Chapter Thirty: Blood Blade Unsheathed

  Tan Xiao returned to the training base with a very satisfactory harvest. In his talks with the leaders of two anti-German organizations in England and France, he got results that exceeded his imagination: England and France agreed to build a new port wharf in Qinzhou Bay according to his idea, which can be said to be two, military and commercial, but only counted as one large project. In addition, Tan Xiao's future security team concept was also unanimously passed, which is a very large security team, including owning light cruisers and destroyers, as well as coastal defense troops assigned to the land warfare brigade; owning fortresses and aviation brigades assigned to the coastal defense troops, owning tanks and armored equipment and assigned to the field combat brigade transportation guard troops and other three main forces. The source of this security team's equipment is in that loan, a very large sum, enough to buy a light cruiser and four destroyers, as well as some fortress guns. Of course, there is still a certain gap in funding to arm the entire army. However, Tan Xiao thought it was already very good: buying cruisers and destroyers from the British? No way! At most, just buy some high-speed torpedo boats. Buying warships is just an excuse to get a large loan, and fighting the devils at sea? Tan Xiao, the military god, doesn't have that much ability yet!

  He wanted the air force! Now he still didn't know that Hitler had expanded the Sino-German military cooperation to the air force, so he was very satisfied with the agreement to build an air force and build an aircraft factory with the British. In fact, the wooden-made DH98 was one of the types he thought most suitable for the national army's equipment, cheap, simple maintenance, as long as the main spare parts such as engines were prepared in advance, they could still be produced during wartime even if they were blocked from external aid. He was not aware that the "M" who seemed to be familiar with the British aircraft manufacturer de Havilland Aircraft Company was very annoyed at the current British military's concentration of all military purchases on metal aircraft, and the company's business had always been sluggish, and the founder Mr. de Havilland even felt that the British army ignored his merits in World War I! When Tan Xiao proposed to contact this company and consider building an aircraft factory together, "M" gave a "no problem" response as if he were the boss of this company. In fact, de Havilland was a member of the British anti-German organization "Moore", although not a very core member, but a middle-ranking force. He and "M" were friends, very familiar friends.

  Tan Xiao rushed to the base and was about to hand over his duties and leave when Rong Hui and He Shao arrived in front of him, beaming with excitement.

  "So urgent... where do you want to go?" Rong Hui's smile was forever radiant and sweet, but today it had a bit more excitement: "Aren't we going to celebrate with champagne?" She handed Tan Xiao a document.

  What!?! Tan Xiao was surprised by the contents of the file, apart from the equipment he had been dreaming of being approved and a wider range of cooperation, he was confused by the last line of the document: Hitler and his iron ally Hermann G?ring would personally visit China in a friendly manner after signing the contract! In the original history, it seemed that these two had never come before!

  Tan Xiao is no longer a small butterfly, at least he was later revered as the creator of multiple troops in this space-time, a legendary military god with no predecessors or successors!

  "Now it's just a matter of drafting the text of some documents, and the content has all been drafted. In about three days, we can sign!" He Shao-tang reported: "By the way, the German side hopes to sign a substantive treaty with the Imperial Throne first, and then have the heads of state of both sides publicly sign a ceremonial national letter in a month."

  Three days later, just in time for Tan Xiao to return from his first battle with his special forces.

  Chiang Kai-shek, who had just flown to Guiyang to command the siege of the Red Army, received Tan Xiao's report at the first time. Although there was no data, only some cooperative directional descriptions, he was also frightened: Hitler is coming!?

  Deep down, Chiang Kai-shek had boundless admiration for Hitler, even a bit of worship, so he wanted to achieve everything Hitler did. To have Hitler come to China for a ceremonial visit would be the greatest honor for him as the Chinese leader! It was Tan Xia's achievement! Chiang Kai-shek wished that Tan Xia were right in front of him now, recounting every detail of his talks with the German delegation, just like a chess player replaying his moves with satisfaction after winning a game.

  "Good fortune is born from my Jiang's blessings! Every matter in his hands is handled so beautifully!" Chiang Kai-shek was already laughing with his mouth wide open! He said to the attendants beside him: "After this time thoroughly eliminating the Red Bandits, I will personally go to Lingling to reward him!"

  The attendants around him were also in a joyful mood, they all had a good impression of Tan Xiao, although they were a little jealous, but they asked themselves who else could have handled the German delegation so smoothly. What reward should be given to him for such a great achievement? Chiang Kai-shek began to discuss with the attendants. The merit achieved by Tan Xiao can even be said to be the greatest since the Qing dynasty's decline and weakness, something that no Chinese had ever accomplished before!

  Everyone joined in the lively discussion of how to reward Tan Xiao, and the changing situation on the battlefield seemed to have been completely set aside.

  General! Let's discuss other things slowly, the second lieutenant general is about to be promoted, this is also for his need to represent China in signing. Should be 26 years old but after crossing over and still under 23 years old, Tan Xiao became the youngest general in the history of the Republic of China!

  Tan Xiao himself didn't know about the promotion, and now he took off his lieutenant general's uniform and put on a field camouflage suit. This product from the Lingling Ordnance Factory's garment workshop is a rare item, made with imported fabric that Tan Xiao had selected for its texture closest to the camouflage uniform he wore in his original time-space. The production quantity was very small. Ordinary soldiers' camouflage uniforms were usually just made of burlap, and only elite training camps would be equipped with this kind of clothing. Wearing it, Tan Xiao felt like he was crossing through time-space again.

  Another one who was particularly excited about wearing this attire was Goodrian, he finally had the chance to fight side by side with his "god"!

  Tonight they will take a boat down the Xiao River to the southernmost part of the Youyi Division's defense zone, Jiangyong County. There is a silver-manganese mixed ore mine here, which is a den for Japanese spies.

  Japan began to purchase manganese ore in large quantities from Hunan in 1916 for use by the Yahata Iron Works, and one of the main tasks of Shigeru Yamashita's Mitsui Trading Company's Hunan branch was the procurement of manganese. By chance, they discovered a remote silver-manganese symbiotic mine in the Han-Yong mixed residence area of Jiangyong. For thousands of years, it had been mined by the Yao people, but the Yao people only took away the silver, leaving more and more manganese behind. So the Japanese came up with a clever trick: they helped the Yao people extract the silver using better methods, while taking away the higher-quality manganese for themselves. As a result of this move, the Japanese became very popular among the Yao people, who then used the opportunity to stir up ethnic conflicts and occupy more land, while also protecting the Japanese. The rich manganese resources in the area were thus manipulated by the Japanese behind the scenes.

  Due to the extremely secretive geographical location of this nameless mine, it was not an industry under the name of Japanese merchants and had a large number of people covering up. As long as they left the edge of the water, there would be convenient water transportation, so the Japanese gradually built this place into a hidden base for armed forces. These armed forces directly supported the Japanese espionage violent activities in areas including Xiangnan, Guidongbei, and Yuebei. They usually disguised themselves as Chinese people hiding in a base in the mining area. When they needed to take action, they would disguise themselves as bandits and strike at their targets. This base was discovered by chance when Tan Xiao's military intelligence agency was tracking Yamashita Kiyohide. Since there were also many Japanese soldiers in the First Division, they easily figured out the background and situation of this base, which was unknown to the Fuxing Society Special Affairs Bureau. Today, their goal is to annihilate more than 200 Japanese espionage armed forces at this base.

  The spring river water rose, and eight mining ships protected by government troops' transport vessels set off. This is a common occurrence due to Hunan's rich deposits of non-ferrous metals, and such mining ships are often seen on the Xiang River. Generally, only ships carrying state-controlled minerals like tungsten ore or precious metals like gold and silver are protected by government troop ships. Today, these mining ships were loaded with an action team consisting of 283 elite trainees from the Wild Geese First Regiment's training camp and 16 Yao ethnic minority warriors from the Mountain Dog Company, as well as the commander of the Wild Geese First Regiment, Tan Xiao, and his German fan, Goodrian.

  After dark, the ships began to accelerate, advancing at a speed much faster than that of ordinary ore transport ships. According to plan, they would arrive at their destination before dawn and set up an ambush in the mountains, starting the attack at dinner time the next day.

  Tan Xiao's mood was very excited, in the past, he was a training model soldier, but never had the opportunity to fight in real combat. Today, his killing journey as a human being is about to begin, and what's more, it's against the Japanese! He took advantage of the dim moonlight to look at the soldiers who were mostly asleep in the cabin with controlled lighting, each one peaceful like the quiet water outside the cabin. Now only he and Goodrian were still sitting. On the eve of a big battle, the most anxious person in a unit was surprisingly the commander! Tan Xiao thought about this and smiled wryly, then lay down...

  In the mid-spring, the mountain road was not easy to walk on, and it was even more difficult to leave no trace. Although they were well-trained elites, Tan Xiao and his team still suffered a lot during their march. According to plan, they would split into two routes: he and Battalion Commander Zhang Xiang's route would climb mountains and cross ridges, taking the mountain road that only local Yi people occasionally took to collect medicine, and launch the main attack; while the other route, consisting of only one platoon led by Platoon Leader Li Huan, would search forward along the mining area's entrance and exit roads after dark, mainly aiming to catch any stray fish.

  At nearly forty, Guderian's physical strength was no match for that of younger men. He was the most exhausted of all and even thought of giving up halfway through the march, waiting for the main force to complete their task and come back to pick him up. However, he persevered in the end. Today, his willpower had been tested like never before. Due to the ups and downs of the mountain road and changes in air pressure, by the time he arrived at the assembly point, he was no longer a combat-effective soldier. Guderian looked with admiration at the Chinese soldiers who had gone through the same arduous journey but did not show too much discomfort, thinking to himself: With such soldiers, how can the Japanese beat China!

  Tan Xiao did not give any orders, today he is the highest official but not the commander, Camp Chief Zhang Xiang is.

  No matter which special forces or other troops, the Wilderness First Regiment has a characteristic: silence. In the last exercise, Goodrian had already discovered this point. During the charge, the entire attacking force, except for occasional reminders and orders, did not make a single shout or any sound unrelated to killing! Today, it was even more so. Such a complex operation, with over 200 people deployed, he didn't hear Zhang Xiang say a word! They all used hand gestures, each person clearly understanding their task and target. They simply confirmed with hand gestures and then disappeared in batches into the subtropical rainforest. This silent force gave people an extremely shocking feeling, as if death was imminent! Goodrian suddenly felt a sense of dizziness, not from fatigue, but from facing death, even though it wasn't directed at him. However, that chilling killing intent still made him uneasy, making this old soldier from the First War uneasy! What kind of terrifying troops were these?!

  ōkura Hachirō was a fugitive ronin who had killed people in the Northeast and Shanghai, China! Moreover, his swordsmanship was excellent, and among a group of ronins, he stood out. But today he was very disappointed, the guy sent by the higher-ups to select people, that wooden-headed fool, actually eliminated him! He thought his appearance wasn't suitable for carrying out tasks! Dammit, do you have to look good to kill people?! In a bad mood, he didn't eat dinner, and got drunk with several ronins he was on good terms with, cursing the wooden block sent by the higher-ups while humming an old song from his hometown of Hokkaido, and getting up to go to the toilet.

  His hand had not yet reached the door when it opened by itself!

  His drunken eyes hadn't even seen what was happening outside the door when a soft "pffft" sound was heard, and a small blood flower burst forth from his brow. Then, a person wearing a camouflage uniform with a colorful pattern like a toad's skin flashed past his corpse and rushed into the house. A series of rhythmic soft sounds - "pffft, pffft, pffft, pffft" - were heard as six people who had been drinking with Daizen Hachiro were shot dead in two seconds, all with headshots! After confirming there was no one else inside, the special forces soldier from No. 1 Squad turned around without looking back and gave a thumbs up towards the outside of the door. He took one last glance at the gunshot wounds on all the corpses before turning around like a ghost and flashing out of the door...

  On the other side of the mine, near the exit, there was a watchtower. Kondo Mitsuyoshi, who was on duty at the top of the tower, had barely heard the creaking of the wooden stairs. He was particularly hungry today, but his relief was late in coming, so he was somewhat angry: "What's going on? So late!"

  "There's sake to drink, top-notch... clear liquor..." The guy who took over replied in a muffled tone, it didn't sound like Sasaki's voice!? But he was speaking Japanese, maybe Sasaki had too much to drink? As soon as this thought popped into Kondo Akira's head, the hand he stretched out to support his partner was suddenly grabbed and pulled strongly, "Gah..." The knife that thrust into his throat stifled his cry. The knife didn't reflect light, it was black... This was Kondo Akira's last impression of the world.

  As the thumbs of the whistle attackers rose, several camouflage figures suddenly emerged from the dark and lightly pounced on their respective targets...

  In the dining hall of the big canteen, over a hundred people were packed in. These armed personnel, consisting of special agents, active and retired Japanese soldiers, as well as ronin, were relatively disciplined, all lining up to wait for food distribution. At this moment, more than a dozen strangers wearing loose kimonos entered one after another, drawing the attention of some people, who looked at them coldly.

  "Probably a new recruit from headquarters? Looks like they messed up in an operation before..." Some people were discussing.

  These newcomers didn't greet anyone, nor did they chat with the armed men in line. They quickly occupied some key positions in the hall. Then, when some of the armed men felt something was off, they pulled out guns from under their loose clothing - Bergmann MP-18s that had been modified by hand to shorten the heat sink sleeve and expose the barrel, and equipped with silencers! A scene like those exaggerated Hong Kong movies unfolded: over a dozen submachine guns fired simultaneously in an instant, pouring a torrent of bullets into the crowd! Of course, it was different from those movies - almost no tableware was hit by the bullets. The bullets were aimed at human bodies! As the shooting started inside, a group of special forces soldiers wearing camouflage uniforms rushed in from outside and joined the massacre... Some Japanese people tried to rush into the kitchen to hide, but were shot through by a burst of gunfire as soon as they reached the door, and then more killers emerged from the kitchen, joining the deadly symphony...

  The most bloody scene was not in the dining hall, but in the bathhouse. The large pool of water there was already filled with dozens of naked corpses, and between the densely packed bodies, a faint mist of red hot water rose, carrying a pungent smell of blood mixed with the stench of death... Then, the soldiers from the assault team opened the drain valve, draining the water away. Some even jumped into the pool to shoot at the corpses one by one, making sure no one was hiding underwater pretending to be dead after the attack...

  The entire base was filled with slaughter, and the special forces soldiers were mostly old veterans who had killed people on the battlefield. After undergoing brutal training, killing had become a necessary pleasure for them!

  In a room, dozens of men and women were lying naked in all directions, the air was filled with the smell of blood. Most of the women in this room were prostitutes or Chinese people kidnapped by the Japanese, but they did not escape the gunfire of the attackers! For one reason: The special forces team members received an order to kill them all! They didn't receive any orders to save anyone, so they didn't let go of any living being, not because they thought those women lost the country's face, nor because they lacked the most basic sympathy, but just because of the order! They were soldiers, the best soldiers in this space-time!

  Goodrian was allowed to join the last batch of assault troops entering the base after resting for two hours. As a result, he was disappointed that he didn't get to fire a shot and at least kill one or two armed personnel when he entered the base, as the battle had already ended! They searched the house room by room, looking for any remaining signs of life, but it seemed there were none left. When he entered the room filled with naked male and female corpses, this World War I veteran couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea in his stomach, almost vomiting. However, he was surprised to find that the Chinese soldiers who had entered with him seemed completely unfazed by the disgusting smell in the room, and they actually went to check each corpse individually!

  Shortly after the raid on the base began, a old but heavily modified car filled with ore slowly approached the exit of the main road. Two guards sitting on top of the cargo heap occasionally lowered their heads to avoid branches blown down by the mountain wind from both sides of the mountain path. When they lowered their heads to avoid a clump of bamboo bent by the wind, something unexpected happened: there were two people in that clump of bamboo! The two special forces soldiers cleverly utilized the elasticity and camouflage of the bamboo, lightly jumping onto the car roof using the bamboo's rebound. They instantly completed the throat-slitting of the guards with their hands, then used the bamboo to absorb most of the impact, landing silently on the car roof. By the time the bamboo sprang back, they had already reached the sides of the driver's cabin... The legendary skill of "Mo San", the notorious bandit from northern Guangxi, was now blossoming everywhere in the elite training camp!

  This truck of ore, a total of six lives on the truck, is the only harvest of Li Huan's squad in this operation. As they followed the main road and retreated upstream to meet with the base and the main force, they did not encounter any escaped sentries or fleeing personnel from the base again.

  Tan Xiao had already entered the base. He lit a cigarette, took two heavy puffs, but found that it still couldn't dissipate the strong bloody smell in the air. He threw away the cigarette and walked towards the empty space in the center of the base. It was no longer empty now, as soldiers were stripping the Japanese corpses and transporting them here on wheelbarrows, piling them up.

  At this time, soldiers from various execution teams came to report the results of the battle. The squad in charge of the mine area outside the base reported that the miners had all calmed down under the comfort of the Yao warriors, and the 12 Japanese people in charge there were all killed, their bodies being transported...

  "Bring all those Yao miners over and let them take a look!" This was Tan Xiao's first order since the action began.

  Apart from the still vigilant sentries and snipers, all members of the action team gathered in front of the mountain of corpses. On the other side of the mountain were over a hundred Yao miners trembling all over. The empty space was silent except for the sound of the wind. Facing this group who had completed their mission with outstanding performance on their first operation and could officially become special forces warriors today, Tan Xiao slowly raised his fist, then suddenly popped out his thumb and held it high! There were no words of praise or encouragement, only a thumbs up! - - - - In their sign language, the gesture meant "mission accomplished"!

  The warriors suddenly burst out in a cheer: "Oooooh!" The sound wasn't long, but it made the excited and proud hearts of these killers after the massacre feel satisfied and relieved!

  Tan Xiao suddenly swung down his raised arm, and several torches were immediately thrown at the mountain of corpses. The mountain of corpses, which had been doused with gasoline, instantly burst into brilliant flames, and the firelight illuminated the terrifying and disgusting scene, deeply etching it into the hearts of the Yao ethnic minority miners who had been brought to watch. Tan Xiao turned around and walked away, with Zhang Xiang and Gu De-lian closely following behind him. The special forces team returned triumphantly!

  Immediately, the mine will be taken over by a garrison regiment in Jiang Yong, and the originally ownerless mine will become Tan Xiao's private property. He will continue to cooperate with the Japanese using their original set of rules, only now, the manganese ore here will never be sold to the Japanese again, and the locals here will no longer dare to come into contact with the Japanese!

  Tomorrow, after the sun rises, everything will be back to normal!

  I was writing code last night and saw that book friends were rewarding and urging me to update... I'm so grateful! Thanks for the support and encouragement from book friends, now I will write an extra hour every night, no matter what, this week I will rush out an extra chapter, find a day to update twice, once again thank you book friends for your support!!!