Chapter 43 The Ninth Regiment

  Although You Fei mistakenly guessed the Japanese army's formation, he could never have imagined that this brigade was actually an old acquaintance of the 259th Brigade, the infantry ninth brigade under the tenth division of the Japanese Seventh Army Group. The brigade was still the same as before, but its performance over the past few months had made it a ace among aces, and after being promoted to the ninth brigade, it was like a sharp blade, lightly swinging its edge, moving to hurt people.

  The current commander of the 9th Brigade is Colonel Ozawa Takehira, and the original commander Nagase Jirō was dismissed by Sakamoto Shunji due to his disobedience and sent to do local security work in Manchuria. Ozawa Takehira, who has always been favored by Sakamoto Shunji, naturally became the leader of the 9th Brigade.

  Ozawa Takehiro did not pursue pleasure like Nagase Jiro, he believed that for a soldier, too much indulgence would only lead to spiritual decay. His command post was just a simple field tent with only combat equipment inside, without even a bed, and he could only sleep on the ground. Ozawa's mission this time can be said to be not very difficult, but for this suddenly expanded armed force, Ozawa still did not dare to have any complacent thoughts.

  Koizumi Takehiro intently studied the map. Although this place had been surveyed and mapped by personnel from the Special Affairs Department, some of the finer geographical features were not depicted on paper. A single careless mistake in judging the terrain could result in unnecessary losses, so Koizumi always thoroughly examined the maps multiple times. In critical areas, he would send people to scout ahead to ensure absolute safety.

  The area of Su Fourth County, about 20 kilometers in diameter, was already surrounded by the Ninth Brigade's tens of thousands of people at this time. Sazawa Takehiro had some reservations about the military department's request for him to take down this hard bone before next spring. Now that winter has arrived, the weather is extremely cold and the ground conditions are even more unusual. According to him, it was definitely necessary to wait until next spring to launch a decisive attack. For now, with the large army pressing in, it could only be a case of "beating the grass to scare the snakes". With the current military strength, Sazawa Takehiro could only block the key roads and had no way of annihilating the 259th Brigade. What was most worrying for Sazawa Takehiro was that he still knew nothing about the commander of the opposing forces up until now.

  At this moment, a tall figure flashed into the tent, with snowflakes stuck to the creaking leather boots. The black military uniform was tailored to fit perfectly, and the narrow waist accentuated by the belt added a touch of femininity. The small face paired with extremely bright big eyes looked very delicate, but those thin red lips seemed to exude a cold sternness and determination that didn't belong to someone of her age.

  "Kozue Sakura Yuki has been ordered to present the documents of the 259th Traveling Brigade Commander, You Fei." Each word was like a stone skipping out from between the cracks, devoid of any human emotion.

  Koizumi Taira gazed blankly at the woman who had been his childhood friend, he didn't know how many years it had been since they last saw each other. In their hometown, both families were connected for six generations, and he had a very peculiar feeling towards this woman since childhood. However, after he entered military school, he lost contact with her. He heard that she enlisted in the special affairs department, which was why he specifically asked her to come and deliver the 259th Brigade Commander's documents this time. If it weren't for the war, perhaps they would already be married by now. Shaking his head, Koizumi Taira clenched his teeth and stopped his wandering thoughts.

  "Oryou, are you okay?" said Ozawa Takehiro with a cough.

  Sakura Yukino, who used to be a shy and innocent girl, seemed to have completely changed, becoming cold and expressionless. There was no smile on her face, and when she looked at him, there was not a hint of joy in her eyes at being reunited with an old acquaintance. Sakurano took the file out of her briefcase and handed it over to him respectfully, "Major Wu Ping, due to the sudden appearance of the 259th Brigade, we were unable to find any information about Commander You Fei from the Chinese military department. I'm really sorry!"

  Sakura Yukino's waist was bent at a 90-degree angle, her expression and tone were extremely formal, as if she hadn't heard Sakuragi Takehiro's greeting. Sakuragi Takehiro let out a deep sigh, focusing intently on Sakura Yukino, wondering if this woman still resented him for his past decision. He took the file from her, opened it, and the description of You Fei inside made Sakuragi Takehiro almost jump in surprise. "You Fei, Cantonese, rough and fond of cursing, unpredictable personality, difficult to fathom, tactical command without any rules or methods."

  Koizumi Takehiro was so angry that he started to sneer, what kind of information is this? He didn't expect much detailed information anyway. After all, You Fei seemed to have suddenly appeared in the Chinese army out of nowhere, with no military background whatsoever. There were even rumors that just a few months ago, he was still just an ordinary soldier. Koizumi Takehiro took a deep breath and suppressed his anger, saying in a low voice: "Is this how your Special Intelligence Division does things? You can't even confirm anything, it's hard to grasp, and you're trying to deceive me with this nonsense? What's the point of writing this down? Are the people in your division just taking the Empire's salary for nothing? They're all useless, they might as well go eat shit."

  Kazuki Sakura fell silent for a while, then bowed her head even lower, "Hey, we must correct this, and investigate the information about Yūhi as soon as possible."

  "Alright, there's nothing for you to do here, go back." Kohei Ozawa turned his back, panting heavily. If it wasn't Sakaki Ozawa who came today, someone else would probably be lying dead in front of him by now.

  Sakura Ozawa straightened up, her eyes on Takeo Ozawa's back were complex, she stared at Takeo Ozawa's figure for a long time before silently turning around and leaving, her footsteps still firm and powerful as when she came, but what was in her heart was something that no one could guess.

  Yozora Wakaba had some concerns in his mind, although the Katsuragawa battle was a taboo topic, Yozora Wakaba still learned about the whole process of this fierce battle through various channels. He remembered the cruelty of Yori's flight, but he always felt that Yori was still quite naive, and he didn't know why he had this idea, maybe it was true that he was just a rookie a few months ago.

  The number 259 is all too familiar to him, the last man standing in the Shanghai-Hangzhou battle, he still remembers it today. In his heart, he is worried that this 259 brigade will be as brave as before, and at the same time, he hopes to fight against such an opponent, which is what he pursues, the stronger the opponent he kills, the more excited he becomes.

  Yu Fei, don't let me down. Let's have a good fight this time, I'll take down the 259th Brigade and won't let them escape again. I'm not Nagase Jiro. Koizumi Takehiro was screaming in his heart.