Chapter 66 Lunch

  "The team leader nodded and said, 'Your task is to thoroughly understand the information about this company, get a feel for it. Also, find out more about Gao Yang, the boss of SC Trading Company. Remember, this mission is a reconnaissance mission, not to treat SC Trading Company as a suspect! This point must be remembered!' Ding Rui nodded seriously and said, 'Leader, don't worry, I guarantee to complete the task.'"

  In 1925 time and space, Gao Yang on the Hai Rong number was completely unaware of what happened in modern times. He is now arranging his next action plan under the assistance of Wekes.

  As soon as the artillery fire started in the morning, Yang Dong sent a telegram to Gao Feng in Magic City, letting the newspapers and radio stations that were already under SC's control start a full-scale propaganda campaign. They desperately smeared Lu Xiao Jia's face with soot while powdering Gao Yang's face, portraying this war between warlords as a righteous crusade by Gao Yang against traitors. For now, everything seems to be going smoothly, and Lu Xiao Jia has no ability to counterattack in the public opinion.

  After occupying Xiagang Town, Yang Dong suggested using the 10th Division's radio station to broadcast an open telegram of surrender, which also severely damaged the morale of the still resisting Zhejiang Army units!

  After losing Xia Gang Town, the remnants of the 10th Division were compressed into a small area on the banks of the Yangtze River, surrounded by enemies on all sides. The warships on the river surface approached and launched intense fire with the HMGs and Maxim guns.

  The 10th Division, which had lost its organization and command, and whose morale had already fallen to the point of collapse, finally collapsed when it discovered dozens of planes flying towards them dropping bombs. Even the most elite troops could not withstand this.

  But in just a few hours, the once-famous Tenth Army was annihilated on the banks of the Yangtze River. Thousands of captured officers and soldiers were concentrated and escorted to the sides of the highway from Changzhou to Jiangyin for custody. The captives looked at the distant Jiangyin fortress, where smoke billowed in the sky and fierce fires raged. On the ground, heavy artillery pounded, in the air planes bombed, and on the river surface warships provided supporting fire, the Jiangyin fortress was also unable to withstand it.

  Before lunch, the Jiangyin fortress also surrendered. At this time, the Jiangyin fortress had been basically flattened by bombing, with rubble and debris everywhere, a scene of utter devastation. After the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division rushed into the Jiangyin fortress, they sent the wounded soldiers of the Sixth Mixed Brigade to the field hospital for treatment, while the captives were escorted to the location where the prisoners of the Tenth Division were being held together under guard.

  More than 10,000 prisoners of war sat numbly on the ground, watching the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division eating steaming hot lunch, smelling the fragrance of rice wafting over, feeling their stomachs growling with hunger.

  A new recruit prisoner touched the old soldier beside him and asked in a low voice, "Sergeant, why are they eating now? Won't we be hungry at night?" The sergeant looked at him with annoyance and said, "You fool, do you think being under General Gao is the same as us? They eat three meals a day! And they'll have another meal at night too."

  "What? Three meals a day!" The new recruit was shocked, having never heard of such a thing since he could remember!

  At this time, the logistics troops of the Sixth Division drove a dining car to the prisoner-of-war camp to distribute lunch to the prisoners. Two large white buns per person, and water was available for drinking. The prisoners gradually got up and some people started to rush forward. The military police in charge of guarding came forward to maintain order, after a gun butt was smashed, the prisoners finally learned to line up.

  The new recruit who had just spoken, after receiving the steamed buns and water, sat on the ground and wolfed them down. From morning till now, his stomach had been empty for a long time, and soon he finished eating the steamed buns, looking at the food cart wondering if he could go get a couple more?

  An old soldier next to him understood his meaning and smiled, saying "Forget it, be content with what you have. We are captives, we should thank heaven for having something to eat." The new recruit pouted and said "I see that the people from the Sixth Division can eat whatever they want, and they even took iron boxes."

  A captive behind him burst out laughing, patted his back and said with a smile "You're really an idiot, we're captives, captives! Do you understand? Can you compare with others? Besides, what do you want to do after eating your fill? With so many people here, can they let you eat your fill?"

  The class leader continued, "Silly, that's not some iron box. That's called canned pork, I saw it at the company commander's place before, inside is full of meat and oil, it's called lunch meat, it smells so good! Hehe, when I smelled it for a while, I could recall the smell for 3 whole days."

  The new recruit swallowed his saliva and looked at the sixth division officers and men gathering together to eat, saying in a low voice "I really want to eat too." The squad leader smiled and said "There will be opportunities, we are all intact now, just waiting for Commander Gao's reorganization. At that time, you can also eat iron boxes." "Haha haha." The surrounding captives all burst out laughing, their eyes looking at the sixth division officers and men became even more scorching.

  Gao Yang was also having lunch on the Hai Rong at this time. What good food can be made on a warship, especially on a light warship like the Hai Rong with a displacement of only over a thousand tons? The kitchen for the entire warship is just a small space.

  Gao Yang had lunch in the officer's cabin, which was made by a restaurant in Jingjiang on the other side of the river, sent over by Ou Yangwei's launch. On the small table were 12 dishes, still hot! Gao Yang looked at them and didn't say anything, inviting Ou Yangwei, Wekesi, and Yang Dong to sit down and eat together.

  Watching Vecks skillfully fork a piece of meat into his mouth, Gao Yang couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Vecks, you've been here for so long and still can't use chopsticks?"

  After chewing and swallowing the meat, Weiks said, "I also learned it before, but it's too difficult. It's even more difficult than studying Hegel's philosophy when I was in school! I had to give up."

  Ouyang Ke smiled and said, "When I was interning with the British Navy, there were special officer dining halls on large warships that were even better decorated than ordinary restaurants, where all kinds of dishes could be prepared. When the supervisor bought a big ship back, he also asked the supervisor to inspect the ship."

  Gao Yang's eyes flashed with a hint of displeasure, and he nodded and asked, "How did Commander Du's negotiations in Mogador go?" Yang Dong put down his chopsticks and said softly, "Sir Mackenzie, the British Ambassador to China, has taken a ship from Tianjin Port to Mogador, fully responsible for negotiating this naval procurement case."

  Gaoyang rubbed his eyebrows and continued to ask, "What does the British side think?" Yang Dong replied, "The British Consul in Mordu expressed that the British government and Royal Navy are very interested in our military procurement plan. However, they do not agree with the price we proposed for the purchase. Consul John told General Gao frankly that the price is too low, and he also hinted that the Royal Navy is willing to sell any warship that interests us, as long as the price is negotiated well, everything can be discussed!"

  "So that means as long as the money is right, any ship can be sold, huh?" Gao Yang said with a slight smile. Yang Dong nodded lightly with a gentle laugh.

  Wei Xue suddenly spoke up while eating quietly, "Sir, the warships built by German shipyards are excellent and now their prices are very competitive!"

  Gaoyang turned his head and said faintly to him, "What I want is a ready-made product that can form combat effectiveness immediately. Does Germany have it?" Weiks didn't speak, quietly eating his meal.

  Kōyō smiled lightly and said, "If it weren't for Operation Rainbow, I would have been very interested in both the Kaiser class and the King George V class. What a shame."

  Weixs lightly wiped the corner of his eye and didn't say a word, only tightly grasping the fork in his hand. The Rainbow Action was an irreparable pain for all Germans!

  "Tell the British that the price is non-negotiable. If they're willing to buy, I'll sell; if not, I'll spend 400 million pounds to get the Americans to build a new fleet! Tell them that what I, Gao Yang, say, I can definitely do." "Yes, sir."

  On the side, Ouyang Xun swallowed his saliva and thought to himself whether he should send a telegram to Commander Du to sabotage this military procurement? A new warship worth 40 million pounds! Happiness came too suddenly, the navy was completely unprepared, Ouyang Xun fell into a happy worry.

  The cabin door was opened, and Colonel Brandt, with a serious face, walked in holding a document. After saluting Gao Yang, he opened the document and handed it to him, saying "Sir, this is the revised follow-up combat plan from the staff office, please review it."

  "Oh." Gao Yang took over the document and said "Just in time, we've finished eating. Let's go to the bridge and talk about it." Everyone present stood up and followed Gao Yang back to the bridge.

  In the golden autumn season of Jiangnan, the weather is still very hot. After lunch, most of the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division went to find a cool place to rest after having their lunch. The truck that had been driving all night was exhausted and now that it had relaxed, the fatigue immediately surged up.

  Zhang Xinghai sat quietly on the roadside drain, smoking a cigarette, with red bloodshot eyes. In front of him was a white sheet covering the bodies! The logistics soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield had concentrated all the fallen officers and men of the Sixth Division here.

  Zhang Zhonglin sat down beside him, lit a cigarette and started smoking together. The gusts of wind blowing over the river drove away the sweltering heat but could not blow away the pain in their hearts.

  "Zhang Hua is also dead." Zhang Zhonglin said calmly. "Yeah, I saw it, half of his head was blown off by shrapnel." Zhang Xinghai replied expressionlessly.

  Zhang Hua was also a well-known figure in the military academy with excellent grades and highly appreciated by his instructors, but unexpectedly died in battle here.

  Zhang Zhonglin extinguished the cigarette and said in a low voice, "Just our regiment alone has lost over a hundred men! Three of them were classmates from the academy! And this is when we have the upper hand. Infantry simply can't withstand concentrated artillery fire and heavy machine guns."

  Zhang Xinghai fell silent for a moment before nodding and saying in a low voice, "As soon as the fight started, I felt my head getting hot and all I could think about was charging forward. Everything I learned at the academy was forgotten, and how many brothers were killed because of it."

  Zhang Xinghai extinguished the cigarette and stood up, his voice a little hoarse. "Alright, Zhong Lin, the dead are gone. We must live well for them now! Get ready, I reckon we'll be leaving soon."

  "En." Zhang Zhonglin also stood up and responded softly. Looking at the logistics soldiers starting to flip through the records of the fallen officers and soldiers' ID cards, military officer certificates, after finishing the recording, they began to carry the bodies onto the truck. Zhang Zhonglin wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes, just about to turn around and leave, when he suddenly saw something and froze in place.