Chapter 185: The Japanese 113th Regiment Ran Ahead

Regarding the Regiment Commander's "leak" of the American Aircraft Carrier's movements to the Japanese Army, Meng Fanle always had a fire brewing in his heart.

In his eyes, the Japanese are a bad breed.

Burning villages, killing civilians, raping and looting—none of these aren't blood debts? Now, after finally capturing the division commander, surrendering the radio, not beating a fallen dog, but instead sending the "big ship" news over, isn't that helping the enemy?

Meng Fanle still can't figure out what an aircraft carrier is; he only heard Jiang Anguo say, "A very big ship that can launch airplanes."

"But… but they're beasts!" Meng Fanle's voice trembled, "Let them live one more day, and ten more Chinese civilians will die!"

Jiang Anguo finally looked up, his eyes blazing: "Meng Fanle, war isn't about killing beasts; it's a game of chess. In this game, our opponents aren't only Japan, but also England, the United States, and even our own people. If we don't pressure the Americans, how would they keep sending tanks, aircraft, and medicine continuously? Relying on us alone, we can't hold out until victory."

"You must remember, war is a political tool!"

Meng Fanle seemed half‑understanding, only feeling a heaviness in the Regiment Commander's eyes that he couldn't grasp.

Of course Jiang Anguo has no such problem; possessing the WarSystem means he has endless logistics.

But the Huaxia Battlefield is different; now all four external supply routes have been cut, and they can only rely on the United States to quickly open an India air route.

Just then, a Reconnaissance Company soldier sprinted in: "Report, Commander! Taunggyi has shown no sign of the Japanese Army!"

"Hm?" Jiang Anguo frowned, "Not a single person?"

"Yes!" the scout gasped, "We lurked around Taunggyi's outskirts for two hours, nothing. Company Commander Chen led us into the city; apart from Burmese civilians hiding at home, we saw no soldiers. A Burmese man gestured and said the Little Devil retreated south last night, heading toward Lei Gu."

Burmese Chinese are mainly concentrated in northern Myanmar towns, though not many; Yangon is a city with relatively more Chinese, but it has already fallen into Japanese hands.

Myanmar's population is 16 million, of which Chinese make up only one percent, about 160 000.

The proportion of Chinese in Myanmar's population is extremely tiny.

"Southward?" Jiang Anguo took the map from Xiao Si, his finger tracing the route from Taunggyi to Lei Gu, clearly a retreat back to Tonggu!

He smiled slightly, "That makes it easier. Gather them together, and we can take them all in one go."

Jiang Anguo's goal this time is not to attack Tonggu.

But immediately, a hint of doubt rose. He turned to Meng Fanle, "Didn't the whole unit's Eighth Company fight the Little Devil in Taunggyi a few days ago? Which unit were they?"

"I think it was… the 113th Regiment," Meng Fanle recalled.

"113th Regiment?" Jiang Anguo stopped abruptly, an alarm ringing in his mind.

Songshan!

In another timeline, this very 113th Regiment, in 1944, defended the Songshan fortress, forcing the Expeditionary Force to suffer nearly ten thousand casualties before capturing it. The commander then was clearly Matsui Hideharu!

But now, the system's records are crystal clear.

The whole unit killed the target in Taunggyi: DaSuJiaShi, Japanese Army 113th Regiment commander, rank Colonel.

That person had long been blown to pieces by a mortar from the whole unit.

That means the 113th Regiment isn't led by Matsui Hideharu; where did that man go?

"That's not right…" Jiang Anguo muttered, "If DaSuJiaShi is dead, perhaps the staff took over the unit, which could be Matsui Hideharu. But why abandon Taunggyi? And why retreat south without organizing resistance?"

Seeing the Regiment Commander's solemn expression, Meng Fanle cautiously asked, "Regiment Commander, the 'Songshan' you mentioned… where is that?"

"A mountain," Jiang Anguo replied briefly, his thoughts already drifting. He recalled that when marching past Songshan, he ordered Engineer Companies to secretly build concealed works and stockpile ammo. "I don't know if those tunnels will ever be used…"

At that time Jiang Anguo left two Engineer Companies, thinking it was a precaution, but now they seem unnecessary.

As strength grew, he felt the Little Devil was no longer able to defeat the Lashu defenders head‑on, so they wouldn't enter Western Yunnan.

Matsui Hideharu knows how to fight and can fight.

Jiang Anguo is also extremely cautious.

"Messenger!" Jiang Anguo barked, "All forces halt advancement! Reconnaissance Company advance twenty li immediately, focus on searching both flanks' high ground! Notify Song Mengqin, have his Four Regiments be more cautious up front, engage the enemy on sight, no deeper penetration!"

"Yes." The Messenger immediately went to inform the Four Regiments serving as the vanguard.

Rain started again.

The endless rain was as if a hole had been punched in the sky!

The Independent Regiment's main force rested briefly outside Taunggyi City, and Jiang Anguo gave no friendly look toward these Burmese towns.

Even when seeing Burmese civilians begging for food, the Independent Regiment ignored them.

But if they were Chinese, that would be a different story.

Jiang Anguo clearly didn't expect the Little Devil to flee so quickly; he thought he could intercept the 113th Regiment midway, but Matsui Hideharu had deployed no forces to block them.

Now he only wants to take the 113th Regiment back into Tonggu.

"Regiment Commander, we're fifty kilometers from Tonggu," Meng Fanle wiped the rain from his face, his voice weary yet unable to hide a hint of excitement.

Jiang Anguo nodded, his gaze sweeping the road's sides—muddy ground littered with Japanese Army corpses, some already rotting, attracting swarms of green‑head flies; many wounded were abandoned under trees, feverish, flesh rotting, clearly suffering tropical malaria or jungle fever.

These discarded soldiers wore tattered clothes, their water bottles shriveled, even the bandages turned black and foul‑smelling.

"Supplies are cut, medicine gone," Jiang Anguo whispered, "the 56th Division… is already a broken army."

During the pursuit, he saw clearly: the Japanese Army abandoned not only the wounded, but also rifles, Ammo Boxes, even parts of a Type‑94 mountain gun. They weren't retreating; they were fleeing for their lives.

The Japanese Army wasn't defeated by the Expeditionary Force, nor by Jiang Anguo, but by Myanmar's rainforest and its dreadful rainy season.

In this Tonggu Campaign, Jiang Anguo is confident he can eliminate a portion of the Japanese Army.

At this moment the Japanese Army was still celebrating, never expecting the Expeditionary Force to counterattack, and the remaining troops of the 56th Division had almost no combat power.

Moreover, the radio was damaged during the march, causing the Japanese forces in Mandalay to be unaware that the Expeditionary Force was pursuing the 56th Division.

Jiang Anguo examined the map carefully; it had been air‑dropped from the rear. In fact, after entering Myanmar, Dai Anlan personally redrew the maps of Lashu, Tonggu, and the area around Mandalay—basic cartography for a commander and Dai Anlan's personal habit.

To say the least, the maps Jiang Anguo previously used were seized from the Japanese 56th Division.

"Speaking of Myanmar's maps," Jiang Anguo laughed at Xiao Si beside him, "No matter how detailed the Japanese draw, they can't match Captain Dai's meticulous strokes."

The Japanese maps were also very detailed, but none matched Dai Anlan's confidence in Tonggu's vicinity; Dai's th Division had previously fortified Tonggu and its surrounding positions, all clearly shown on the map.

"Slow the troops, wait for Captain Dai behind us," Jiang Anguo said. His units moved extremely fast, already pursuing the Japanese 56th Division, two days faster than the th Division.

Fortunately, Dai Anlan did not fall behind.

Two days after Dai Anlan led his troops away from Lashu, while the 200th Division soldiers were chewing rations through the rainforest, the sky suddenly filled with engine roar.

The crowd looked up and saw several P‑40 fighters escorting, five PBY seaplanes and two C‑47 transports skimming low, their cargo doors opening, and parachutes drifting down one by one.

The C‑47 transport was the one Jiang Anguo exchanged after leaving Lashu.

Canned food, Compressed Biscuit, chocolate, quinine tablets, ammunition boxes… even brand‑new Mauser rifles!

"Air Drop! It's our Air Drop!" the soldiers cheered.

In fact the soldiers already have three days of supplies, so no one lacks food now; everyone is used to hard times, so this is just the supply!

The three‑day supply can be stretched to last five days.

It turned out that the air squadron Commander Song Yunfei seized the rare clear interval and decisively ordered takeoff.

In Myanmar's rainy season, the weather changes in an instant; a clear sky in the morning can give way to a torrential downpour by afternoon.

They dared not wait, and could not wait.

The 200th Division only brought three days of rations; without resupply they could not make it to Tonggu.

Dai Anlan stood at the center of the Air Drop zone, looking up at the slowly descending supply crates, a faint glint flashing in their eyes.

The scholarly general, usually composed, could not help but remark to those around him: "Never thought that in my lifetime I'd get to experience the taste of a 'Heaven‑sent Divine Soldier.'"

In fact everyone felt the same as Dai Anlan; if it weren't for having already seen a transport plane land on the river at Xibu and deliver supplies to the 200th Division.

Now that the C‑47 transport is seen, everyone's mood is already steady, unlike the first time when they were inexperienced.

But it also allayed everyone's earlier worry—the issue of material resupply.