Chapter 359: General's Mountain, Dingjun Mountain!

Independent Regiment, 150th Division, 11th Division.

Soldiers from three sides formed a circle, enclosing Nei Shan Yingtailang within!

Xu Guozhang was wiping blood from his broadsword when he heard it and sneered, "You turtle son still have the face to talk about 'death'? When Dangyang burned my village, why didn't you follow the rules?"

He tossed off his Pojun hat, drew from behind that thick back cleaver, forged by a Sichuan blacksmith, its blade four inches wide, weighing six jin eight liang, the hilt wrapped in a red cloth strip.

"Come! I'll play with you!"

The two stood ten steps apart, facing each other.

Nei Shan inhaled deeply, stepped forward with his left foot, the tip of his sword angled toward the ground, assuming the "mid-section stance", the standard opening in Japanese kendo. Though his leg was injured, his wrist was steady, his gaze sharp—clearly a trained swordsman.

Xu Guozhang, however, took no guard stance, merely bending his knee slightly, the sword held horizontally before his chest, his weight on the rear foot. It was the Sichuan hunter's bear‑fighting posture, seeking no flourish, only a killing blow.

Nei Shan moved first!

"Ya—!"

He roared, sprinted forward, his blade flashing like lightning, slashing straight at Xu Guozhang's face.

Xu Guozhang did not block, sidestepped, and at the same time swung his right‑hand sword upward from below.

Target: Nei Shan's sword‑holding wrist.

Nei Shan quickly retracted his sword, blocking horizontally. "Clang!" sparks flew in four directions.

He used the momentum to spin, the second slash cutting horizontally across the waist and ribs.

Xu Guozhang leapt back half a step, the tip of his sword touching the ground, then thrust upward, forcing Nei Shan to retreat.

Both breathed heavily, sweat mixing with blood dripping down.

"You are not a samurai," Nei Shan gritted his teeth, "You don't understand the sword."

"I'm not a samurai," Xu Guozhang spat, "I'm a carpenter, specialized in chopping beasts' heads."

Before the words finished, he surged forward, not attacking the upper part but striking downwards, a blade aimed at Nei Shan's wounded leg!

Nei Shan was startled, hurriedly lifted his left leg, but lost balance from the intense pain.

Xu Guozhang's sword motion did not cease, he followed through with an upward slash!

"Puff!"

The blade sliced across Nei Shan's right arm, deep enough to expose bone.

Nei Shan cried out in agony, his sword slipping from his hand.

He staggered back, and astonishingly fished a 97-type hand grenade from his chest, pulling the pin!

"Let's die together!"

Xu Guozhang's eyes were sharp, his foot flew up, kicking his wrist. The grenade flew out of his hand, rolling into the grass.

"Boom!"

The blast wave overturned fallen leaves.

Nei Shan was knocked to the ground, his face drenched in blood.

Xu Guozhang stepped forward, a foot pressing on his chest, the sword tip at his throat: "You aren't even worthy of a quick death."

Nei Shan stared at him, eyes unafraid, only filled with resentment.

"Kill me..." he rasped.

"No," Xu Guozhang sheathed his sword, "You must live. Return to Chongqing, kneel before the graves of Dangyang's civilians, and confess."

From afar, Jiang Anguo approached, saying coldly, "Tie him up, take him away."

Nei Shan Yingtailang closed his eyes, speaking no more.

His sword lay quietly in the mud.

"What is this place called?" Jiang Anguo looked around and asked.

"Brother, if I'm not mistaken, this place is called General's Mountain!" Xu Guozhang stepped forward and said.

Jiang Anguo suddenly burst out laughing, "Alright! Old Xu, this General's Mountain fits the scene! It really fits!"

Jiang Anguo raised a voice like a cracked gong and sang loudly: "Big and small lads listen to the root seed: First drum beats war rice forging, second drum tightens battle robes, third drum draws the sword from its scabbard, fourth drum hands the troops over. Those who advance all receive reward, those who retreat inevitably take a slash."

"General's Mountain, Old Xu, here you slay Japanese Army 13th Division Division Commander Nei Shan Yingtailang," Jiang Anguo laughed loudly.

"Ha ha."

Xu Guozhang, carried by Jiang Anguo's mood, sang another rousing rendition of Dingjun Mountain.

In ancient times, Huang Zhong at Dingjun Mountain slew Cao Wei's great general Xiahou Yuan; today Xu Guozhang on General's Mountain cleaves the Japanese Army's middle‑rank division commander.

How exhilarating!

The sound echoed through the mountains.

Only Hu Lian was puzzled, thinking the two were merely venting their emotions.

Xu Guozhang looked at Jiang Anguo, his eyes full of admiration; at first he thought Jiang Anguo was mad, a complete fantasy.

One regiment, one division, attacking Yichang.

Madman, madman.

But as the battle unfolded step by step—first Yidu, then later Xiaoting—after capturing Yidu, Xu Guozhang was seventy‑to‑eighty percent convinced this could succeed.

He didn't expect it to actually happen.

In the final Battle of Yichang, the Huaxia army fielded one division, two regiments, plus the Independent Regiment; their forces were even fewer than the Japanese Army 13th Division, yet they won.

"Brother! Today Old Xu, I'm impressed! From now on, wherever you point, I'll strike there!" Xu Guozhang said cheerfully.

Jiang Anguo realized the remark was off, immediately saying, "Ah, Old Xu, that's not something to say, listen to the higher command."

He saw the Japanese commander Nei Shan Yingtailang's sword still lying on the ground.

Jiang Anguo's hand passed over, and Xiao Si saw clearly; he quietly slipped to the sword, crouched to pick it up, then retreated into the Guard Company.

Regarding Xiao Si's performance, Jiang Anguo was ten‑thousand‑fold satisfied.

This is the Little Devil division commander's officer sword, and of course Jiang Anguo had already collected one before, which is Watanabe Masao's military sword.

A Japanese division commander, Jiang Anguo doesn't care; even if he comes, it's no use.

A Japanese Army division commander is different for Huaxia; this is a captured alive Japanese Army's first Class A Division commander, which will greatly help propaganda work and winning international support.

Jiang Anguo originally thought Xu Guozhang would directly kill Uchiyama Eitaro, but unexpectedly it ended up being a live capture.

Because after defeating the Japanese Army 13th Division and capturing Uchiyama Eitaro, the system's reward was credited.

This reward is because Jiang Anguo recaptured Yichang and directly defeated the Japanese Army 13th Division.

The reward is as follows: 30 B‑29 bombers, 60 P‑51 Mustang fighters, 80 Sherman tanks, two full sets of 1942 United States infantry division weapons and equipment, equipped with ten base quantities of corresponding ammunition and shells, and fuel.

The troop strength increased by 4,000, and the population is 300,000.

The earlier part doesn't concern Jiang Anguo much; even if there are two American‑style divisions equipped, that's not the point.

Later Jiang Anguo feels incredulous; drowsiness arrives, delivering a pillow.

Another increase of 4,000 troops means Jiang Anguo's current force can reach 28,000, which, if placed domestically, would be the strength of three divisions.

I'm still a Regiment Commander, what?

Speak louder.

Chief?

No, Commander!

Right!

"System, are you still trafficking population?" Jiang Anguo asked puzzled.

The only reply was the system's cold voice, "No, Host, please figure it out yourself."

Population is very important; to sustain so many people—300,000—how much food is needed?

Of course, population can give Jiang Anguo points; a civilian provides Jiang Anguo 2 points per day, so these 300,000 people can give Jiang Anguo 600,000 points daily.

Good fellow, enough to exchange for the equipment of ten American Army infantry divisions, more than sufficient; what does the system want him to do?

Commander, no, Jiang Anguo has a bold idea, Ball Chief!

Seems it's not impossible.

But after calming down, he pondered a question: where to place so many people.

Lashu, no, it's too small; 300,000 people is indeed a bit too many.

The only place he could think of is Mandalay, or Yangon.

Of course, there's another place: Taunggyi, which serves as Jiang Anguo's forward base on the Shanbang Plateau; its territory is large enough that housing 300,000 people is not difficult.

Taunggyi's terrain is like the Sichuan Basin, with a vast central plain area, sufficient to accommodate over a million people.