Chapter 46: It Has Nothing To Do With You
On both sides of the narrow street, the ancient brick walls appeared slightly sallow in the afterglow of the sunset, and the stone slabs on the street surface had been worn smooth by the baptism of years.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder, as if every breath could feel the heavy traces left by the war. The center of the street was a mess, with more than ten Japanese soldiers all lying on the ground, their bright red blood pools forming a stark contrast with the dim bricks and stones, and a nauseating bloody smell rising up.
In this sudden encounter, the advantage of the security regiment’s rapid-fire weapons was fully demonstrated.
Two Thompson submachine guns and six Garand rifles fired over a hundred rounds in just a few seconds, turning the group of Japanese soldiers in front of them into a hornet’s nest at the cost of one dead and two wounded.
The weapons of the Japanese soldiers scattered on the ground quietly emitted a cold gleam, with rifles, grenades, and bayonets intermingled in a slaughterhouse-like scene, powerlessly recounting the conflict that had just occurred.
On the ground, a few bodies could still be seen trembling slightly; those were Japanese soldiers whose bodies had not yet fully stiffened.
Everything around seemed to have temporarily frozen; in this narrow and cramped alley, only the gunpowder smoke still lingered, swirling in the air and refusing to disperse.
Su Yaoyang was the first to recover, shouting at the soldiers beside him: “What the hell are you all standing around for? Hurry up and clean the battlefield.”
With that, he took the lead and went to the two dead colonels, bent down, and began searching.
“Colonel Hasegawa, Colonel Nagano Yuichiro… Hiss… This guy is actually the regimental commander of the 11th Regiment, and this Hasegawa is actually the deputy commander of the Kunizaki Detachment, and these two military swords they carried with them…”
Su Yaoyang didn’t care about anything and collected both of their military swords and personal documents, then instructed the highest-ranking sergeant among the group of soldiers to take the two bodies back.
After receiving the order, the sergeant looked around and said to Su Yaoyang with some worry: “Regiment commander, why don’t you come back with us? It’s too dangerous here.”
How could it not be dangerous? In the sudden encounter just now, if any Japanese soldier’s hand had shaken a little more, Su Yaoyang would have gone to see his great-grandmother.
“Alright!”
Su Yaoyang hesitated for a moment and agreed. The regimental commander of the 11th Regiment and the deputy commander had both been killed by him, so presumably there weren’t many people left in the entire 11th Regiment; there was really no need for him to take more risks.
“Sound the retreat immediately and order all units to stop the pursuit and withdraw at once!”
“Toot toot toot…”
The clear bugle call echoed across the battlefield. The security regiment soldiers who heard it were slightly stunned, and then orders from the officers to withdraw came through.
Twenty minutes later, the second and third battalions that had been sent out on the mission had almost all withdrawn.
As soon as Su Yaoyang returned to the church, a petite figure threw herself into his arms.
“Alright… don’t cry… See, I’m perfectly fine. I was only commanding the battle from the back; there was no danger at all.” Su Yaoyang held the little girl in his arms and comforted her with a smile.
“Young master, you’re lying again… Waa waa waa… Ah-choo…”
The tear-streaked little Lu hugged him even tighter upon hearing this. The strong smell of gunpowder and blood on her young master was making her sneeze, yet he still tried to deceive her.
Seeing that the little girl had no intention of letting go, Su Yaoyang patted her shoulder gently and said: “Alright, there are so many people watching.
This time we have quite a few brothers wounded. Go help Sister Mei first; I still have some things to handle.”
“Mm…”
Little Lu responded glumly, sniffed hard, wiped her tears casually with her hand, and ran off toward the back.
After watching her leave, Su Yaoyang was just about to go find Li Gaoyuan when he heard a voice in English from behind.
“Hey… Mr. Su!”
“Huh…”
Su Yaoyang turned his head and saw that it was John Miller, whom he hadn’t seen for a day.
John hurried over excitedly, but when he was about to say something, he saw Su Yaoyang in full military uniform, paused, and then said in an uncertain tone: “Su… Should I call you Major now?”
“No…” Su Yaoyang shook his head, deliberately putting on a stern face and speaking in English: “To be precise, you should call me Colonel, because I’ve been promoted to regiment commander.
The reason I’m still wearing the major’s armband is that I haven’t had time to change ranks yet.”
“Oh… unbelievable.” John shrugged in surprise.
But it was clear he wasn’t too concerned about Su Yaoyang’s promotion to colonel. He then said excitedly: “Colonel, I have good news for you. After my arduous and brilliant efforts, I’ve fixed that truck!”
“Really… That’s indeed good news.” Su Yaoyang was slightly stunned, then smiled. “So what brings you here now…”
“Oh… Of course to say goodbye to you, and by the way, collect my reward, which you promised me.” John grew a bit anxious. “You’re not going to go back on your word, are you?”
“Of course not.”
Su Yaoyang pondered for a moment and said thoughtfully: “Mr. John, I’m sure you’ve seen that my men and I are shedding blood and sacrificing for this country.
Just now, we had a fierce battle with the Japanese to break through their blockade and escape the encirclement.
But we still have quite a few wounded and women here, and to withdraw with them, we need vehicles, but I can hardly find a driver who knows how to drive, so…”
“NO… NO… No way, absolutely not!”
John’s head shook like a rattle drum. “I’m just a gravedigger; my duty is to collect bodies, not to join either side in the war.
So sorry, I can’t agree to your request, and I won’t drive for you.”
“I can pay you a salary… a very generous salary…”
“It’s not about the salary. No matter how generous, it can’t make me give up my life.”
“John, I heard you fought in World War I and were even a tank soldier, right?”
“Yes, but that has nothing to do with you… Huh… How did you know?”
John was startled and looked at Su Yaoyang in shock.
“Of course George Chen told me.” Su Yaoyang unhesitatingly sold out the bespectacled young man.
“Damn it, I knew it was him.” John muttered a curse, but then shook his head: “But you might be overestimating me. Back then, I drove the British Mark tank.
But that was twenty years ago. Tanks now are worlds apart from twenty years ago, and most importantly, I won’t fight for you.”
