: I just got the news that the Japanese have built several POW camps in Nanjing city, and one of them is at Zhongshan Wharf, where at least five or six thousand prisoners are held.
I plan to take a team to rescue the brothers from that POW camp. What do you think?”
“Not good at all!”
Li Gaoyuan rejected his proposal without hesitation and said earnestly.
“Regiment commander, since Zhongshan Wharf is holding a large number of prisoners, the guards there must be substantial. Now most of our forces are deployed on the first and second defense lines. Where do we have spare troops to rescue the prisoners?”
“Who said we don’t have any?” Su Yaoyang retorted: “Isn’t the third battalion preparing to withdraw from the first defense line? I plan to have them rest briefly, then immediately advance to Zhongshan Wharf while the Japanese are withdrawing to carry out the rescue.”
“Nonsense!” Li Gaoyuan was immediately furious, about to erupt, but then forcibly suppressed it and said earnestly.
“My Young Master Su, you are no longer a common civilian. You are the commander of the regiment.
The safety of more than a thousand men in the whole regiment rests on you. How can you undertake such a risky venture?”
“You think I want to take risks?”
Su Yaoyang retorted sarcastically: “You saw it too—the Japanese suddenly withdrew earlier. There must be a bigger offensive brewing behind it.
We only have so few men on hand now. If we really go all out, we probably won’t last two days.
Besides, think about it: if we can rescue the brothers held at Zhongshan Wharf, we’ll immediately have nearly five thousand more men on hand.
That’s nearly a brigade’s worth of force. With a little reorganization, they can immediately join the fight.
If we had that many men, I’d dare to lead the team out of Nanjing to fight, instead of guarding this broken church waiting to die!”
Perhaps Su Yaoyang’s words about “guarding this broken church waiting to die” touched Li Gaoyuan. He was silent for a long while before taking a deep breath: “How about this, regiment commander: if we must send men to Zhongshan Wharf for the rescue, let me go instead. You stay here…”
“No.” Su Yaoyang flatly rejected his proposal. “This was my idea, so I should lead the team. You stay behind to hold the fort.”
“Regiment commander, no matter what, I still disagree. It’s too dangerous.”
“You said it yourself—this is a battlefield. Where isn’t it dangerous?”
The two argued back and forth for a good while, until Li Gaoyuan finally reluctantly agreed to Su Yaoyang’s proposal. But he thought that after a morning of fighting, the third battalion had suffered heavy casualties, so he planned to transfer a company from the first battalion to him, but Su Yaoyang refused.
“No.” Su Yaoyang shook his head like a rattle drum. “The first battalion just sent a battalion to Xiaguan Wharf for reinforcements. If we transfer another company to me, you’ll only have one company left on hand. How can that work?”
“But you’re just planning to take those two hundred-plus men from the third battalion out?” Li Gaoyuan was both anxious and angry. “That wouldn’t be rescuing people; it’d be sending them to their deaths!”
“Who said I’m only taking the third battalion’s men?” Su Yaoyang grinned slyly.
“You…”
Li Gaoyuan was stunned.
“I forgot—we still have a tank.”
“Tank… you mean that foreigner John?” Li Gaoyuan suddenly remembered that money-grubbing corpse collector and said hesitantly.
“But they only started handling the tank yesterday. Can they manage? Don’t let the Japs blow up the tank the moment they go into action.”
“Having a tank is better than none. Even if it’s blown up, it’s no big deal.”
Su Yaoyang didn’t care about that. For him, anything that could be realized was no issue.
“Moreover, I plan to bring Anti-Tank Company Two along too.”
“Xiong Junfeng and his Anti-Tank Company Two?”
“Yes!”
Seeing Li Gaoyuan still hesitating, Su Yaoyang added fuel to the fire: “From what I know, the Japanese are always arrogant, and their forces are quite stretched, so they probably can’t spare many men to guard the POW camp—topping out at one or two companies.
As long as we act swiftly and decisively, there’s a high chance of success.”
“Alright.” Li Gaoyuan thought it over for a long time and finally agreed.
