Chapter Twenty: The Wrath of Setsuzo Yazaki

Although the Chinese army's equipment was woefully inadequate and their military training nearly non-existent, the tenacity and resolve they exhibited, as well as their reckless fighting style, resulted in heavy casualties among the Empire’s warriors during close combat. Even though Setsuzō Yazaki was well aware that the enemy they faced was not like those previous units that would collapse after a few shots, and even though the fighting prowess of this force had startled him when he observed from afar, he could not suppress his fury at having missed his greatest opportunity.

He should have broken through the lines at the outset, captured the Chinese capital, and become a celebrated hero of the Empire. But now, delayed by this hindrance, he feared that by this hour, the other Imperial units had already entered Nanjing, while he remained stuck here. Forget glory—he would be lucky not to be held accountable by the brigade commander!

So far, his regiment had suffered over a third in casualties, losing more men than a full battalion. Since entering the Republic’s battlefields, the 115th Regiment had never suffered such losses. This was an enduring stain upon his military career.

The thought made him seethe with rage, wishing he could butcher these fools with his own hands. To think they could be cowed by these contemptible Chinese—unworthy to call themselves soldiers of the Empire!

Setsuzō Yazaki burned with such thoughts. He wanted to organize another assault, but as he glanced at the darkening sky and prepared to instruct his orderly to begin cooking, a junior officer came running up.

"Reporting, sir! Our forward squad has detected some movement from the Chinese positions!"

"What?" Yazaki strode to a vantage point, raised his binoculars, and peered toward the enemy lines.

But dusk had already shrouded the field, rendering the forward positions indistinct—even through binoculars, he could see nothing clearly.

"Damn it! Signal the artillery—fire illumination rounds at once!" Yazaki ordered the young officer at his side.

"Yes, sir!" The officer nodded briskly.

Soon, several mortars were wheeled into place.

"Aim at the Chinese positions ahead—fire immediately!" Yazaki commanded.

With a series of muffled thuds, several illumination rounds arced skyward and burst over the Zhonghua Gate, flooding the entire position in a stark white glare.

Yazaki quickly scanned with his binoculars, only to find the trenches eerily empty—not a soul in sight. Enraged, he spat curses without looking more closely, "Damn it! These contemptible Chinese—so cunning! They've slipped away!"

"Quickly—inform all troops! Advance at once, full speed! We must catch this sly Chinese force. I want their heads as trophies, to teach them the price of angering our great Empire!"

With a furious swipe, Yazaki drew his command sword and brought it down on the table, splitting it cleanly in two.

"Yes, sir!"

Without delay, Yazaki rallied the remaining forces—over two battalions—who, under the officers’ commands, surged toward the enemy positions.

"Charge!"

"Kill these Chinese pigs!"

"Long live the great Empire!"

With these shouts, the two battalions stormed the enemy lines.

One Japanese officer, leading his men forward, suddenly felt something snag his leg. He paused, glancing down—and what he saw made his eyes widen in disbelief. He tried to shout a warning, but in that instant, a fierce flash erupted around him, engulfing him in flame.

An earth-shaking explosion burst from beneath his feet, instantly spreading outward. Not just him, but three soldiers beside him were blown apart in a storm of severed limbs.

In the final moment before death, only one thought flashed through the officer’s mind: "Damn it! It's a mine!"

That explosion was just the beginning. One after another, Japanese soldiers blundered into the booby traps and mines laid by Chen Qingzhi, and detonations rang out in an unending chain.

Because the Imperial troops were moving in close formation, the blasts claimed more than a full squad of men. Dozens more fell wounded, writhing and screaming as fragments tore into them.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Yazaki's face turned an ashen blue, and he could not help but curse, "Cunning, despicable Chinese!"

He vented his fury until he was spent, but the problem of the explosions had to be solved. Left with no other choice, he ordered the engineers forward to clear the mines, and had the units spread out into a loose skirmish line, advancing more cautiously—though this, of course, greatly slowed their progress.

The engineers wandered over the positions, searching in vain for more mines, and finally returned to report to Yazaki.

Hearing there were no more mines, Yazaki’s expression softened a little. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the troops to advance.

But after only a few steps, new explosions erupted, killing another dozen men.

Enraged, Yazaki slapped the engineering squad leader across the face. "Damn it! Didn’t you say there were no more mines? Why are the warriors of our Empire still being blown to pieces?"

"Yes, sir!" The squad leader, stinging from the blow, dared not protest. Facing his commander's wrath, he could only bow his head and reply, "I’ll check again!"

He scoured the position once more, but still found nothing.

This time, Yazaki was suspicious. He sent a dozen soldiers ahead to test the way. These men, walking with knock-kneed caution, had barely advanced a few steps before another explosion killed two more.

Seeing this, Yazaki flew into a towering rage, striking the engineering officer a dozen times with both hands, roaring, "Damn it! Useless fool!"

"You've made the warriors of the Empire suffer needless losses—you're unworthy to be called a soldier of the Empire!"

After enduring this beating, the engineer’s face was swollen and red, the imprint of Yazaki’s fingers plainly visible, his eyes nearly swollen shut.

The engineering officer was aggrieved beyond words. No matter how he searched, he could not locate the mines, yet every time the Imperial troops advanced, they triggered explosions. He wanted to protest, but seeing Yazaki’s wrath, he wisely kept silent and endured the dressing-down.