Chapter 64: The Final Showdown
The cross on the church spire tilted slightly in the cold night, a scar left by the artillery shells of the Japanese army the day before yesterday.
Li Gaoyuan stood at the top of the church, quietly watching the southwest. He had been standing there for over two hours. Just as his legs went numb from standing, a long, winding snow-colored dragon finally appeared in his eyes.
The moment Su Yaoyang crossed the church threshold, a petite figure rushed out from inside and threw herself into his arms.
Su Yaoyang gently patted her shoulder, “Alright… you’re so big now, yet you’re still like a child. So many people are watching, aren’t you afraid of being laughed at?”
“No, I want to hug Master,” Xiao Lu said with a thick nasal voice.
Having witnessed too much separation and death in recent days, sometimes a mere farewell meant eternal parting. This made her cherish every moment with her master even more.
“Alright… get up first, let me settle these people,” Su Yaoyang comforted her softly, “This time, we’ve rescued several thousand people.”
“Mm!”
Xiao Lu nodded a little shyly, turned around, and ran inside.
“Quick! Bring those stretchers and carry these wounded inside!”
Song Mei’s voice came from inside. The innkeeper had already changed into a Type 36 field uniform.
The loose field uniform couldn’t hide her alluring figure. At that moment, she was vigorously stirring ginger soup with a wooden stick as thick as an arm, occasionally adding some brown sugar to the pot.
The rising steam flushed her delicate face red. A layer of crystal-clear fine sweat seeped onto her clean forehead and rosy cheeks. As she stirred, the ginger soup in the large iron pot churned continuously, with slices of yellow ginger floating in the orange-yellow liquid.
Not only him, but also Meng Shujuan, Yu Mo, Xiao Wenzi, Hong Ling, Xiang Lan, and a group of other women, whether they were students from the church or women who made a living on the Qinhuai River, were all busy. This was the scene that Liang Wenxue and the other prisoners of war saw upon entering.
By the way, Liang Wenxue was the captain who was the first to express his willingness to follow Su Yaoyang at the dock just now.
“Come here quickly… everyone come and have a bowl of ginger soup, then change your clothes in the back!” Su Yaoyang called out to Liang Wenxue and the other prisoners of war.
The hungry and tired prisoners of war, seeing this scene, could no longer hold back and swarmed towards the iron pot.
“Bang!”
A muffled gunshot rang out in everyone’s ears.
Following the sound of the gunshot, they saw Su Yaoyang’s grim expression and the muzzle of his gun, which was still smoking.
Su Yaoyang’s M1911 pistol pointed vaguely at everyone, and he said coldly, “You are all supposed to be soldiers of the Revolutionary Army.
You queue for meals and drills. After being Japanese prisoners for a few days, have you forgotten even the basic rules?
I’m not afraid to say it upfront: if anyone dares to snatch supplies and belongings, don’t blame my bullets for not recognizing you!”
“Clatter…”
Accompanied by a series of crisp bolt actions, a row of fully armed soldiers had appeared around the church at some point. Their muzzles were pointed at the soldiers looking at each other in confusion.
“Scoundrels!”
Ren Quanyou, standing nearby, also stepped forward and kicked out mercilessly at the dozen or so soldiers who were rushing to the front, shouting as he kicked, “Yan Bugui, Liu Guangtian, you’ve truly disgraced our 51st Division!
If I see you acting like this again, I’ll castrate you. Cowards like you don’t deserve to have testicles!”
Strangely, although these soldiers were kicked and yelped in pain, they dared not move, simply standing stiffly to receive the kicks.
After kicking and punching these soldiers, Ren Quanyou then ran to Su Yaoyang, bowed, and said, “Regimental Commander, my subordinate’s command was lax.
These soldiers were starved by the devils for several days, and being cold and hungry made them lose their composure. I hope the Regimental Commander will not blame them.”
“Alright!”
Su Yaoyang chuckled and scolded, “Stop acting in front of me. Don’t worry… I won’t blame them this time.
But if there’s a next time, don’t blame me for being unforgiving.
I’m handing this place over to you. You pick out some men to maintain order. If anything goes wrong, I’ll hold you responsible, understand?”
“Yes, Officer!” Ren Quanyou’s pale face flushed slightly, and he gave a solemn salute, “Regimental Commander, rest assured. If any of these lads dare to act out again, you don’t need to lift a finger. My subordinate will personally wring their heads off and use them as soccer balls.”
Su Yaoyang looked at him deeply. “I hope you can keep your word.”
With that, he turned and left the courtyard, Liang Wenxue.
“Attention… Salute!” Ren Quanyou’s slightly high-pitched command followed from behind.
“Clatter…”
Su Yaoyang strode out of the courtyard and saw Li Gaoyuan standing not far away, looking at him with a half-smile.
“Regimental Commander… your tactic of playing one barbarian against another is quite good.”
“Nonsense, what ‘playing one barbarian against another’? You’re a bright student who studied abroad, yet you can’t even use an idiom correctly,” Su Yaoyang said with a laugh.
The two walked slowly along the wall. Li Gaoyuan first offered him a cigarette, lit it for him, and then sighed, “I really didn’t expect this. You actually managed to pull this off.”
“It’s all about human effort,” Su Yaoyang took a deep drag of his cigarette, feeling the spicy yet mellow nicotine flowing into his lungs before exhaling. He felt much more energetic and finally sighed.
“It’s just a desperate measure to survive, born out of necessity. Who told us we’re short of people?”
“Yes,” Li Gaoyuan also sighed, “After your battle last night, Saint Paul’s Church is bound to attract the attention of the Japanese high command. It’s impossible to keep a low profile anymore.
From today onwards, we will face the full assault of tens of thousands of Japanese troops in Nanjing city.”
“So what if they launch a full assault?” Su Yaoyang laughed heartily, “Life is but a fleeting moment, no different from floating clouds and running water.
Even if you and I are buried here today, it doesn’t matter. To die for the country and the nation, you and I will have no regrets!”
“Hahaha…” Li Gaoyuan also laughed, “To die with you, Young Master Su, in this Nanjing city, resisting the Japanese invaders, how fortunate I, Li, am!”
The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
After laughing, Su Yaoyang suddenly asked curiously, “By the way, I caused such a big commotion last night, didn’t Huang Guantao notice anything at all?”
“How could he not?” Li Gaoyuan suddenly chuckled, “He called me several times, scolding me fiercely for not stopping you and letting you run amok.
If I hadn’t stopped him, he would have personally led his men to support you.”
“This Old Huang is truly a warm-hearted person,” Su Yaoyang said with emotion, nodding.
Historically, Huang Guantao also led his troops to resist until the last moment. Later, while leading soldiers of the gendarmerie to swim and retreat at the Xiaguan dock, he was hit by machine-gun fire from a Japanese gunboat and died heroically, truly a good man.
After finishing his cigarette, Su Yaoyang said to Li Gaoyuan, “Although we’ve rescued over two thousand prisoners, these people have been starving for several days, many are injured, some even have fevers, and they can’t go to the battlefield yet.
I propose we temporarily reorganize them into three battalions, let them rest for a day or two, and then send them to the battlefield. What do you think?”
Li Gaoyuan nodded, “I think it’s feasible, but I fear the Japanese won’t give us that much time.”
“Boom…”
Just as Li Gaoyuan finished speaking, a violent explosion sounded several miles ahead…
