Chapter 230: Zhejiang‑Jiangxi Campaign – Heading to Changde

Jiang Anguo feels this place is different from the battlefield; perhaps this is what they call home!

"Alright, Anqi, don't be harsh on him the moment you come back." Another cooler voice sounded. It was his third sister Jiang Anling. She wasn't as delicate as the eldest sister, nor as fiery as the fourth sister; she simply stood quietly aside and asked softly, "Anguo, is the battlefield very bitter?"

In an instant, all the questions surged toward him.

"Are the mosquitoes in Myanmar really that big?"

"I heard that place is full of miasma; do people get sick there?"

"Did you eat properly? You look so thin you've lost your shape!"

"I heard you were wounded? Where's the injury? Let sister take a look!"

Jiang Anguo was left at a loss by this sudden concern. He could only mechanically reply, "I'm fine, brother‑in‑law takes good care of me, everything's fine. No injuries, all good."

Naturally, he would not speak much about the battlefield's dangers.

He had several times almost been hit by a Little Devil's bullet, perhaps luck was on his side.

In this Chongqing air battle, had he not left a contingency in advance and made a foolproof plan, he would likely have died under Japanese Army planes.

Those Japanese land‑air guys only thought it was a routine bombing of Chongqing's ground.

They didn't expect American P40 fighters to appear at that moment; in fact, at that time Chen Nade's Flying Tigers were mainly stationed around Kunming, protecting the last supply line, though the Yunnan‑Myanmar line had already fallen.

Therefore Chongqing remained exposed right under the Japanese bombing planes' watch.

"Brother‑in‑law......"

"Cough cough!" Dai Anlan coughed a few times.

Jiang Anguo understood that brother‑in‑law didn't want his eldest sister to worry, so he held his words back.

Dai Anlan stood aside, watching his wife and sisters‑in‑law besiege Jiang Anguo into a mess, a helpless‑yet‑pampering smile on his face. He stepped forward and lifted the siege, "Alright, alright, let him go inside first; it's windy out. Whatever you need to say, we'll sit at home and talk slowly."

The eldest sister Jiang Anwen finally came to herself, hurriedly pulling Jiang Anguo's hand toward the house, muttering, "Yes, yes, come in quickly, I've been stewing your favorite lotus‑root and pork‑rib soup all afternoon."

The lamp inside cast a warm glow.

The lotus‑root pork‑rib soup that Jiang Anwen ladled herself filled the air with fragrance, warming Jiang Anguo's constantly tense heart.

"Anguo, eat more meat," fourth sister Jiang Anqi said while picking vegetables for him, complaining, "Are we even getting by? Yesterday at the market, a single radish cost half a dou of rice! The ration tickets are fewer, even making a new shirt is hard. You're fighting on the front, we're barely surviving back home."

Her words were fiery, yet they voiced the hardships of Chongqing civilians. The cruelty of war was not limited to the front lines.

The third sister Jiang Anling was even calmer; she said softly, "The streets are now filled with many refugees from Hunan and Hubei; the government relief stations are overflowing. I heard the Japanese Army has massed heavy troops near Changsha again; the Sixth War Zone is under great pressure."

At the dining table, the sisters' concern never ceased. When fourth sister Jiang Anqi pieced together today afternoon's "522 Air Battle" from neighbors' gossip, she slammed her chopsticks down.

"Wait! This afternoon's air battle… you… you weren't also up there?" Jiang Anqi's voice trembled slightly.

Jiang Anguo was sipping the soup; hearing that, he froze. He looked up to see three pairs of eyes fixed on him and Dai Anlan, filled with terror and lingering fear.

They only then realized that Jiang Anguo and Dai Anlan had flown from Myanmar back to Chongqing earlier that day.

He could not claim to be an aerial commander—that would be too sensational—so he vaguely replied, "We just took a transport plane back to Chongqing and happened to arrive. The Flying Tigers' brothers were impressive, winning a great victory."

Even so, the answer left the sisters uneasy. The eldest sister Jiang Anwen's complexion turned deathly pale; she instinctively grabbed Dai Anlan's arm, as if letting go would make him vanish. "Heaven… that must be so dangerous…"

"You two really have no regard for your lives!" fourth sister Jiang Anqi's eyes reddened, her voice cracking, "Just back from that damned place in Myanmar, and you go up to the sky to gamble with death!"

Third sister Jiang Anling said nothing, only silently slipped another piece of meat into Jiang Anguo's bowl, but the tightly knit brows revealed her inner unease.

Seeing their sincere and anxious faces, the barrier Jiang Anguo felt toward "family" melted under deeper warmth. He knew he could no longer let them worry like this.

He set down the soup ladle, his expression solemn, and said, "Sisters, there's one more thing… I'll leave Chongqing first thing tomorrow morning."

"What?!" This time, even the usually composed third sister Jiang Anling shouted.

"Leaving right after coming back? Where to?" fourth sister Jiang Anqi immediately asked.

"It's an order from above," Jiang Anguo said in an unquestionable tone, "to Changde, to carry out a secret mission. Details can't be spoken, that's military discipline."

Looking at their younger brother's unusually firm yet youthful face, the sisters knew any further pleading was futile. They also knew their brother had grown up!

The atmosphere at the table instantly shifted from reunion joy to parting sorrow.

The next day, before dawn, Chongqing's fog was thick, wrapping the whole mountain city tightly.

Technically the fog mainly appears in autumn and winter, yet Chongqing even has fog in May.

From the distant River Surface came the low whistle of a ferry's horn; beyond that, all was silent.

Jiang Anguo had already packed his belongings.

Jiang Anguo stood at the doorway, glancing back at the small building that looked especially warm in the morning mist.

He rose early to avoid his sisters' worries.

Come quickly, leave quickly!

"Damned war!" Jiang Anguo muttered softly.

He didn't want to face those tearful eyes, didn't want to hear the endless admonitions. Worry is love, but now it was a burden he had to shed.

He gently closed the door, startling no one, just as when he arrived, slipping silently into the pre‑dawn mist.

Handcarts raced along the silent street, occasionally spotting yawning sentries carrying rifles. Upon reaching Wushan Dam Airport, the atmosphere starkly contrasted the sleeping city.

Searchlight beams cut slits through the dense fog; ground crew wore head‑mounted spotlights, like diligent worker ants bustling among the massive aircraft.

The air was filled with the sharp smell of aviation gasoline, mixed with damp earth and engine oil.

The airport's guard line placed a post every three steps and a sentry every five; armed military police stared sharply, scrutinizing anyone approaching. The cruelty of war left no room for slack.

It was the officer who had seen Jiang Anguo and General Dai Anlan disembark together yesterday, so he treated Jiang Anguo with great courtesy.

Everyone knew Dai Anlan's unit in Myanmar, the 200th Division, had truly wiped out over ten thousand Little Devils.

Their gazes all showed admiration.