Chapter 359: Chapter 359: If Your Death Were Guaranteed, What Would One Defeat Matter?

Jian Jingchuan reached backward, and a young soldier came in, holding a tray covered with a piece of floral cloth. He unveiled it, revealing a pale crane-shaped piece of adornment, crafted entirely from pure silver and studded with pearls, which looked very much like a brooch.

Actually, it was not.

Jian Jingchuan picked up the adornment, placed it on the table, and looked at Lu Ranglian, “Do you recognize it? This was found in the Lu Family. Can you explain its origin?”

Lu Ranglian shook his head, “I don’t know, this adornment isn’t mine. It should belong to my ex-wife.”

The young soldier looked at Lu Ranglian incredulously.

Yet Jian Jingchuan remained calm. Over the years, he had been fighting alone, and nothing ever went smoothly for him.

“This is not domestic craftsmanship; it’s made by Japanese artisans. An ordinary person might think it’s a brooch. In reality, it’s a decorative piece used by the Japanese to fasten kimono belts, called an obi clasp. However, this clasp can indeed cleverly be used as a brooch.”

Jian Jingchuan said, “I hadn’t even asked you what it was, and you hastily called it an obi clasp. Lu Ranglian, after all these years, you’re still as restless as ever!”

Lu Ranglian, humiliated and enraged, “You just barely survived. After all these years hiding abroad, you seem a bit steadier.”

Jian Jingchuan said, “I didn’t survive by sheer luck. With the spirit of the nation watching over me, as a soldier, I can die wrapped in horse leather on the battlefield, but I would not die by a comrade’s betrayal or the deceit of the shameless.”

Lu Ranglian’s face turned pale then flushed, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please watch your words, or I could accuse you of slandering me!”

Jian Jingchuan slowly pushed a slip of paper. Upon seeing it, Lu Ranglian was shocked to the core, teetering from his stance.

“She didn’t return. She didn’t return? Didn’t she say she would come back?”

Lu Ranglian snapped and tried desperately to grab the slip he had personally written in the past, but Jian Jingchuan, quicker than him, retrieved the slip and got up, “Lu Ranglian, have you honored those fallen brothers? In the future, would you dare to face them?”

Lu Ranglian had lost his sanity, “Jian Jingchuan, the one who dares not face them should be you! They died because of you. I admit, back then I just wanted you dead. It was just an island the size of East Mountain Island; how could it be seized by Japan, that tiny country? If it meant your death, a single lost battle would be insignificant…”

He was the son of a high-ranking official, while Jian Jingchuan was merely the son of a farmer, yet Jian Jingchuan outshone him in all respects. They both joined a major competition, Lu was injured, but Jian Jingchuan emerged as the new generation king of soldiers in the army.

Jian Jingchuan walked a long way, yet could still hear Lu Ranglian’s cries.

He emerged, with the spring sunshine illuminating his body, but he couldn’t feel the warmth.

The battle was fought with great difficulty, the enemy’s numbers exceeded their initial estimate by more than tenfold.

Their ammunition was far from sufficient.

The reinforcements were long overdue.

Despite gathering the entire nation’s strength for a small piece of land like East Mountain Island, they surprisingly couldn’t wait for reinforcements.

At the last moment, he charged into the enemy camp, blew up the floating bridge, separating the two islands, and bought time for his comrades’ evacuation. When he fell into the icy seawater, the words of the warriors were still echoing in his ears.

“Commander, if I survive this and return, you must approve me a longer leave, my wife gave birth, hehe, I’ve become a father!”

“Commander, let me go, I haven’t married a wife, let me go!”

“Commander, even if I die, I’ll bite off the dog-breathing devils’ necks, don’t worry, we will win!”

But they lost, the whole army was wiped out.

All their actions were within the enemy’s predictions, every step they took was a set trap, every assault point was an encirclement.

The lives of the young soldiers perished like fireflies in autumn, dying without any value.

Even now when he recalls, Jian Jingchuan cannot forgive himself.

Only thirty or so survived.

It was because he seized the last chance they lived, back then, he merely thought, someone had to survive and return to figure out what really happened.

Never did he dream that it all originated with him.

It was him, who let down those brothers who fought life and death with him. It was he who caused their death.

Huo Fuhai watched as Jian Jingchuan walked in looking soulless, he looked at the guard who opened the door for him, and the latter shook his head, also puzzled.

Compared to Lu Ranglian, Jian Jingchuan seemed more like the one who betrayed his nation and comrades.

“Finished the interrogation?”

Jian Jingchuan took off his hat, pushed it to Huo Fuhai, then took off his epaulettes, said nothing, and his expression was grave, somewhat dejected.

Jian Jingchuan didn’t need to speak, the interrogation content had already been delivered to Huo Fuhai’s place.

He didn’t expect that Jian Jingchuan would find himself in such a deadlock.

But it’s quite understandable. Watching one comrade after another die on the battlefield, comrades who lived and fought alongside him day and night, dying for such a reason, is unbearable for anyone.

“A few days ago, my granddaughter called, said she plans to set her wedding date on July 18th, which is her eighteenth birthday, and these days the old lady has been saying she can’t bear to let her marry so soon, there isn’t enough time, the dowry must be properly prepared.”

Jian Jingchuan snapped back to reality after a half-day, the “granddaughter” the chief talked about was his daughter. “Why is she setting it so soon? No, I must talk to her properly, she’s still young, there’s no rush to marry.”

Huo Fuhai stopped him, “Jingchuan, has anyone ever told you, in all the years you didn’t come back, that child had a tough time but never blamed you?”

Jian Jingchuan, as if struck by lightning, sat in the chair dazed, motionless for a long time.

“Xingye is also a pitiful child, his background is similarly not easy. Although compared to Huanhuan he still has a grandfather and an uncle, has family, but he also has a very troublesome mother.

Both children are lonely, they both want a home, and want to give each other a home.”

Jian Jingchuan’s eyes moistened again, the words “I’m sorry” circled in his heart many times, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it to the chief.

Huo Fuhai lost three brothers, and Huo Zhenqing was not his eldest son, before him, they originally had three children, all lost in the chaos of war.

“We sacrificed the small family to accomplish the greater family. Many tasks need to be done by someone, Huanhuan didn’t blame you, she’s always proud of you. This country needs you too, because everyone desires a warm home, not just those two children;

Everything you did, the organization sees it. You are a soldier, you need a strong will, and a fearless courage, not to be misled by a few words and lose direction, doubting yourself means doubting the organization!”

Jian Jingchuan felt like being awakened from a spell, he confessed, “Chief, I was wrong!”

Huo Fuhai pushed the hat and the epaulettes back to him, “Remember the training and trust the organization has in you, the East Mountain battle, you lost, but there is honor in defeat, the main responsibility does not lie with you. The reason for this battle’s defeat, no matter how long it takes, we will find out. You still have tasks; I won’t say more, go back to take on your task!”

“Yes!”

The unit he led was annihilated, he couldn’t erase that from his heart.

The Hua Country Import and Export Commodity Trade Fair began in 1957, held annually in spring and autumn in Nanwu City, East Province, commonly known as the “Southern Trade Conference,” primarily focusing on export trade, but also engaging in import business.

At this time, Hua Country was still in poverty and lacked resources; its foreign exchange reserve was less than a ten-thousandth of that in later generations.

This time, Jian Jingchuan was given the task of “Southern Trade Conference” security, which was considered a benefit for him. Once he returned from the “Southern Trade Conference”, he would formally start his work tasks.

Hua Country needed a “Tomahawk” squad, not just a “Tomahawk.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep