Chapter Fifty-Three Invitation

  Inside the combat room, more than a dozen colonels bowed their heads in silence. No one knew what was going on, nor did anyone know who the person flying the fighter jet was. Anyone with a bit of brains could almost guess what had happened.

  "Ah, I see!" More than a dozen taisho nodded in agreement. They knew the severity of the consequences of what had happened today.

  After the smoke of war had passed, the headquarters of the Huabei Army in Xuzhou urgently dispatched scouts from various combat units to enter Yancheng in batches and investigate the situation. Temple Master Shouyi had almost guessed the outcome, but he didn't dare believe it, nor did he want to believe that this result was true.

  "Xuan Ge, Zheng Wenzhen, the commander of the Eighth Route Army, wants to see you!" Xiao Feng walked up to Shan Yixuan with his sniper rifle.

  Shan Yixuan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and asked, "What brings Zhao Wenzhong here at this time?" "Where is he?"

  "In the living room!"

  "Go!" Shan Yixuan picked up the captured Browning pistol and walked out.

  Shan Yixuan and Xiao Feng walked into the living room, Zhao Wenzhong, dressed in an Eighth Route Army uniform, was pacing back and forth in the living room with a newspaper in his hand.

  Shan Yixuan glanced at the newspaper in Zhao Wenzhong's hand, although he couldn't see the content on the paper, but seeing the anxious expression on Zhao Wenzhong's face made him furrow his brow. "Commander Zhao has time to visit Qinglong Village today?" Shan Yixuan slowed down, smiling as he walked up to Zhao Wenzhong's side.

  Zhao Wenzhen saw Shan Yixuan come in, and the anxious expression on his face faded a lot. "Yixuan, take a look, is this something your people did?" He said, handing over the newspaper in his hand to Shan Yixuan.

  Shan Yixuan was stunned, thinking to himself that it couldn't be the newspaper he had asked Uncle Zhi to help him with. He had only printed one copy, so how could it have been distributed? With a puzzled mind, he took the newspaper from Zhao Wenzhen. The yellowed newspaper had a photo of a distant airplane that caught Shan Yixuan's attention. As he read the content, he couldn't help but take a deep breath - wasn't this the plane he was flying? After reading the newspaper, he already guessed Zhao Wenzhen's intention.

  "What does Captain Zhao want to say?" Shan Yixuan looked at Zhao Wensing.

  "Yi Xuan, tell me the truth, is this plane one of yours?" The Yangcheng Airport had over 20 planes parked overnight, and the Eighth Route Army turned a blind eye to any actions or plans by Yi Xuan. As soon as the plane landed at the airport controlled by Yi Xuan, another plane attacked the Xu State Devil Commander's headquarters. Able to do something so swift, decisive and bold, Zhao Wenxing first thought of Yi Xuan, because apart from him, he really couldn't think of anyone else who could do such a thrilling thing.

  Shan Yixuan smiled and thought that there was no need to hide this matter anymore. The enemy's plane had already fallen into his hands, and the enemy was not a fool. This time, Temple Island's unexpected air raid had made this Japanese general lose face, and he would definitely suspect the garrison of Yangcheng. He might even take action. Now, there was no need for the Japanese to provide anything else; what they had provided was enough for him to squander for a while. "That plane wasn't sent out by me, but driven out by me!"

  "What?" Zhao Wenzhen's eyes widened in shock, staring at Shan Yixuan in disbelief. "You said you're letting him go?" he asked again to make sure he hadn't misheard.

  "Hmm!" Shan Yixuan nodded and said: "Right, I started it. Originally, I just wanted to try out the Japanese stuff, but unexpectedly passed by the Japanese military headquarters, so I decided to play a game of aerial bombing with the Japanese."

  Zhao Wenzhen stared speechlessly at the young man in front of him, who always managed to get his blood boiling and bring him unexpected surprises. He thought to himself that being with this guy for too long would surely give him a heart attack... This is getting too crazy!

  "Yi Xuan, you've gone too far this time!" Originally, the attack on the Japanese military headquarters was a joyful event for everyone, but for Zhao Wenxing and the National Army, it could be a disaster.

  "Huh?" Duan Yixuan was stunned, looking at Zhao Wenzheng in confusion.

  Zhao Wenzhong sighed and said in a low voice, "When you launched the air raid, there was someone else at the Japanese military headquarters. He had an extremely high level of influence and persuasive power within the Japanese military, and in many countries, he was known as a butcher and a devil. When you launched the air raid, he happened to be caught in your attack."

  "Are you referring to Terauchi Jūichi?" Tanigaki recalled the man with a general's insignia he saw during the air raid, and if what Zhao Wénxīng said was true, then that person must be Terauchi Jūichi.

  Zhao Wenzhong was taken aback and asked in confusion, "You also know this person?" As the main force of the 115th Division, they had not had few dealings with the Japanese army on the battlefield of Hubei, Henan and Anhui. The Eighth Route Army was extremely wary of Terada's military training and tactics, and Terada and his soldiers were notorious for their cruelty, earning them the nickname "butchers" on the Chinese battlefield. The extremely cruel Terada had caused great harm to the Chinese people, and the Independent Regiment had tried to get rid of this executioner many times, but never had the opportunity.

  Terauchi Hisaichi smiled and said, "Within the temple, there is a lifespan of one. He was a Field Marshal General in the Imperial Japanese Army and a Baron (inheriting his father's title). As the eldest son of Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake, he took iron-fisted control of the army after the February 26 Incident and was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the North China Expeditionary Force after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. He repeatedly broke through the restrictions of the General Staff Office and occupied all of northern China!"

  "How did you know so clearly? Occupying the whole of North China?" Zhao Wenzhong looked at Shan Yixuan in disbelief, did this young man know too much? So far, Terauchi Hisaichi had not completely occupied all of North China, his troops had rapidly expanded south after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and were currently headquartered in Xuzhou.

  Zhang Wenxing looked at himself in confusion, and Shan Yixuan felt that he had said too much. Temple Suiyi was the commander of 2.5 million troops occupying all of North China after the Battle of Xuzhou, but these events had not yet occurred. However, judging from the timing, the Battle of Xuzhou would erupt soon. "Temple Suiyi's ambition is certainly not limited to just Xuzhou; he will definitely expand into North China!" Shan Yixuan explained tactfully.

  "Oh, that's right! Wei Xuan, our informant has news that Jiuchi Temple may have an operation targeting Yangcheng. This air raid made this devil extremely angry. Jiuchi Temple's temper is abnormally explosive, and you've managed to provoke a tiger this time!" Zhao Wensing turned to the main topic, now the Eighth Route Army Independent Regiment is stationed in Yangcheng, and Wei Xuan's troops are adjacent to each other, both sides have unified their opinions, only then can they fight this battle well!

  "Haha!" Shan Yixuan burst out laughing and said, "Tigers... give him face and he's a tiger, don't give him face and he's just a sick cat!" Shan Yixuan snorted coldly. Now it was not yet time to let Temple One know that this batch of planes would be in Yang City. Once the Xu Zhou campaign began, this airborne armed force must have absolute superiority and air supremacy.

  The two men deliberated for a long time, and Duan Yixuan did not intend to let any of the devils' reconnaissance team go. He immediately issued an order to detain anyone who wanted to enter Yangcheng, rather than letting one go, even if it meant mistakenly killing a thousand people.

  At Zhao Wenzheng's command, Shuang Yixuan couldn't help but take a cold breath. Shi Nei Yi wasn't a good seedling in the temple, and this guy was even worse!

  Since Qingteng Yimutou's surrender, the city gate of Yangcheng has not had any checkpoints. After Shan Yixuan's order was issued, a group of brothers wearing Japanese military uniforms and Snow Fox Linghuo mixed together again blocked the city gate of Yangcheng, and anyone who wanted to enter Yangcheng would be detained! The residents inside Yangcheng can let their family members come to claim them, but all outsiders will not be spared! On the other hand, Xiao Feng led the brothers of the assault team to hide in various roads, secret paths, and valleys that could enter Yangcheng.

  Terauchi Shūichi had an air group in Xuzhou and another larger one in the outer provinces, so he had to do this to avoid losses from newly built airports.

  "Yi Xuan, how's the consideration of what we discussed last time going? Headquarters is very welcoming for you to join our Eighth Route Army!" Zhao Wenxing brought up the topic of winning him over again after Yi Xuan finished giving orders.

  Shan Yixuan was taken aback, looking a bit embarrassed as he said: "This...". Now that he had the Snow Fox Independent Regiment as his trump card, even if he didn't join any party faction, his troops wouldn't be at a disadvantage. If he joined the Communist Party, they would absolutely not let him monopolize power.

  Zhao Wenxing saw Duan Yixuan's concerns and said, "That is, your situation is a bit special. I can go to the headquarters and give you a divisional establishment. Your people won't move! But we need to assign a guidance officer and deputy regiment commander to you."

  Shan Yixuan was stunned, he didn't expect the Eighth Route Army to be so ruthless and unscrupulous. "Commander Zhao, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Shan Yixuan looked at Zhao Wenzhong.

  "As long as we're fighting the devils, what's suitable or not is irrelevant!" Zhao Wenzhong said with a flourish.

  Shan Yixuan thought for a moment and said, "The Snow Fox Independent Regiment has just been established, and all the members are Japanese. Your army won't mind, will it?" Shan Yixuan said with some concern. As a Kuomintang member within the Eighth Route Army, it was already difficult to get along, let alone bringing over 1,000 former Japanese soldiers who had surrendered and joined the Eighth Route Army. If someone kept setting traps and making things difficult for him, then it would be better for him to just wander around Qinglong Village and Yangcheng Airport.

  "Although the devils have caused great harm to us Chinese, we should still give them some space to reform and turn over a new leaf. This is also why I wanted to persuade headquarters not to disband you all. I can see that these devils are loyal to you, but if there were to be a sudden change in leadership, I'm afraid they might become armed again due to their inability to adapt, after all, they have Japanese blood in their veins!"

  Shan Yixuan nodded, thinking to himself that this guy was quite considerate. "In that case, I'll trouble Captain Zhao and your headquarters to explain things. If we must be reassigned, then I think it's not necessary!" If Snow Fox and Ling Fox were both assigned to different platoons, things would become complicated.