Chapter 284: Yichang? The Battle of Yiling!

A cave in Wufeng Mountain served as the temporary command post for Jiang Anguo and Xu Guozhang.

Pine branches concealed the cave entrance, and the radio ticked.

"Old brother, my 448th Regiment hasn't prepared any boats! To cross the river and attack Xiaoting, the water is wide and the currents are strong; relying only on rafts would be disastrous!" Xu Guozhang said, holding a cigarette, with a worried expression.

The Sichuan Army fights well in mountain warfare, but crossing the river is troublesome; troops, weapons and equipment all require a large number of boats for transport.

He sighed, "Temporarily requisitioning boats? That also takes time! The Little Devil won't wait for you to gather them before opening fire."

Jiang Anguo, however, remained composed, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth: "Don't worry, Old Xu, I've prepared the boats for you."

Jiang Anguo realized that although the time he spent with Old Xu was brief, the accent was quickly taken over by Old Xu.

He had just gone to the Yangtze River once, claiming to scout the enemy, but in fact he exchanged for five universal landing craft, the American LCI landing craft; these vessels not only have terrifying cargo capacity.

The total length exceeds 40 meters.

An LCI landing craft can carry 150–160 tons of cargo, or over 200 fully armed soldiers, roughly the strength of a reinforced company.

The most crucial point is its firepower, extremely strong: five 20mm Erlich cannons, with very fierce fire.

With this firepower, it can fully cover landing troops.

The premise is that this is an Asian battlefield, not a European one; the 88 artillery is deployed flat.

The speed can reach 15 knots; from Yidu to Xiaoting, the north–south Yangtze River width is 1.3 kilometers.

In a few minutes it can transport over two hundred people from Yidu to Xiaoting.

"What a pity," Jiang Anguo thought to himself, "boats need crews; I don't have that many sailors, so I only dared to exchange three."

The number Jiang Anguo could purchase was limited, because the boats need crew, and he didn't have that many personnel available.

He bought three landing craft in total; thus, a single transfer could move a battalion to North of the River.

"Order the entire regiment and the 448th Regiment to leave a small contingent to guard Yidu, while the main force assembles on the south bank of the Yangtze River! I will dispatch transport boats to meet them; all ammunition, food, and Medical Packs will be on the transport ships." Jiang Anguo immediately issued the order.

"Yes." Xiao Si said in a clear voice.

"Brother, I've never fought such a well‑supplied battle in my life! The shells haven't stopped since the attack on Yidu began, and there have been several air‑to‑ground supports; if we had this equipment a few years earlier, how could the Little Devil have chased us all over the mountains!" Xu Guozhang scratched his ear.

He could feel the explosions; even on our side the sound was audible.

The Camel Brand Cigarettes in his hand kept coming, one after another.

Jiang Anguo also grabbed the cigarette pack, snapped it open, and lit a cigarette.

The nicotine smell wasn't pleasant, but it simply let his brain relax a bit.

Besides, it was a pick‑me‑up; each of his steps controlled hundreds to thousands of lives, so he could not afford any mistake!

"Old Xu, we can't let our guard down now; the Little Devil's Xiaoting isn't easy to take, and behind it lies Yichang, all hard‑to‑defend places; we must not be careless!" Jiang Anguo realized after entering Wufeng Mountain how complex Yichang's terrain was—Yichang was another Lashu.

Now it was merely a shift in offense and defense; Jiang Anguo became the attacking side, while the Little Devil's 13th Division was in a defensive position.

Originally, Jiang Anguo wanted the Little Devil to pay a price at Lashu, aiming to encircle and annihilate the Japanese Fifth Army's Watanabe Masao there; however, the Little Devil's sword maneuver went awry, and they directly air‑dropped into Bamo and Myitkyina, forcing him to turn back and seize Bamo. In that situation, if Jiang Anguo hadn't intervened, the entire Fifth Army would have entered Wild Man Mountain. Fortunately, they did not let the old Little Devil, Watanabe Masao, escape.

As a result, Jiang Anguo also lost an entire special‑operations battalion, including Guard Company Commander Jiang Fei.

"Got it! Brother, you're right; we can't be careless, got it! Brother, you're right, only then can we take Yidu, and the tail must not be raised to the heavens."

"But brother, do you think we should notify the Eighteenth Army?" Xu Guozhang asked, standing in front of Jiang Anguo.

The Eighteenth Army commander, Fang Tian.

Jiang Anguo stared at the two characters "Yichang" on the map, nodded slowly: "Send a report, synchronize the battle situation to the Eighteenth Army. Also," his tone paused slightly, "notify my brother‑in‑law."

"What? Brother‑in‑law?" Xu Guozhang was startled, the cigarette hanging mid‑air.

Jiang Anguo smiled, not hiding it, and said: "The 11th Division commander Hu Lian is my third brother‑in‑law."

"Oh my!" Xu Guozhang slapped his thigh hard, raised his thumb, "Got it! Absolutely got it! Brother, you even have that connection?!"

He squinted, lowered his voice with a hint of teasing: "So you and our… Principal Jiang, could there also be… some link?"

Jiang Anguo only gave a mysterious smile, looked toward the distant mountains outside the cave, and said softly, "What do you think?"

Inside Yidu City.

It was rumored that the troops were about to mobilize, and the civilians panicked. Many had just crawled out of cellars, hadn't caught their breath, when they saw soldiers in full gear marching, shouldering packs and guns, gathering toward the east gate.

"Could it be that we're leaving again?"

"If we go, what will we do when the Little Devil returns?"

The crowd stirred, fear rising like a tide.

An elderly man with white hair and beard, leaning on a cane, shakily pushed his way to the front of the line and grabbed a young Platoon Leader whose face was covered in smoke: "Young soldier, why are you… leaving again?"

The old man was deeply worried.

It was Duan Qiang, a Platoon Leader under Mi Long. He was already fierce‑looking, but now forced out a grin uglier than crying: "Grandfather, rest assured! We're not retreating; we've been ordered to cross the river and fight the Little Devil at Xiaoting!"

"Xiaoting?" The old man's eyes suddenly brightened, his voice rose sharply, "Ah! That's the place where Lu Xun burned Liu Bei's seven‑hundred‑li chain of camps! This… this is the Battle of Yiling! Now we're counter‑attacking Xiaoting, a righteous strike against the rebel, a just fight against tyranny!"

The surrounding townsfolk were stunned: Yiling? Xiaoting?

The old man's hands trembled with excitement, his eyes clear—clearly a learned elder!

Duan Qiang also paused, then gave a solemn salute: "Sir, you're right! In this battle, we must burn the Little Devil's 'linked camps' clean at Xiaoting!"

The old man turned, shouted to the neighbors: "Fellow villagers! Did you hear? The troops aren't leaving; they're crossing the river to fight the Little Devil! This is the first step to reclaim Yichang!"

The crowd was silent at first, then burst into cheers.

"Great! Well fought!"

"May the Bodhisattva protect us, slay the Japanese pirates!"

Immediately, people poured out of every household: the matron brought out eggs hidden for half a month, the old man offered the last half‑bag of coarse rice, women handed steamed sweet potatoes, children tiptoed to stuff fried soybeans into the soldiers' pockets…

"Take them! Eat on the road!"

"If you're not full, how can you fight the Little Devil?"

The First Battalion's soldiers kept stepping back, waving their hands, pushing the matron's offerings back, saying: "Ma'am, that's not allowed! The army has a strict rule—no taking even a single thread from the populace!"

The civilians kept stuffing more and more urgently, the scene nearly spiraled out of control.

But the brothers of the 448th Regiment, the Sichuan Army youths brought out by General Xu Guozhang, are straightforward and hot‑hearted; many already have red eyes, and some secretly slip steamed buns into their clothing pockets.

Regiment Commander of the 448th Regiment Xie Boluan stamped his foot in agitation and shouted, "You turtle's offspring! Who let you take them? Return them quickly! Not a single egg may be kept! My troops, even if they starve to death, must not take advantage of the common folk!"

Xie Boluan felt ashamed; his embarrassment was huge!

Look at the soldiers of the Independent Regiment, then look at your own troops; if the senior officers find out, Xie Boluan will inevitably receive a beating from General Xu Guozhang.