Chapter 278: Reactions From All Sides
At the same time that Wutaixian County was shrouded in an aura of murderous intent, in the Second War Zone headquarters at Kedipo, a hundred li away, the atmosphere also suddenly became tense.
An intelligence staff officer looked panicked and almost burst into Yan Xishan’s office, forgetting to even knock.
“Commander Yan… Commander Yan… something huge has happened!”
Yan Xishan was wearing reading glasses, studying the Shanxi defense map under the dim light.
He was startled by this sudden intrusion, frowned tightly, and looked up displeased: “Panicking like that, what kind of decorum is this! Has the sky fallen?”
The intelligence staff officer gasped for breath and handed over a just-received urgent telegram, his voice trembling: “Commander… Wutaixian County… Su Yaoyang… Su Yaoyang had just returned to Wutaixian County when… he was ambushed! Now… his life or death is unknown!”
“What?”
The magnifying glass in Yan Xishan’s hand dropped onto the map with a clang. He snatched the telegram, his cloudy old eyes staring fixedly at those few short lines. The more he read, the more his hands shook, and his face turned deathly pale.
Su Yaoyang!
This name now represented an unignorable, suddenly rising massive force in Shanxi, even throughout North China.
His militia was equipped so superbly it was outrageous, with combat power so fierce that it had repeatedly frustrated the Japanese army.
To Yan Xishan, Su Yaoyang and his militia were like a fierce tiger lurking at his side—both a barrier against the Japanese and a huge potential threat.
The two sides had always maintained a delicate and fragile balance.
But now, this fierce tiger might be dying!
“Quick! Go call Xingru, Cuaiya, and the others to me right now! Immediately… at once!”
Yan Xishan’s voice was off-key as he abruptly stood up from his chair and paced anxiously back and forth in the office.
Soon, core Jin-Sui Army generals including Sixth Army Group Commander Yang Aiyuan, Deputy Commander Sun Chu, and others arrived at the office with grave expressions.
After they read the telegram, the entire office fell into dead silence, with only the sound of everyone’s heavy and rapid breathing.
“Commander!”
Yang Aiyuan broke the silence first, his voice dry: “This is no small matter. Our top priority now is to spare no effort and find out immediately whether Su Yaoyang is dead or alive!”
Sun Chu chimed in: “Xingru is right. If Su Yaoyang is still alive, all is well—it’s just a failed Japanese assassination attempt. We send a telegram of condolence and watch quietly. But if… if Su Yaoyang is really dead…”
He didn’t continue, but everyone present understood what he meant.
Once Su Yaoyang died, the massive armed force of the Shanxi militia, sustained entirely by Su Yaoyang’s personal charisma and mysterious funding, would instantly lose its backbone!
Though people like Pi Ruoyu and Li Gaoyuan could fight, none had enough prestige or ability to integrate and control the overall situation.
Internal splits and infighting were almost inevitable.
At that time, the entire power structure in Shanxi would be completely reshuffled!
And that formidable army with hundreds of tanks, over a hundred advanced fighters, and countless automatic weapons would become a huge, juicy prize that any force would go mad over!
A glint of greed and fervor flashed in Yan Xishan’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by thick worry.
He wanted that prize—dreamed of it!
But he knew he wasn’t the only one eyeing it.
In Chongqing in the southwest, Chairman Jiang was probably already receiving the news and mobilizing troops to “receive” this “inheritance.” Various forces were rubbing their hands in preparation.
It was foreseeable that in the coming period, little Wutaixian County would, due to Su Yaoyang’s uncertain fate, instantly become the nation’s focus and a bloody chessboard contested by all sides!
“Activate all our latent agents in Wutaixian County immediately!”
Yan Xishan finally made up his mind. He slammed his fist on the table and ordered gravely: “I want to know in the shortest time whether Su Yaoyang is dead or alive! If alive, bring him back; if dead… bring his corpse!”
………..
Taiyuan, Japanese First Army headquarters.
In the office, the air was thick with heavy cigarette smoke and irrepressible excitement.
First Army Commander Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio held a report just delivered from intelligence, his face twisted with a mix of pain and wild joy.
For this assassination against Su Yaoyang, the elite agent team of the “Chrysanthemum Agency” had been nearly wiped out, which made his heart bleed.
But the last line of the report…”Target’s life or death unknown; Wutaixian, Xiangding, Meng County, and other areas have fallen into total chaos”… turned all his pain into irrepressible wild joy!
Su Yaoyang! This boulder weighing on his heart for two full years, this thorn in the eye that had shamed the Imperial Army in Shanxi, might finally be removed!
At that moment, the office door was knocked, and special operations expert Colonel Yamamoto Kazeki walked in to report on the recent training progress of the agent team.
“Yamamoto-kun, perfect timing!”
Shinozuka Yoshio excitedly waved the report, not even waiting for Yamamoto Kazeki’s salute: “Look… blessed by Amaterasu! We’ve succeeded! That Su Yaoyang bastard is likely already dead!”
Yamamoto Kazeki took the report and scanned it quickly. His expression wasn’t wild joy like Shinozuka Yoshio’s; it remained his usual calm and stern demeanor, though a faint flicker of surprise passed in his eyes.
“General, this is indeed heartening news.”
Yamamoto Kazeki placed the report back on the table and bowed slightly.
“More than heartening!”
Shinozuka Yoshio stood up excitedly, went to the map, and heavily tapped Wutaixian County’s position with his baton: “Now is the best time to expand our gains.
Yamamoto-kun, I order you to immediately lead your agent team and secretly infiltrate Wutaixian County! You have two tasks: First, spare no effort to confirm Su Yaoyang’s status! Second, if he’s still alive, find him and deliver the final blow to send him to hell!”
However, contrary to Shinozuka Yoshio’s expectations, facing this command that could earn eternal military honors, Yamamoto Kazeki slowly shook his head.
“General, forgive my bluntness, but I think this is not a good idea.”
“Nani?”
Shinozuka Yoshio’s smile froze on his face: “Yamamoto-kun, what do you mean? Are you afraid?”
“No, General.”
Yamamoto Kazeki’s tone remained calm and firm: “I’m not afraid, but from a tactical perspective, now is not the optimal time.”
He walked to the map, pointed to the red-circled Wutaixian County area, and analyzed calmly: “The report also mentions that after Su Yaoyang was ambushed, all of Wutaixian County has entered the highest level of martial law.
Wutaixian County right now must have checkpoints every three steps and sentries every five, so tight not even a fly could get in. More importantly, the tens of thousands of Shanxi militia troops, with their supreme commander ambushed, are now in an extremely berserk, irrational state—like a pack of enraged wolves.
If we send people now, it’s like sticking our hand into the wolf’s mouth—we’d not only fail the mission but invite their reckless, frenzied retaliation, which would be more loss than gain.”
Shinozuka Yoshio’s face darkened, clearly unsatisfied with this explanation.
Yamamoto Kazeki continued: “General, if I may be bold, from my understanding of the Chinese, they have a deep-rooted vice—infighting.
Su Yaoyang is the sole core holding that army together. If he’s really dead, within three days, his arrogant generals will start fighting among themselves for supreme command.
Our wisest move now is to watch quietly, even secretly fan the flames.
Once the Shanxi militia is in chaos like a pot of porridge, the Imperial Army can effortlessly reap the benefits—this is the strategy most in line with the Empire’s interests.”
“Yoshi… well said!”
………..
While all factions in Shanxi were surging with undercurrents and scheming over Su Yaoyang’s “life or death,” at the storm’s center—in a special care ward of the Shanxi militia headquarters field hospital—the true protagonist was enacting a completely different scene.
In the brightly lit ward, a faint smell of Lysol permeated the air.
Su Yaoyang was half-reclining on the hospital bed, his head wrapped in thick layers of gauze, exposing only his eyes, nose, and mouth, looking somewhat comical like a mummified prank victim.
Around his bed, however, was packed tightly with stern-faced Shanxi militia officers.
Li Gaoyuan, Pi Ruoyu, Lu Shaobin, Huang Guantao, and over ten other core colonels and above were all gathered.
Even the just-returned “Sea Pirate” Squadron Leader Cheng Rufeng and “Flying Tigers” Squadron Leader Doolittle, the two air force commanders, had rushed over from the airport and stood straight in the crowd.
Seeing their commander in this “zongzi” getup, the group of originally fury-driven generals who wanted to lead troops out to kill, all showed strange expressions like they wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, but more so a deep, heartfelt sigh of relief.
Fortunately… the boss is fine.
This thought was the sole foundation keeping the entire Shanxi militia from collapsing.
Everyone knew full well that if Su Yaoyang had really met with misfortune, their seemingly invincible army would disintegrate overnight, to be devoured to the bone by the coveting factions.
In one corner of the crowd, counterintelligence director Wei Jin also stood there. Though less than a day had passed since the incident, it felt to him like years of repeated frying in hell’s oil pan.
His face was sallow, eyes sunken, voice hoarse and dry, as if he’d aged ten years overnight.
He walked to the bedside and, under the icy stares of all his colleagues, mustered courage to give the final interrogation report.
“Report to the Commander… we have ascertained.
This operation was planned by the Japanese ‘Chrysanthemum Agency,’ under direct orders from Japanese First Army Commander Shinozuka Yoshio… Our internal mole was… was Logistics Section Lieutenant Liang Shaobin… it was he who leaked your return route and time to the Japanese…”
As he reported, the air in the ward grew heavier; Li Gaoyuan and others were clenching their fists with cracking sounds.
When Wei Jin finished tremblingly, bracing for the expected thunderous rage, Su Yaoyang just listened quietly, his eyes unchanging.
The anticipated roar and punishment did not come.
Su Yaoyang merely looked at him and said calmly: “I understand… Go back and clean up all loose ends without leaving traces. You can go now.”
Wei Jin was stunned, unable to believe his ears. Under the surprised gazes of the surrounding officers, he seemed drained of all strength yet pardoned, saluted respectfully, and exited the ward.
Facing the crowd’s puzzled looks, Su Yaoyang offered no explanation. He simply turned his gaze to his chief of staff beside him.
“Ruoyu.”
“Here!” Pi Ruoyu stepped forward immediately.
Su Yaoyang’s gaze sharpened like a knife, his voice not loud but chilling the entire ward to freezing.
“We can’t let this slide.”
He paused, then said word by word: “I want you to immediately draw up a comprehensive revenge plan. Not petty raids, not just downing a few planes.
I want Shinozuka Yoshio and the Japanese First Army in Taiyuan to pay a hundredfold, a thousandfold price for today’s incident, for every soldier we lost!”
As his words fell, all the officers in the ward were first stunned, then their eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty killing intent.
