Chapter 253: Alone to Chongqing

The fog over the mountain city always carries a damp, oppressive scent.

Jiang Anguo stood before the Principal's residence, gazing at the Jialing River shrouded in mist; its water was muddy yellow, flowing silently, just like the wartime situation—seemingly calm on the surface, but with turbulent undercurrents below.

May 25th, 7 p. m.

At 4 p. m., Jiang Anguo had already arrived in Chongqing aboard a C‑47 transport plane.

After completing all bombing missions, he immediately boarded a transport plane back to Chongqing and instructed Xu Guozhang to safeguard the security of Changde Airport.

One must be extremely cautious; Japanese Army spies are clearly far stronger than the Military Command, and the key problem is the many traitors who, in the national crisis, still betray the country's interests!

He had waited a full three hours.

Jiang Anguo inhaled deeply, smoothed his crisp uniform, and strode inside.

He knew that today's trip would determine success or failure in a single move.

To redeploy two units originally belonging to the Senary War Zone for a near‑mad operational plan, merely obtaining Hu Lian's personal approval is far insufficient.

The most critical point is that Hu Lian might not even consent to an attack on Yichang; his primary task is to hold Shipa.

In fact, even the Military Commission dares not mobilize Changde's 150th Division.

Entering Chongqing, one option is to follow the Yangtze River, i. e., advance westward from Yichang to Shipa, which is the optimal choice for the advantaged Japanese Army.

The second plan is to strike Changde, seize Zhangjiajie, and push westward along the mountains; the required supplies along that route are incalculable.

Precisely because of this, even if impossible, the Chongqing side must consider it, as Changde is also heavily defended.

Within the National Government's hierarchy, only Chongqing's orders constitute the sole imperial sword. Without the Principal's endorsement, the 18th Army's tiger‑wolf troops would not even step out of their barracks, let alone launch an offensive.

"Principal." Jiang Anguo stood upright and saluted, his voice steady and forceful.

The Principal, hands clasped behind his back, stood before a massive military map.

On the map, red arrows and blue markers interlocked like teeth, outlining the jagged front lines of the Chinese and Japanese forces across Central China.

He did not turn around, merely gave a nasal "hm," his gaze still fixed rigidly on a point on the map—Yueyang.

That was a plan he had just approved, wherein Xue Yue's th War Zone would launch an offensive to capture Yueyang, easing pressure on the Senary War Zone and opening a gateway for a future counter‑attack on Changsha.

That decision had kept him tossing and turning for several nights; the National Government's material reserves, especially after the failed Myanmar Campaign, were already stretched thin, and every battle had to be meticulously calculated.

"Anguo, you're here." The Principal finally turned, his trademark eyes—usually exuding authority and sharpness—now bearing a barely perceptible fatigue.

"Sit down."

Jiang Anguo saw Yueyang on the map encircled heavily, confirming his expectation that Xue Yue would surely seize the chance to counterattack!

Jiang Anguo did not sit; he chose to stand like a soldier about to be inspected. "Principal, I have an urgent report."

"Speak." The Principal's voice was flat, but Jiang Anguo could sense the taut nerves beneath that calm.

"Principal, the th War Zone under Commander Xue has dispatched troops to Yueyang, tying down a large contingent of the Japanese Army; that is precisely the perfect opportunity for us to launch a surprise attack on Yichang!" Jiang Anguo's words were striking, each syllable landing with force.

The air inside the residence seemed to solidify instantly.

"How do you know Xue Yue intends to attack Yueyang?"

The Principal's brows knit sharply, the fatigue in his eyes instantly replaced by astonishment and caution.

He had just resolved to commit precious strategic reserves to the Yueyang board, barely catching his breath, when his own nephew suddenly proposed an even larger, audacious plan—to strike Yichang!

"Principal, now is the moment to launch a full‑scale counterattack. You know the Zhejiang‑Jiangxi battle; Commander Gu's forces fought hard there. Yet at this juncture, the th War Zone pressuring the Japanese forces in Central Wuhan can both draw the Japanese in Nanchang and relieve pressure on the Third War Zone," Jiang Anguo said.

"Principal, the most crucial point is that if we can retake Yichang, the impact internationally will be huge; remember the United States is defeated, the United Kingdom is also defeated, and that presents us an opportunity. Moreover, once Yichang is reclaimed, we will control the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, allowing supplies to be shipped via the river to the th War Zone."

Currently, the th War Zone's supplies are only partly air‑delivered to Changsha; the majority still travel over the mountains via Zhangjiajie and the Changde direction.

"Nonsense!" The Principal's voice rose sharply, laced with undeniable fury. "Anguo, do you realize what you're saying? Yichang? It is currently garrisoned by a Japanese division—the 13th Division! On what grounds do you think you can attack, relying only on Changde's 150th Division?"

The Principal couldn't help recalling his own study abroad in Japan, where he was placed in the 13th Division as a cadet.

A cadet's rank was even lower than that of a regular soldier, tasked with menial duties such as washing horses, cleaning stables, and other filthy, exhausting chores; feeding horses became one of the Principal's primary responsibilities at the time.

He was later assigned to an Artillery unit.

Clearly, the Principal was well aware of the troop dispositions around Yichang, and his mention of the Japanese 13th Division carried added emphasis.

Jiang Anguo met the Principal's gaze without fear; he knew that any hesitation now would doom the plan. He had to use the clearest logic and the most precise intelligence to sway the Principal's increasingly conservative mind.

"Principal, please calm down." Jiang Anguo bowed, then lifted his head, his eyes blazing. "I am not acting rashly. Yesterday, when our air force bombed Nanchang Airport, a Reconnaissance Plane returned vital intelligence. The Japanese have massed a large, unidentified force at Nanchang—far beyond a small detachment. Our assessment is that this unit is likely redeployed from the Wuhan direction, intending to bypass Zhejiang and merge with the Japanese forces in East China, forming a massive encirclement of our Third War Zone!"

That intelligence dropped like a boulder into the still‑calm lake of the Principal's mind. The Third War Zone's Gu Zhutong troops were already under immense strain; another Japanese strike from behind would be disastrous.

Seizing the moment, Jiang Anguo pressed on: "Principal, consider that the Japanese forces stirring up trouble in Nanchang must have been drawn from Wuhan. What does that indicate? It shows that the Japanese presence in Wuhan is currently relatively thin! If we act in Yueyang, Wuhan's Japanese 11th Army headquarters will feel as if facing a great enemy; they will not stand by while their flank is threatened. They will mobilize every available unit to reinforce Yueyang, even diverting troops from other war zones."

His finger traced a sharp arc across the map, from Yueyang to Wuhan, then from Wuhan to Nanchang.

"And if we can lock the Japanese in Wuhan, that Nanchang unit preparing to encircle the Third War Zone will be forced to retreat to reinforce Wuhan's core in Central China. Consequently, the entire Japanese movement in Central China will be at our mercy! Principal, this is a once‑in‑a‑century chance! Troop transfers between Wuhan and Nanchang are frequent, so Yichang's defenses will inevitably slacken."

Jiang Anguo's move was extremely risky, for it could affect whether the order just given to the th War Zone to capture Yueyang would succeed.

If, at this moment, we still attempted to seize Yichang, everyone knows Yichang is a stronghold.

The Japanese are no exception; the Little Devil would never allow Yichang to go without reinforcement.