Chapter 166: Persona
Perhaps moved by Su Yaoyang’s sincerity, the journalists exchanged glances with each other and nodded one after another.
Seeing the journalists’ attitudes soften, Su Yaoyang quickly gave a look to Pi Ruoyu beside him. The other understood and turned to leave, calling over several staff officers and orderlies to start making arrangements.
Soon, the journalists were invited to an open courtyard. When they arrived at the courtyard, they found that seven or eight long benches had already been placed there, with several tables around them, the tables filled with tea, snacks, biscuits, and foods such as soy milk and fried dough sticks.
A staff officer walked in and said to everyone: “Everyone, our Commander said that you have all come from afar and must be tired. I presume many of you haven’t had breakfast yet.
In order for everyone to conduct the interview better later, the Commander has specially prepared breakfast for you. Please enjoy it slowly. In half an hour, the Commander will come over to answer your questions, and at that time, you can ask him anything you have doubts about.”
“Oh… how embarrassing.”
Seeing that Su Yaoyang had actually prepared breakfast for them, the journalists would be lying if they said they weren’t moved.
Moreover, they had all rushed over day and night from various places in Shanxi, with many arriving in Wutaixian only this morning. Their stomachs had long been rumbling with hunger, so how could they hold back seeing so much steaming hot breakfast laid out in front of them?
Soon, someone walked over, picked up a spoon to serve themselves some breakfast, then found a place to sit down and eat heartily.
With someone taking the lead, naturally there was a second and a third. Soon, the journalists all picked up bowls and chopsticks and began eating voraciously.
Half an hour later, the journalists were all full, and Su Yaoyang walked in with a smile, asking everyone.
“Everyone… have you all eaten well?”
“Thank you for the hospitality, we have eaten well.”
“That’s good… since everyone has eaten well, let’s begin then… Staff Officer Zhou, distribute those photos and materials to everyone.”
Soon, two staff officers handed out a stack of photos one by one to the group of journalists.
“Everyone…”
Su Yaoyang said from the side: “This is the valley where we ambushed the Japanese army last night. These are all photos taken by soldiers from our reconnaissance company this morning.”
“Hiss…”
The journalists who received the photos took one look and all drew in a sharp breath.
The photos were covered with densely packed Japanese corpses everywhere, severed limbs and body parts scattered in all directions, the road littered with destroyed trucks, and they even saw the wreckage of several tanks.
“What everyone sees now is the scene from this morning’s early hours when the Japanese 20th Division’s reinforcement troops were shelled by our army. The area is full of Japanese corpses and destroyed vehicles.
After counting, a total of 1,630 Japanese corpses were found, 126 trucks, 3 armored vehicles, and many Japanese corpses were blown to pieces too severely for us to assess the results accurately, so we could only give an approximate number.
The above is the effect of this morning’s shelling. Does anyone have any questions? If so, please raise your hand, and I will select a few to answer.”
“Wow…”
Upon hearing this, the journalists instantly went wild.
Killing over 1,600 enemies in one battle, plus more than 100 trucks—this was a great victory.
In an instant, almost all the journalists raised their hands high.
“Uh… this journalist sir, do you have any questions?” Su Yaoyang pointed casually into the crowd.
The journalist who was called on stood up excitedly. “Commander Su… although you have given us many photos, the authenticity of these photos still needs to be verified, so we request to go to the battlefield immediately for on-site inspection. Is that possible?”
“Yes…” Su Yaoyang nodded. “I can send people to escort you to the scene, but I must warn you upfront: once on the battlefield, I cannot guarantee your safety.”
Seeing Su Yaoyang agree so readily, the journalists became even more excited. Among so many journalists nationwide, those who could personally go to the battlefield to report were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
What… is there risk in going to the battlefield?
Don’t joke; in this world, what doesn’t have risk? You can even choke on water, let alone going to the battlefield.
As long as they went to the battlefield, took a few photos, and published a report, it would be nationwide sensational news.
“Commander Su…” A slightly hoarse female voice rang out. This was a woman over forty, with fairly delicate features, but perhaps due to years of traveling, her skin was quite rough and sallow.
She was seen shouting while raising her hand high.
Seeing her eager appearance, Su Yaoyang pointed at her. “This lady, what would you like to ask?”
“Commander Su…” The female journalist, seeing Su Yaoyang point at her, said excitedly in a loud voice: “I am Wang Jiahui, reporter for the Central Daily’s Shanxi branch station.
Now that the Wuhan Campaign is in fierce battle between China and Japan, are you taking the initiative to attack the Japanese army in Shanxi at this time with the idea of opening a second front to relieve pressure on the main battlefield?”
Su Yaoyang couldn’t help but chuckle, unable to hold back his amusement. “Good grief, even the term ‘opening a second front’ has come up. To be honest, I really can’t bear that.
To my shame, I didn’t have that idea at all.
The reason I recaptured Dingxiang County and took the initiative to attack the Japanese invaders was purely out of necessity.
Everyone may not know, but according to reconnaissance over this period, the Japanese army in Shanxi has been frequently transferring supplies in the past half month and stockpiling large amounts of combat materials in Xinxian County. Moreover, the Japanese 20th Division has begun assembling in Taiyuan.
If I were to say that the Japanese making such a big move wasn’t aimed at us Shanxi Militia, I wouldn’t believe it even if beaten to death. For self-preservation… and also to give the Japanese invaders a resolute counterstrike, we decided to take the initiative to attack them.”
“Oh… so that’s how it is.”
Hearing this, the journalists suddenly understood, but also felt some disappointment and regret in their hearts.
They had originally thought they would see a young officer who, for the sake of the country and the nation, resolutely led several thousand ragged soldiers to take the initiative against the Japanese army, all to relieve pressure on the main battlefield. Unexpectedly, the answer was truly surprising.
Seeing everyone’s somewhat disappointed faces, Su Yaoyang smiled inwardly.
He wasn’t about to set up some noble and lofty persona. He did want to fight the devils, but there was no need to make himself seem so grand.
This kind of thing is easy to get into but hard to get out of. Saints aren’t that easy to be. Once you set up such a persona, people around you will immediately scrutinize you with a magnifying glass, observing every angle without blind spots. If you do anything wrong, you’ll be met with a flood of criticism and abuse.
Better to tell everyone from the start that I’m just an ordinary person, not as perfect as you think…
