Chapter 25: Mountain City in Shock! The Principal Is Left Reeling!

The Brigade Commander turned to the Deputy Director of the Political Department.

"Mr. Lin said he would like to ask our Deputy Director to write a slip for him as well."

The Deputy Director was stunned. He had a task, too?

"Oh? What kind of slip?"

A strange, whimsical smile appeared on the Brigade Commander's face as he spoke slowly:

"He wants you to certify that the residence at No. XX, XX Alley, in the capital, is his family's ancestral home!"

The command post fell into an eerie silence. The high-ranking officials, who had just been immersed in the shock and euphoria of annihilating ten thousand enemies with a force that seemed to have descended from the heavens, were frozen in place.

Certify... a residence in the capital? As an ancestral property?

Wasn't the contrast between this request and the mountain of weapons and hundreds of tons of food a bit too jarring? Moreover, why ask them to certify it? And why specifically name the Deputy Director of the Political Department? For a moment, the leaders were at a loss.

Finally, the Deputy Chief of Staff made the call: "Write it!"

"Since he brought us so many supplies, he surely isn't trying to embezzle someone else's house."

"Besides the Imperial Palace, what house in the capital is worth a 105mm howitzer?"

Everyone nodded. That made sense. If the other party were truly greedy for such a thing, they wouldn't need to go through such convoluted trouble and squander such immense wealth!

The Deputy Director smiled. "Very well, I shall write it now."

...

Shancheng. Huangshan Villa.

Director Dai hurried along, clutching a briefcase tightly in his hand.

A major event had occurred! A monumental event!

Just half an hour ago, his most mysterious and deeply embedded trump card—a top-tier mole codenamed "Shadow"—had sent a piece of top-secret intelligence capable of shattering everyone's worldview!

Director Dai took one look, and a chill surged from the soles of his feet to his crown, freezing him to his very marrow. He immediately called the "Old Man" to report an urgent military matter, and only then was he summoned.

The journey was unimpeded, and Director Dai eventually arrived outside the Old Man's office. A moment later, a bespectacled official emerged and nodded slightly. "Go in. The Principal is waiting."

"Yes!" Director Dai snapped to attention. Regardless of his authority over his special agency, he dared not act with the slightest bit of insolence before this high-ranking official of the Military and Political Department.

Director Dai walked cautiously into the office. "Reporting to the Principal! I have an urgent military matter to report."

The Principal sat upright behind a massive desk and waved his hand. "No need for haste. Speak slowly."

"Yes!" Director Dai swallowed, opened his briefcase, and withdrew a document.

"Reporting to the Principal, Shadow has sent word that yesterday, in the Guaijigou area of Jin Province, the Eighth Route Army annihilated the Japanese 29th Mixed Brigade and the 20th, 21st, and 22nd Regiments of the puppet army. The total number of enemy and puppet troops destroyed is... over eleven thousand!"

"What?"

Before the Principal could speak, Minister He was already unable to stay seated.

"Over ten thousand enemies annihilated? Is the information accurate?"

Director Dai nodded forcefully, his tone resolute. "Absolutely reliable! The source... is foolproof!"

He paused, a hint of bitterness on his face, and added, "And... the Eighth Route Army seems to have no intention of hiding it."

"Their propaganda machine is already in motion. At this very moment... I fear the news of the victory has already spread throughout their controlled territories and is radiating across the country!"

Upon hearing this, Minister He's expression became incomparably grave.

"Principal! This battle... is no small matter!"

"The Eighth Route Army was actually able to... silently... swallow a tough nut like the Sato Brigade! Annihilating over ten thousand enemies!"

"The speed at which their combat power has expanded is... simply chilling!"

The Principal sat motionless, his face as calm as a deep well. While the figure of ten thousand was terrifying, the National Revolutionary Army had killed plenty; it wasn't unheard of.

"Casualties?" the Principal asked, raising his eyes.

That was what he cared about most. After all, the Eighth Route Army struggled with supplies and lacked equipment. To kill over ten thousand enemies, they must have paid a heavy price, right? If their losses were catastrophic... a cold glint flashed in the Principal's eyes. Then he would not be so polite.

Director Dai’s mouth opened, but it was as if an invisible hand were gripping his throat. The hand holding the telegram began to tremble uncontrollably. That number... he truly dared not speak it aloud!

A deathly silence fell over the study. The Principal’s brow furrowed, and he looked up at Director Dai. What is wrong with you today?

"Ahem," Minister He, seeing the situation, quickly nudged Director Dai. "The Principal is asking you a question. What were the Eighth Route Army's casualties in this battle?"

Director Dai looked down at the document in his hands. It was a long while before he said with difficulty:

"Total killed in action... eighteen!"

"Bang!"

The Principal slammed a palm onto the hard mahogany desk!

"Yunong, have you lost your mind today? Or are you tired of living?"

What kind of nonsense is this! Ten thousand enemies annihilated, with only eighteen lost in exchange? The Principal's first reaction was disbelief. Eighteen thousand casualties would have been more like it!

Minister He also glared at Director Dai, then snatched the folder from his hand and began to read it himself. But as he read, Minister He’s hands began to shake as well. The more he read, the paler his face became.

The Principal watched, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. With both of his top lieutenants acting so out of character, had the Eighth Route Army truly done something earth-shattering?

"Jingzhi, tell me, what on earth is going on?"

Minister He looked up at the Principal, then back down at the document, truly unsure of how to begin. What was recorded in this file was simply too staggering. But, meeting the Principal’s gaze, Minister He spoke with difficulty: "Principal, one regiment of the Eighth Route Army, combined with local militias—a total of just over 2,000 men—annihilated the Sato Brigade and three puppet regiments at Guaijigou. A total of... over eleven thousand men!"

"And their own casualties were only... eighteen!"

"Clatter—!"

The priceless Jingdezhen imperial kiln blue-and-white teacup beside the Principal was knocked over with a violent jolt!

"What did you say? Two thousand against ten thousand, not only annihilating the entire force but losing only 18 men?"

If the entire Eighth Route Army had launched an all-out assault, even if they had mobilized a division and lost a few thousand men, the Principal could barely have accepted such a result. But now, you are telling me this was the work of a single regiment? What kind of international joke is this?

As for the local militias, the Principal hadn't even considered them. Those people couldn't even manage one Mauser pistol per person; they were negligible.

The Principal pressed both hands onto the desk. "How exactly did this happen? Explain it clearly!"

He did not believe the Eighth Route Army could achieve this unless there was some earth-shattering secret here.

Minister He took a deep breath and said slowly: "Principal, it is like this. According to... Yunong's information, the Eighth Route Army utilized twenty 105mm howitzers and two thousand submachine guns to achieve this astonishing result!"

"Twenty howitzers? Two thousand submachine guns?"

The Principal's pupils contracted sharply! He turned abruptly toward Director Dai. His gaze was no longer one of scrutiny, but as if looking at a dead man!

"Where did they get these things? How is your intelligence work being handled? What are you people good for?"

"Such a massive quantity of military hardware entering the country, being transported, and used! And you had absolutely no warning beforehand?"

"Useless! All of you are useless!"

Dai Li lowered his head further, cold sweat soaking his back. He hadn't dared to report this news earlier, partly because he was too shocked, and partly because he knew his department had committed a massive, fatal error. The appearance of such terrifying weapons in the Eighth Route Army, and he hadn't received a single scrap of intelligence. This was indeed a grave failure.

Minister He looked at Director Dai and, after a moment's thought, decided to lend him a hand.

"Principal, contain your anger! Actually, this matter... cannot entirely be blamed on Yunong."

"According to intelligence, it was a merchant named Lin who gifted these weapons to the Eighth Route Army's New First Regiment. The event happened just in the last two days, so a delay in information is understandable."

Hearing Minister He’s words, the Principal’s expression softened slightly, though he remained profoundly shocked. He wasn't thinking about the ten thousand dead Japanese, nor the eighteen Eighth Route Army soldiers who died, but rather—

The Principal sighed heavily. "With such a heaven-defying victory, once the news spreads, the Eighth Route Army’s influence will surely surge. Sigh!"

Why couldn't it have been his own men who achieved such a feat?

Thinking of this, the Principal asked: "Have you figured out the background of that merchant named Lin? Also, how much total material did he send to the Eighth Route Army?"

This time, Director Dai finally spoke up: "Reporting to the Principal, the merchant's background has not yet been determined."

"However, according to incomplete statistics, he has sent the Eighth Route Army over 3,000 light and heavy machine guns, several hundred mortars, and 300 tons of food."

"Bang!"

The Principal slammed the table again.

"Dai Yunong! Leaving aside how the other party transported these supplies, can the Eighth Route Army... can they even afford to buy this?"

This was nearly on par with the firepower configuration of his Central Army! The Principal knew exactly how much that was worth!

Director Dai looked up at the Principal and said slowly:

"Principal, the other party... gave it away for free..."