Chapter 185: Good Things Come In Pairs
Hearing their words, Takagi Yoshito nearly passed out from anger.
Although he was a regiment commander, if both of his subordinate battalion commanders committed seppuku, how could he possibly escape unscathed?
Many things cannot be simply resolved by one slash of the sword; a single slash could trigger even more serious consequences.
For example, once Rito Koichi and Kobayashi Tsunefu were forced by him to commit seppuku, they would have achieved their wish, but it would also mean the end of his own career in the army.
No one would want to work under someone who might force his subordinates to commit seppuku at any time, even if that person was a regiment commander.
Moreover, a battalion commander with rich combat experience is not like leeks in the field that can be casually harvested; if these two really committed seppuku, he couldn’t personally lead the charge, could he?
After a long silence, Takagi Yoshito forcibly suppressed his anger and snorted coldly: “Enough, you don’t need to put on this act. I bear responsibility for the battle turning out like this. The most important thing now is how to capture Wild Wolf Valley in the shortest time; otherwise, we won’t be able to explain to Division Commander Excellency.”
“Regiment Commander Excellency, please forgive my bluntness.” Rito Koichi stepped forward. “The Chinese have deployed a large number of anti-aircraft guns in Wild Wolf Valley. Just from what I observed today, there are dozens of them. When these anti-aircraft guns fire in salvo, we are harvested like wild grass.”
“Do you think the same?” Takagi Yoshito looked at Kobayashi Tsunefu on the other side.
“Yes.” Kobayashi Tsunefu braced himself and said: “I think before we find a way to deal with those anti-aircraft guns, it’s best to temporarily stop the attack; otherwise… otherwise the 39th Regiment will be destroyed!”
“Insolent!”
Takagi Yoshito slammed the table: “Do you know what you’re saying? If we stop the attack, what will the division commander think? What will Commander Meizun think? Who can bear this responsibility?”
“Regiment Commander Excellency, it’s no longer a matter of responsibility now, but the survival of our regiment.” Rito Koichi could no longer hold back.
“Our battalion alone suffered over a thousand casualties in just one day today. At this rate, in at most three days, our regiment will be wiped out!”
“What!” Takagi Yoshito felt a shock throughout his body and staggered, “You’re saying we suffered over a thousand casualties in just one day today?”
“To be precise, 1276 people!” Rito Koichi said.
“What about your battalion?” Takagi Yoshito suddenly turned his head to look at Kobayashi Tsunefu.
“Our battalion’s casualties are no less than those of the 77th Battalion.” Kobayashi Tsunefu lowered his head bitterly.
“Thud.” Takagi Yoshito staggered in his steps, his face becoming exceptionally pale.
One battalion with over a thousand casualties, two battalions adding up to over two thousand—this was just one day’s casualty figures. At this rate, the 39th Regiment wouldn’t last a few days before disappearing from the sequence of the Japanese Army.
“Regiment Commander Excellency, we… should still report the truth to Division Commander Excellency? From today’s situation, our regiment alone cannot capture Wild Wolf Valley!” Rito Koichi pleaded with red eyes.
“Alright…”
Takagi Yoshito slumped in his chair like a deflated ball…
………..
“Hahaha… refreshing…”
Huang Guantao laughed heartily as he walked into the command post, picked up the large porcelain cup on the table, and drank all the water inside in one gulp.
Then he wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth, picked up the Good Luck cigarettes and lighter on the table, lit a cigarette, and naturally pocketed them.
“Put that down!”
A roar sounded beside his ear.
Then he saw Su Yaoyang glaring at him with a pair of eyes.
“You old Huang, taking my cigarettes is one thing, but daring to pocket my lighter too— is that how you do things?”
“Hehe…” Huang Guantao touched his nose and grinned awkwardly.
“Commander, my lighter was snatched by that old boy Li Gaoyuan a few days ago. Using matches these past couple of days has felt inconvenient, so I thought of borrowing one from you. You’re the grand commander; you wouldn’t be so stingy, would you?”
Su Yaoyang said irritably: “Can’t buy one yourself if you don’t have a lighter? The service club has them for three big ocean coins each—how many do you want? Why pocket mine?”
“That’s different… The steel ones for three big ocean coins aren’t to my liking. The copper ones are eight big ocean coins each. With elders above and kids below, I’m just reluctant to buy one.”
“Hey…”
Su Yaoyang was amused by this guy’s shameless face: “You old boy with eighty big ocean coins salary per month, telling me you can’t afford a lighter? Have you no shame?”
Huang Guantao said with a bitter face: “You know I have elders above and kids below. My wife is at home with three children, and there’s my elderly mother who needs me to support. I send every month’s salary home; where would I get money for such luxuries?”
“Oh… I get it. What you’re saying is that you think the salary I pay is too low and want me to give you all a raise—is that it?” Su Yaoyang glanced at him sideways.
“No, no…” Huang Guantao quickly waved his hands repeatedly: “The salary from the commander is already high enough; I don’t mean that.”
Huang Guantao truly meant it from the heart; the salary in the Shanxi Militia was already quite good.
Take Huang Guantao for example: as a colonel regiment commander, his monthly pay was 80 big ocean coins.
It was now 1938, and with the purchasing power of that time, 80 big ocean coins could buy 2400—3200 catties of rice（ enough to feed a family of five for 2 years）.
If buying pork, it could buy 640–800 catties of pork.
Such high salary was unique even in the Central Army.
Su Yaoyang snorted lightly: “Alright… I know you, just an old miser. If you weren’t surnamed Huang, I’d think you were the third master.”
“What third master?”
“Nothing.” Su Yaoyang waved his hand. “Let’s talk business. Today we drove the Japanese away, but we can’t relax our vigilance…”
“Report…”
While speaking, a communications staff officer walked over and handed him a telegram.
Su Yaoyang took the telegram casually, looked at it, and was overjoyed: “Good news… Li Gaoyuan has woken up!”
“Oh…”
Huang Guantao was also delighted and leaned his head over. “Good news, old Li is out of danger.”
A smile also appeared on Su Yaoyang’s face. “Yeah, old Li really has a strong life force, but don’t think about returning to the battlefield without three to five months.”
Upon receiving the telegram that Li Gaoyuan was out of danger, both were very happy, but as the saying goes, good things come in pairs, and another communications staff officer hurried over.
“Sir… telegram from the Eighth Route Army…”
“What… telegram from the Eighth Route Army?” Su Yaoyang and Huang Guantao exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes…
