Chapter 273: Half-selling, Half-giving
The clamor in the banquet hall gradually faded away, and the generals, carrying the effects of alcohol and shock, bid farewell and left in small groups. The looks they cast toward Su Yaoyang as they departed were all filled with complex emotions.
Li Zongren said nothing more, but after the crowd dispersed, he gave Su Yaoyang and the always silent Bai Chongxi a look.
The three understood tacitly and, led by an adjutant, passed through the corridor with heavy curtains to a secluded office on the second floor of Wangjiang Tower.
The door was gently closed, shutting out all outside sounds.
The office was simply furnished, with a large nanmu desk occupying most of the space, piled high with documents and maps.
The wall also bore a huge map of the Central China Theater, marked with dense arrows and symbols in red and blue pencils.
Li Zongren did not sit in the main seat but went to the guest area nearby, personally picking up the purple clay teapot on the table and filling the celadon teacup in front of Su Yaoyang with steaming Biluochun.
The tea leaves unfurled in the boiling water, and a strand of elegant fragrance instantly filled the air.
This action already indicated his current attitude.
Bai Chongxi sat on a single sofa nearby, legs crossed, gaze sharp as an eagle, silently scrutinizing Su Yaoyang as if to see through him completely from inside out.
Only until the steam from the teacup clouded Su Yaoyang’s face did Li Zongren slowly sit down, leaning slightly forward, his pair of weathered eyes fixed intently on him, his voice low and powerful:
“Speak… Were those judgments you mentioned earlier, and that data as secretive as Japan’s most classified, real?”
Su Yaoyang picked up the warm teacup, gently blew on the floating tea leaves, took a slow sip, then set the cup down, meeting Li Zongren’s burning gaze, a helpless arc curving at the corner of his mouth.
“Commander Li.”
He spread his hands. “Do you think I said those words in front of so many people just because I had nothing better to do, to joke with you? Of course they’re real.”
That trailing tone carried a lightness unique to young people, yet it made Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi’s hearts tighten simultaneously.
“You…” Li Zongren was about to press further, but Su Yaoyang waved his hand, cutting him off first.
“I know. You want to ask where I got this data from.”
Su Yaoyang’s gaze deepened. “This, I can’t tell you. You just need to know they’re all real. That’s enough.”
The office fell silent. Li Zongren looked at the impervious young man before him, his chest heaving, finally turning into a wry smile. He turned to Bai Chongxi beside him: “Jiansheng, look… look… this kid’s rank isn’t high, but his temper is getting bolder.”
Su Yaoyang touched his nose, smiling somewhat embarrassedly: “The reason I said that earlier was also to intimidate those pessimistic capitulationists in the War of Resistance, to boost everyone’s confidence.
After all, confidence is more important than gold.”
He shifted the topic, his expression turning serious again, throwing out an even more astonishing prophecy.
“And I estimate that within a year or two, the Japanese and Americans will inevitably clash.”
“What?!”
This time, even the ever-composed Bai Chongxi couldn’t help leaning forward, his eyes bursting with terrifying sharpness.
Japan and America going to war—this was an event that could shake the world order.
Su Yaoyang ignored their shock and continued analyzing on his own: “Deputy Commander Li, Deputy Commander Bai, you two know that Japan is a resource-poor island nation. The oil, scrap steel, rubber, and other strategic materials it needs for war are mostly imported from America.
And starting this year, the Americans have begun deliberately reducing, even prohibiting exports of these strategic materials to Japan. It’s like a noose tightening bit by bit around the Japanese neck.”
He extended a finger, gesturing in the air as if painting a picture of the future.
“What does a beast driven to desperation do? It fights to the death!
The deeper Japan sinks into the quagmire of war in China, and with America cutting off its lifeline, its only way out is south—to seize the oil- and rubber-rich colonies of Southeast Asia.
And to do that, it must first take out the greatest threat blocking its path: the U.S. Pacific Fleet. So, I assert that Japan sneaking an attack on America is just a matter of time.”
After he finished speaking, the large office held only the three men’s breaths of varying depth.
Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, these two top minds of China’s military, were now utterly shocked by the international strategic landscape Su Yaoyang had depicted, rendered speechless.
Their minds raced, cross-verifying Su Yaoyang’s words with their own international intelligence, growing more alarmed the more they thought, feeling more and more… that this was highly likely to become reality!
The way they now looked at Su Yaoyang was no longer wariness and suspicion, but the gaze one gives a monster.
After a long while, Bai Chongxi looked at Li Zongren in astonishment: “Delin… If that speech above was thought up by Mingxi here himself, then this kid is a monster. He could absolutely become a commander of one side in the future; at worst, he’d be someone like Bai Li.”
“No, no… Don’t overpraise me. I don’t think I’m that kind of hero.” Su Yaoyang quickly waved his hands repeatedly.
Self-awareness is a virtue. He knew exactly what he was made of. The reason he had come this far was, besides the help of the matter converter golden finger, standing on the shoulders of giants, viewing the entire World War II battlefield from a God’s perspective.
But to become a visionary military strategist like Jiang Baili or a commander of hundreds of thousands of troops? No way—he’d drop dead from exhaustion first.
There was a joke in later generations that went how?
If you can’t even command your four teammates in a game of King of Glory, don’t dream of commanding thousands of troops.
After a few words of pleasantries, Su Yaoyang set down his teacup, the celadon clinking crisply against the nanmu desktop, pulling their thoughts back to reality.
Su Yaoyang suddenly shifted the topic, his tone becoming casual, as if discussing an utterly ordinary deal.
“Commander Li, Commander Bai, now that the Battle of Suizao and Yichang is over, the Shanxi Militia should prepare to return to Shanxi.”
Li and Bai both nodded; this was only natural.
But Su Yaoyang spread his hands, showing a troubled expression: “But as you know, though we have dozens of transport planes, our airlift capacity is limited after all. We can’t take back all the bulky stuff—round-trip transport is very troublesome.”
He paused, then tossed out a proposal in an almost casual tone that made the office temperature soar instantly.
“So I’m leaving behind the over a thousand military trucks, over a hundred heavy guns, over ten thousand shells, and those tens of thousands of rifles, machine guns, and other equipment I brought this time.
Consider it support for friendly forces, sold to the Fifth War Zone at second-hand prices. I wonder if you two commanders are interested in buying them?”
The words had just fallen.
“Hiss…”
Two clear, air-sucking gasps rang out in the office, as if draining the air!
The sounds were sharp and urgent, like two venomous snakes whose tails had been stepped on.
The next second, the famously steady and calm “Little Zhuge” Bai Chongxi sprang up from the sofa!
The sofa beneath him groaned in protest, his whole body like a wound-up cheetah, eyes shooting out terrifying sharpness, fixed dead on Su Yaoyang’s face—that gaze sharp enough to pierce the heart!
“Mingxi!”
He didn’t even mind rank, directly calling Su Yaoyang by his style name, his voice hoarse and trembling from extreme agitation. “This… you’re serious?”
Li Zongren didn’t stand, but his hands braced on the desk had knuckles white from clenching too hard, his upper body trembling slightly, face flushed red, lips quivering, yet unable to utter a word.
Su Yaoyang watched their thunderstruck reactions, leisurely leaning back into the sofa, spreading his hands, flashing white teeth, smiling like an innocent, harmless boy next door.
“Of course.”
He said easily, “You two are at least my matchmaker and wedding witness. As the junior, how could I trick you with something like this?”
“Good, good, good…”
Confirmed!
At that instant, Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi both shouted out almost simultaneously! Their voices were completely off-pitch, no longer the steady tone of generals, but like two lottery winners who struck it rich overnight.
They trembled all over in excitement, faces glowing red, utterly devoid of any poise as regional commanders!
They knew it clear as day in their hearts!
What limited transport plane capacity?
Total nonsense!
This was clearly Su Yaoyang making an excuse to bolster their Fifth War Zone, shoving a massive pie right into their mouths!
Over a thousand trucks… over a hundred heavy guns… tens of thousands of rifles and machine guns—the light weapons alone could equip a new army group, not to mention the over a hundred heavy guns.
These weren’t ordinary junk gear; they were the Shanxi Militia’s own equipment.
Weapons that even the Japanese elite divisions marveled at and feared.
A deluxe package that could transform the Fifth War Zone, boosting its combat power by several grades!
This kind of good fortune—not only had it never happened, they wouldn’t even dare dream it so extravagantly!
“As for the money… that’s the smallest issue.
They’d pawn their pants if they had to, to buy all these weapons and equipment.”
What’s more, if they didn’t buy, the Fifth War Zone’s hundreds of thousands of troops hid plenty of wealthy types. Once they heard the news, guaranteed within hours, those weapons would be snapped up.
Forget half price—even at a markup, they wouldn’t bat an eye.
If they delayed any longer, Chongqing might even step in. Only a fool would hesitate.
