Chapter 119: Raise Your Hands

"Don't move! Raise your hands!"

Long Wen Zhang was on the brink of excitement, feeling a hot thing pressing against his head—probably not a gun—but when he turned around, it really was a barrel. He was a little frightened, fearing that this person might blast him apart with a single shot.

"Brother, don't fire, we're on the same side," Long Wen Zhang said as he turned around, both hands raised.

"Who says you're on our side? Which unit are you from?" the one pointing the gun was Mi Long. On the battlefield nerves were taut; not only enemies, even comrades sometimes got shot.

Soon the soldiers of the Eighth Company began to guard these captured Expeditionary Force soldiers, and the occasional gunfire around them signaled that the battle was almost over.

"I'm from the 200th Division," Long Wen Zhang said without changing his expression.

Mi Long was instantly amused by the man before him, winking at the nearby soldiers, "Kid, you say you're from the 200th Division—so what am I?"

Mi Long fished a badge out of his pocket; Long Wen Zhang examined it closely and exclaimed that something was wrong.

Jiang Anguo had a rule that no one may carry badges or ranks on the battlefield.

It was like a fake Li Kui meeting the real Li Kui—the man holding the machine gun in front of them truly was a 200th Division soldier.

Perhaps these people still didn't know that the ones who rescued them were the Expeditionary Force's 200th Division.

"You scrawny calf! Tell me, which unit are you really from?" In fact, Mi Long had already seen that Long Wen Zhang was the first to rise against the Little Devil.

Otherwise, at this moment, given Mi Long's temper, Long Wen Zhang would have looked good.

"No, no, no, brother, I'm with the New 28th Division's Quartermaster Department, Long Wen Zhang, Lieutenant," he finally told the truth.

The New 28th Division, which is Zhang Zhen's unit of the 66th Army, was one of the two forces that entered Myanmar last, the other being far away in Kunming as the New 29th Division.

The 66th Army—essentially Sun Liren's New 38th Division—was battle‑ready and the elite force just below the Fifth Army's units.

As for Long Wen Zhang, his claim to be from the 200th Division stemmed from his role in the quartermaster office; he had found a 200th Division badge, discarded his original one after the capture, and affixed the 200th Division badge.

Even as a prisoner, thanks to Long Wen Zhang's eloquence and organizational skill, he was quite popular among the captives.

At that moment, the Eighth Company commander Chang Shan walked up from behind and shouted, "No matter what you did before, from now on you are the officer in charge of these prisoners; organize them, and any Japanese Army weapons on the ground are yours to use."

"From now on, you are a soldier; if weapons are lacking, go seize them from the Japanese."

Mi Long was utterly confused; only Chang Shan and the whole regiment knew.

When they set out, Jiang Anguo had instructed that if they found Long Wen Zhang, he should form a unit. Of course, Jiang Anguo hadn't expected that this unit would exceed two thousand men.

Long Wen Zhang widened his eyes, unable to believe as he stared at the approaching captain.

Just as he was about to salute, Chang Shan slapped his hand away and shouted, "Remember, this is a battlefield; don't salute your superiors unless you want me to die faster."

Long Wen Zhang's hand throbbed, his teeth clenched.

"Mi Long, quickly organize the soldiers and clear out the remaining Japanese in Xibu," Chang Shan said, turning to Mi Long.

Mi Long replied, "Yes."

Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu, after spotting German fighter aircraft in the sky, hesitated about continuing to defend Xibu, and ultimately decided to withdraw; the balance of the battle had already tipped.

Because Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu had to consider the next wave of enemy fighter bombings, after issuing the order to withdraw from Xibu he regretted it a bit, realizing he had been tricked.

The enemy never launched a second bombing; those planes were the same fighters that had just passed, and their heading suggested they were bound for Lashu.

These four enemy aircraft were probably all the planes the Chinese army possessed.

But orders once given couldn't be changed on a whim; even if Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu wanted to rally resistance again, he knew his lightly‑equipped troops had come a long way, making it too difficult.

Even with reinforcements at Xibu, confronting the 200th Division's five‑thousand‑strong combat power, plus two units dispatched by Jiang Anguo, Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu found winning the Xibu defense virtually impossible.

The Expeditionary Force's supply lines were strained; the lone 56th Division also received little resupply.

Japanese supply was equally dire; even Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu faced ammunition shortages. Some Japanese soldiers had begun using captured Zhongzheng rifles. The Japanese Type 38 rifle fires 6.5 mm rounds, but now they were deep inside the Expeditionary Force's defensive line, with logistics lagging far behind.

This was foreign soil; even with help from the Myanmar Independent Volunteer Army, logistics still couldn't be moved in promptly.

Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu not only saw the fighters; the sentries also spotted Expeditionary Force seaplanes, though it was unclear whether they carried troops or weapons—indicating that the opposing 200th Division had received supplies.

Otherwise the first wave wouldn't have been so fierce; Xibu's First Defensive Line didn't hold ten minutes before BF109 fighters returned for a second strike. By the time the 600th Regiment's soldiers surged forward, the fighting was essentially over.

"Battalion commander, we really have to blow up the bridge and the railway,"

"Yes, do it quickly, or our main force will be in danger," Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu issued the final order before retreat: blow up the bridge and railway over the Mijie River.

Xiangyuan Wuwei Zhi Fu had to ensure the 56th Division's main body was safe on the east side—that is, Xibu.

Xibu lies only thirty kilometers from Zai An, and the easiest route is by water; all other paths require traversing mountains.

His order was to destroy the only bridge over the Mijie River leading to Lashu; only by blowing up that bridge could the 200th Division's pincer attack on the 56th Division be delayed.

At the same time, the railway on the Mijie River need not be kept.

Following the Mijie River upstream leads to Jiang Anguo's First Defensive Line at Zai An.

None of Jiang Anguo's plans included blowing the bridge; in his view Xibu was already taken, and the pincer on the 56th Division was not a simple capture.

Boom—

Accompanied by a huge blast.

The Japanese squad guarding the bridge succeeded in blowing up the Mijie River bridge and railway, and the squad, determined to perish, stayed to fight the Expeditionary Force in a final battle.

Expeditionary Force soldiers inside Xibu city also heard the sound.

Everyone was stunned; many heard the explosion.

Including the 200th Division's command post, which has now moved forward onto the Japanese First Defensive Line.

"What's happening?" Deputy Division Commander Gao Jiren asked.

"Bad news, the Little Devil blew up the big bridge and railway over the river," a soldier reported quickly.

Gao Jiren wore a look of frustration, "Damn!"

At this moment the staff officers had no idea what destroying the bridge meant; they only sensed something odd about the Japanese.

Meanwhile, when Jiang Anguo received the news, he was unusually frustrated.

The regiment's Eighth Company and Chang Shan's Eighth Company, even combined, were no longer full‑strength companies.

They saw the Japanese defending from a distance, relying on the ruined bridge.

"Chang Shan, it's on you now," the regiment said, looking at the Eighth Company commander Chang Shan.

"No problem, mortars ready."

As soon as Changshan finished speaking, four mortars were already arranged in a single Platoon, all barrels aimed at the Japanese Army defending the Bridge.