Chapter 93: Where Could It Be?
The instant Song Mei jumped down from the truck, Su Yaoyang seemed to see a graceful figure.
She raised her hand to tuck the stray strands of hair behind her ear, the waistline accentuated by the belt of her 36-style German military uniform tracing a breathtaking arc in the morning light.
Su Yaoyang’s gaze was involuntarily drawn and stuck to that curve rising and falling with her breathing, his Adam’s apple rolling unconsciously.
“Seen enough?”
She suddenly turned around, her leather boots crushing the new wild grass in the stone cracks. Those eyes glistening with moisture stabbed straight at him, the slight upward curve at the corners making even the question laced with a hook.
Su Yaoyang’s old face flushed red, then he lightly coughed and said seriously to Song Mei: “Not enough, so I plan to look for a lifetime.”
“You…”
Now it was Song Mei’s turn to be unable to take it, she strode up to him and glared fiercely at him just as she was about to speak, when she heard him say: “I’m not joking, I’m serious. If you’re willing, after this battle, I’ll ask someone to propose marriage to you.”
“I…”
Looking at Su Yaoyang’s serious expression, Song Mei knew he absolutely wasn’t joking with her, and for a moment she was at a loss for words, only feeling her pretty face burning hot, letting Su Yaoyang’s hot breath hit her pretty face, a strange atmosphere rising between the two.
Just as both felt a bit awkward, a communications soldier hurriedly ran over, saluted him, and said loudly.
“Regiment Commander, Deputy Regiment Commander Huang reports that half an hour ago, the tank company encountered the Japanese tank unit more than thirty li east of Teng County.
After a fierce battle, our army destroyed nine Japanese tanks, and the remaining Japanese are fleeing toward Teng County.”
The communications soldier’s arrival perfectly eased the awkwardness between the two.
“Control your eyes.” Song Mei’s lowered voice carried a hint of shame and anger, and after saying that, she twisted around and quickly left.
But as she turned, the plump hip line cinched by the armed belt swayed into a blurry shadow in the sunlight.
Su Yaoyang stared intently at her departing figure and whistled, then strode toward his jeep. Soon the jeep started, crossed the pontoon bridge, and sped quickly toward Teng County.
“I’ve shed blood and risked my life for the party and country, isn’t it too much to chase a girl?”
“What? My tank company has been completely wiped out, with only one tank returning?” Major General Seya Hiro grabbed the staff officer’s collar, his eyes full of shock and panic, the veins on the back of his hand bulging like twisted earthworms.
It started raining heavily outside again, the sudden downpour pounding the roof, mixed with the muffled explosions of shells in the distance.
The staff officer’s glasses were askew on his ear, the lenses splattered with mud spots, reflecting the major general’s distorted face, those bloodshot eyes nearly bursting from their sockets, the jaw muscles twitching nonstop.
At this moment, Seya Hiro felt heartache so severe he could hardly breathe—that was a whole tank company, and for resource-poor Japan, even he as brigade commander couldn’t shoulder such a huge responsibility.
“Brigade Commander, this is not the time to feel heartache.” The chief of staff nearby stepped forward to remind him: “Since the Chinese tank unit has appeared, it means their main force is definitely not far from us. We need to prepare in advance.”
“You’re right!” Seya Hiro nodded and immediately issued a series of orders: “Order the 10th Regiment to speed up immediately and ensure that all remaining Chinese troops in Teng County are eliminated clean before 12 o’clock today.
Order the 63rd Regiment to return to formation immediately and be sure to hold Teng County.
Request army aviation to dispatch reconnaissance aircraft to scout east of Teng County and figure out the scale of the attacking Chinese forces.”
“Hai!”
“Brigade Commander, the 3rd Company’s 2nd Platoon guarding the east of the city reports that an unidentified Chinese tank unit is heading toward them.”
“The Chinese army came this fast?”
Seya Hiro was startled and strode out of the courtyard serving as the command post.
Through the misty rain-fogged window, he saw the only returning Type 95 tank parked in the nearby mud.
The gun barrel drooped like a broken reed, the armor covered in charred bullet marks, the tracks still jammed with a bloody half-branch, all showing how intense the morning’s battle had been.
A premonition suddenly surged in his heart: this attacking Chinese army actually had a tank unit, clearly no ordinary foe—could the 33rd Brigade still defeat them this time?
Just as Seya Hiro ordered full alert, in the depths of the dense forest on the eastern outskirts of Teng County, the damp scent of rotting leaves mixed with the metallic smell of the radio assaulted the nostrils.
The radioman sat under a slanted birch tree, his knuckles quickly twisting the knob, the telegraph key leaving deep red imprints in his palm.
In the distance came the muffled booms of shells, startling a few crows that flapped over the treetops, broken feathers mixed with morning dew falling on the canvas tent.
Huang Guantao and three company commanders gathered around a waterproof map, pointing at it and discussing the battle plan.
“Battalion Commander!”
The telegraph operator’s voice carried anxiety: “Regiment Commander reports that General Wang Mingzhang has… already heroically perished yesterday.
Regiment Commander orders us to halt advance and wait for the main force to arrive before deciding.”
“What…” Huang Guantao’s body shook, he was shocked—they had arrived at Teng County on the morning of the 18th as required by headquarters, yet Division Commander Wang Mingzhang had still perished.
But as a veteran soldier of over ten years, he immediately realized that since Wang Mingzhang had perished, Teng County must have been occupied by the Japanese, and continuing forward was meaningless.
“Battalion Commander, what do we do?” The company commanders of the 4th Battalion also turned their gazes to Huang Guantao.
Huang Guantao thought for a while, and when he inadvertently looked at the map, an idea suddenly flashed in his mind, his eyes lighting up instantly.
He strode to the map and pointed to Teng County’s position: “Everyone look… here is Teng County, and we’re right here now.
According to prior intelligence, the force attacking Teng County is the Japanese 33rd Brigade and their attached units.
From yesterday to now, we’ve already wiped out one Japanese cavalry company and one tank company, meaning the Japanese rapid mobile forces on the outskirts of Teng County have basically been cleared by us.
Do you think there are still no Japanese outside the county town?”
“Probably not.” The 10th Company commander said puzzledly: “The Japanese aren’t fools; news of our tank unit must have reached their ears.
As long as the Japanese commander isn’t brainless, he definitely won’t leave troops outside the city as our targets.”
“Yeah.” The other two company commanders nodded in agreement.
“Not necessarily.”
Huang Guantao’s sharp gaze swept over everyone: “Have you forgotten, according to intelligence, the Japanese mobilized an artillery company and an independent heavy artillery company as cover to take Teng County.
These guns weigh several tons or even dozens of tons each; normally no problem, but now with sporadic fighting surely still in Teng County, the Japanese aren’t fools—they won’t drag these guns into the city. Where do you think they’ll put the artillery?”
