Chapter 81: The Way Out
“Chief Chen… Chief Chen…”
In an unremarkable room, Special Envoy Chen Shijie of the Military and Political Affairs Department was frowning at several intelligence reports in his hand.
Then a muffled bang was heard, and the wooden door of the room was suddenly smashed open. Deputy Station Chief Xu Shixiang of the Military Intelligence Nanjing Station pushed into his room, his fat body staggering and nearly falling to the ground.
But he paid no attention to that and shouted loudly: “Chief Chen… something huge has happened!”
Chen Shijie put down the documents and said displeasedly: “Deputy Station Chief Xu, what exactly happened? Why are you in such a panic?”
Xu Shixiang cleared his throat and said urgently: “Something huge happened at St. Paul’s Church—they’ve broken out!”
“Broken out… have they gone mad?” Chen Shijie abruptly stood up, his eyes full of disbelief,
“Is he an idiot? With just their few thousand defeated remnants, if they hold the church they might last a bit longer, but once they leave their positions, they’ll be completely wiped out by the Japanese in less than an hour!”
As a young officer of the Military and Political Affairs Department, Chen Shijie had decent military knowledge and pinpointed the current situation of the New Security Regiment.
“No…”
Xu Shixiang swallowed some saliva. “Chief Chen… listen to me. Su Yaoyang did lead his New Security Regiment in a breakout, and they succeeded. According to reports from intelligence station personnel, they’ve now broken out of Nanjing City and even passed Yuhua Terrace.”
“What… how is that possible?”
Chen Shijie abruptly stood up, knocking over the rattan document basket beside him as he rose, causing confidential letters to scatter on the floor, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
“Tell me the details right now—what exactly happened?” No wonder Chen Shijie lost his composure; the Japanese troops in Nanjing City now numbered seventy to eighty thousand, and with just the few thousand men of the New Security Regiment, breaking out of Nanjing would be like giving everyone wings.
“Because… because the New Security Regiment launched a large-scale special munition attack against the Sixth Division besieging them in the early hours of last night.
The Sixth Division, caught off guard, suffered heavy losses.
Reportedly, the Japanese 13th and 47th Regiments were almost completely wiped out, even losing their regimental flags.
The New Security Regiment just swaggered out of the city.”
“Special munitions?”
Hearing that the New Security Regiment had actually used poison gas munitions, Chen Shijie abruptly stood up from his chair, hands braced on the desk, knuckles turning white from the force.
His usually sharp eyes were now bulging wide, pupils contracted to pinpoints.
“You… are you telling the truth?
Special munitions… where did they get special munitions… did they receive support from Britain, or America, or even the Soviet Union?”
Chen Shijie’s first reaction was exactly the same as Xu Gesen’s: Su Yaoyang must have received military aid from Britain, America, or the Soviet Union.
“Quick… send a telegram to Chongqing immediately and report this news to the Chairman.”
The winter sunlight slanted in through the carved window lattice, illuminating half his face red while the other half remained in shadow.
His lips trembled slightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, revealing the extent of his inner tension.
Xu Shixiang hesitated. “Chief Chen, the Japanese have been rounding up our people on a large scale these past few days. Their radio direction-finding vehicles might be nearby right now. If we rashly turn on the transmitter…”
“Can’t worry about that now!” Xu Shijie waved his hand. “This news is too important—it must be reported to Chongqing immediately so the Chairman can make a decision as soon as possible.
Worst case, we relocate right after sending the telegram.”
“Yes!”
Seeing Xu Shijie’s resolute attitude, Xu Shixiang could only agree, and soon the room was filled with the beeping sound…
Su Yaoyang’s salvo of special munitions was tantamount to detonating a nuclear bomb in Nanjing City, drawing the attention of almost every foreign power in China.
If he had been a nobody before, now he had made a stunning debut.
Whether Britain, America, the Soviet Union, or Chongqing, almost all factions dispatched their intelligence personnel to investigate the matter.
And unexpectedly, this incident led to another outcome.
In the original timeline, after occupying Nanjing, the Japanese army carried out a bloody, barbaric, and cruel massacre of Nanjing’s military and civilians.
It could be said that Su Yaoyang’s poison gas had wiped out more than half of the entire Sixth Division, and the gas even affected other Japanese troops in Nanjing City.
For a time, all Japanese troops in Nanjing City turned pale at the mention of “poison,” with nearly every unit desperately calling headquarters to request more gas masks, protective suits, and other anti-chemical weapon equipment, leaving Prince Asaka Yasuhiko overwhelmed.
On the dusty dirt road of Banqiao Town’s streets, after days of bloody fighting, the exhausted soldiers of the New Security Regiment leaned two or three at a time against the mottled earthen walls.
Winter sunlight filtered through bare branches, casting fragmented golden spots on the soldiers’ shoulders.
Some unwrapped their bloodstained leggings to expose their toes; some held porcelain bowls drinking porridge, the steam condensing into white mist in the cold wind, blurring their chapped lips.
The soldiers could enjoy this rare moment of relaxation, but as the commander of the New Security Regiment, Su Yaoyang could not—he still had to be responsible for his several thousand men.
He called over Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao, and had someone bring a large bowl of sorghum porridge mixed with wild vegetables and Spam luncheon meat. The three sat at a stone table and ate.
After devouring two large bowls of sorghum porridge in a row, Huang Guantao patted his bulging belly and laughed: “Full belly, now I can go another round with the devils.”
“Hahaha…”
With that, all three burst out laughing.
Su Yaoyang took out Lucky Strike cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to the two, lit them for each, then said: “Now we’ve fought our way out of Nanjing City. I want to hear your opinions on which way to go next.”
After he spoke, Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao both fell silent, heads down smoking without a word.
Su Yaoyang didn’t urge them, just smoked his own cigarette leisurely.
Until he finished one cigarette, Huang Guantao finally looked up at Su Yaoyang and spoke.
“Regiment seat… I want to know what you think.”
“I…”
Su Yaoyang chuckled wryly, flicked his right index finger casually, sending the cigarette butt arcing beautifully through the air to land over ten meters away, then said…
