Bright Sword: Iron Will 50

Chapter 50: The Imminent Collapse

After organizing the captured supplies, the troops quickly departed for Daying Town. This was the headquarters of the Sixth Group Army, where the supplies allocated by Yan Laosi were stored. The march was considerably slower than the journey there. The reason was simple: the sheer volume of supplies to transport was immense. Mules, carts, and trucks were all overloaded. Besides their own equipment, soldiers carried several extra rifles. Some carried as many as four rifles, their breathing labored with each step. Despite the exhaustion, their faces radiated joy. In this chaotic time, rifles meant life. These captured Type 38 rifles were mostly seven or eight tenths new, much more user-friendly than the locally made Type 65s. Better equipment meant a greater chance of survival on the battlefield.

Wang Feng rode a white horse, followed by a group of staff officers. Zhao Fangyuan frequently glanced at Sergey beside him. Although China had suffered repeated foreign aggression in modern times, foreigners were still a rare sight among ordinary people. Sergey, however, appeared relaxed, admiring the scenery from his horse.

“Commander! What a magnificent steed you ride!” Sergey exclaimed. “I hear many Chinese generals throughout history favored white horses.” He mentioned the likes of Gongsun Zan (a warlord in the late Eastern Han Dynasty known for his white horse cavalry). He continued, “Speaking of the Chinese army, they’re perfectly suited to a human wave assault strategy. Their weaponry isn’t top-notch, just adequate, but they have a huge number of troops, and their fighting spirit is still commendable.”

Zhao Fangyuan pulled on the reins, inwardly surprised. “Mr. Xie seems quite knowledgeable in this area,” he mused. “Might I inquire further?”

Wang Feng, seemingly focused on riding, maintained awareness of the overall situation. Hearing Zhao Fangyuan, he interrupted, “He doesn’t have the surname Xie. Just call him Sergey.”

Daying Town. With the Second War Zone Command planning to withdraw, the Sixth Group Army had no reason to hold its ground. If Ruyuekou fell, the entire Shanxi Defense Army on the Pingxing Pass side would be encircled by the Japanese army. Arriving at the town, instead of the expected celebratory welcome from the townspeople, the victorious troops found an empty city. Desolation and ruin pervaded the town, a desolate atmosphere hanging heavy in the streets. The Group Army headquarters had been the first to retreat. Other units, seeing their commanders leave, followed suit, abandoning their posts and retreating south. The civilians, realizing something was wrong, also fled south. Gradually, Daying Town transformed from a strategic command center into a temporary resting place.

At the city gate, “Halt! What unit are you?” A barricade blocked their path, and several soldiers from the guard tower rushed out to stop Wang Feng. From their insignia, the leading soldier was a lieutenant. “What unit are you from?”

Zhao Fangyuan answered first, “33rd Army, Provisional First Brigade.”

After hearing the unit designation, the soldiers exchanged glances: “Provisional First?” The lieutenant quickly said, “My apologies for the poor reception! Please forgive me!” “Quickly, move the barricade!” The soldiers hurriedly removed the obstacle.

Wang Feng, sitting on his white horse, was slightly surprised. When did I become so famous?

After passing the city gate checkpoint, the troops proceeded without further hindrance.

In the eastern drill ground, the weapons and supplies allocated by Yan Laosi were piled up. Wang Feng found an empty room to rest. Military affairs were numerous; his mind constantly monitored the three-dimensional battlefield map, vigilant against surprise Japanese attacks. He barely managed three hours of sleep a day. Days of this had left him exhausted. He instructed Zhao Fangyuan to receive the weapons and supplies, and the newly arrived reserve forces. The units originally stationed in Daying Town had mostly departed. Many empty rooms were available in the drill ground. Finding a relatively clean room, Wang Feng threw himself onto the bed without hesitation. He fell into thought.

“Currently, we have over two thousand, plus the new recruits,” he mused. “Even with them, we’re barely five thousand. Not enough…”

After the Pingxing Pass battle, Wang Feng had developed a deep understanding of his own insignificance. A few thousand soldiers seemed impressive, but in the context of a war involving hundreds of thousands of troops, these few thousand were insignificant; incapable of changing the overall situation. They only inflicted pain on the Japanese army without preventing their advance.

“As the saying goes, all fear stems from insufficient firepower,” he thought, resting his head on his arm and staring at the dusty ceiling. The Battle of Xinkou was about to begin. If they lost this battle, the Japanese army would advance on Taiyuan. Time was running out! The urgent task was to reorganize the army. But where were they going to get new recruits? The Japanese army’s reputation was growing ever more terrifying; the towns along the way were just like Daying Town – all deserted, everyone having fled south.

As he pondered, a commotion arose outside.

“Commander!”

“Commander, someone’s trying to steal our weapons and equipment!”

“Commander!”

Hearing the guard’s shouts, Wang Feng sprang up and went outside.

“What’s happening?”

The guard was anxious. “Commander, a group of routed soldiers are trying to steal our equipment!”

Wang Feng’s eyes widened. What? They dared to rob *my* equipment! One moment he was thinking about expanding his army, and the next, someone tried to rob him. Who could tolerate this!

Led by the guard, Wang Feng quickly reached the scene. In the throng of people, Zhang Hu was furious, a large knife in his hand, threatening to kill the opposing soldiers. Zhao Fangyuan desperately held Zhang Hu’s arm.

“Huzi, don’t be impulsive, Huzi!” he pleaded. “The commander will be here soon; don’t be rash!”

Zhang Hu roared, tightening his grip on the knife handle, “Lao Zhao, don’t stop me, Lao Zhao! I’ll kill them!”

The soldiers facing Zhao Fangyuan and the others, dressed in Central Army uniforms, were intimidated by Zhang Hu’s ferocity, and took a step back, but refused to leave.

“You’re retreating, why can’t you leave us your weapons?!” “What kind of commander you have, that’s the kind of soldiers you get!” one shouted. “Since we came to Shanxi, we haven’t had a single good day, and now you’re even stingy with bullets!”

Wang Feng strode forward, clearing his throat, “Ahem!” At the sound, the crowd parted, making way for him. Zhao Fangyuan stood straight, Zhang Hu dropped his knife. Both called out, “Commander!”

Upon seeing the general’s stars on Wang Feng’s insignia, the Central Army soldiers fell silent.

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter