Chapter 366: The Battle of Jingxiang, Dangyang

Fang Tian never imagined that Jiang Anguo would actually dare to reach Yichang; of course he doesn't know Jiang Anguo, but has heard of him—he appears in the Myanmar Campaign battle report as a notable figure, and as the ruling side's army commander he can discern his background from his name.

Good fellow, Yichang has indeed been taken, while our 18th Army is still far back at Enshi; if the Principal later comes to hold us responsible…

The unlucky one is Fang Tian himself.

"Yes!" the Chief of Staff turned to leave.

"Wait!" Fang Tian called him again, his tone grave, "Tell the commanders of each division that Yichang is not an ordinary city; it is the Yangtze River lock key, a gateway to the secondary capital. If we are a step late and let the Japanese counterattack and retake it, fighting again will cost countless lives!"

Fang Tian knows Yichang's importance all too well; at that time, the River Defense Forces commander Guo Chan, upon receiving orders, sent the main forces of the 75th and 94th Armies north to chase the "retreating Japanese", leaving Yichang exposed.

When the National Government realized Yichang was in danger, it hastily dispatched Peng Shan's 18th Army for emergency reinforcement, but it was already too late.

The resulting chain reaction was that Jingmen, Dangyang, and Yichang all fell.

Yichang's loss certainly required someone to take responsibility; Peng Shan was also unlucky. A first‑batch Huangpu graduate, he had gone to train troops in eastern Sichuan. The one who succeeded Peng Shan in commanding the 18th Army is Fang Tian.

Once Yichang is lost and then regained, it must never be lost again.

Xue Yue's th War Zone, Changsha.

If we can obtain supplies coming out of Sichuan, that would be tremendous news for the th War Zone.

City defenses need rebuilding, the populace needs pacifying, river defenses need mine deployment, mountain passes need checkpoints.

These are not tasks the Independent Regiment or the 11th Division can sustain long term; the most critical issue is that the Independent Regiment and the 11th Division have actually chased outward.

In less than an hour, Chongqing sent a confirming telegram:

"Yichang has indeed been recaptured; the 18th Army should immediately take over defense to ensure it is not lost again."

Fang Tian no longer hesitated, ordering: "All troops light‑armed, advance rapidly along the Shi‑Yi ancient road! The vanguard must reach Yichang within six days and take over Yichang!"

Enshi is nearly two hundred kilometers from Yichang; reaching it within six days is already decent.

At this moment Fang Tian felt some regret; had he coordinated earlier with the Independent Regiment and the 150th Division, perhaps they could have set out a day earlier.

The order was swiftly transmitted.

The two divisions of the 18th Army stationed near Enshi broke camp overnight, torches linked into a fire dragon, and rushed toward Yichang.

At this moment, on the Zengjiagang battlefield, Jiang Anguo was looking at the captured Japanese map, smiling at Hu Lian: "A bit slower, we're really going to fight all the way to Wuhan."

Hu Lian clutched his wrist in frustration; he couldn't either—he himself didn't believe they could take Yichang, having only taken two regiments out of Shipa.

"Anguo, coordinate the transport ships here and send my 31st and 32nd Regiments directly to Yichang as well." Hu Lian now regretted a bit, wondering why he hadn't also taken the 11th Division to Dianjun Mountain.

If they reached Dianjun Mountain, could the 11th Division be fully reequipped with German‑style gear?

Jiang Anguo nodded; his Independent Regiment's defensive sector is not Yichang, so Yichang will later be handed over. He has already obtained what he wanted, as staying in Yichang holds no meaning.

"Don't worry, I just need to greet Yao Quanyi's side."

Now, around Yichang there are 13 landing craft, each capable of transporting over two thousand men at once, nearly a regiment's strength.

Shipa is only a dozen kilometers from Yichang; a round trip takes just a few hours.

All the territories captured also indeed need people to defend.

Hu Lian hesitated a bit, then said: "Anguo, looking at the spoils from Yichang, how shall we allocate them?"

Jiang Anguo thought it was a big deal, but it's just some Little Devil weapons. He said, "Brother, if you want, take them all; later we can give some to the 150th Division, Xu Guozhang's side will be fine. My Independent Regiment uses all German equipment, so we don't need these weapons."

In fact, Xu Guozhang now has a high standard; he also looks down on these Little Devil weapons.

Before, the Sichuan Army was poor; now with this little junior brother protecting them, his 150th Division is strong!

"Alright, Anguo, then we won't discuss family matters." Hu Lian knows Yichang has many Japanese‑left weapons—plenty of rifles, and crucially heavy artillery, infantry cannons, and mountain guns.

These are all good things, also what the Huaxia Army lacks.

Jiang Anguo probably understood Hu Lian's point, but he also didn't care for those Little Devil howitzers; despite having endured multiple P‑38 Lightning bombings, many heavy guns remained, as well as the Japanese Type 92 Infantry Cannon and Type 94 Mountain Cannon.

Mainly, the Japanese built many permanent fortifications in Yichang; these heavy guns were placed inside the works, and the bombings only killed the Little Devils inside the bunkers.

"By the way, Anguo, how did you acquire your weapons and aircraft?" Hu Lian asked, puzzled.

Jiang Anguo casually said, "I know a few foreigners; they happen to have a batch of arms, and I made a deal with them."

"Alright, stop babbling, conserve energy, and reach Dangyang quickly."

The Huaxia Army has already opened up, with no concealment, marching straight out of the Jingmen Mountains along the Han‑Yi Highway northward, preparing to attack Dangyang.

In the air.

P‑38 Lightning fighters swept over the Huaxia troops.

William's Ghost First Battalion suddenly contacted ground forces, "Commander, we discovered an airfield at Dangyang; should we launch an attack? We haven't seen any Japanese aircraft; they may be hidden."

"What?" Jiang Anguo said in disbelief.

He truly hadn't expected Dangyang to have a Japanese airfield, meaning the entire Jianghan Plain has many Japanese‑built airfields.

Jiang Anguo thought briefly and immediately replied, "William, your First Battalion can attack the ground airfield, destroy the enemy's ground works, but do not drop bombs; we still need that runway."

"Understood, Commander." William flapped his wings, accelerated, and headed north toward Dangyang.

Jiang Anguo's aviation squadron is still in the Changde direction; Changde is also about two hundred kilometers from Dangyang, so a round trip takes a little over an hour.

The most critical issue is aerial bombs; there are enough for William's entire battalion to carry out three missions.

Dangyang, for Jiang Anguo, is undoubtedly the best transit airfield; once captured, he can transfer William's Ghost Battalion entirely to the Dangyang airfield.

The fighter squadron can then take off from Dangyang and directly attack Jingmen, Jingzhou, and the Japanese reinforcement units in Wuhan.

At that moment, the WarSystem prompted, "007 sacrificed!"

Code name 007, three Japanese senior spies that Jiang Anguo had earlier exchanged for.

Before Jiang Anguo left Lashu, he sent them to Jakarta, that is Java Island in Indonesia, to carry out a special mission.

To fetch a person—a figure who made a huge contribution to the resistance—also Jiang Anguo's groundwork for future Southeast Asia.

What Jiang Anguo never imagined was that 007 Xiao Chuanqing was not killed by Japanese bullets but was bitten by a Poisonous Snake; he knew well that without prompt treatment, the Southeast Asian jungle offers only death.

"Damn it," Jiang Anguo cursed.

Although they cannot contact 006 now, they should have reached the target mission and are returning.