Chapter 43: That Is Songshan!

Jiang Anguo carries a K98k Sniper Rifle on his back, its accuracy even higher, and Xiao Si stays by his side.

He points at the mountains ahead and asks, "What place is ahead, the terrain is so treacherous."

Today he leads his troops on a ten‑kilometer armed drill; this time all weapons and ammunition are truly in place.

"Battalion commander, that ahead is Songshan," Lin Yi pants, jogging up to Jiang Anguo's side.

"Lin Yi, your physique isn't good; you need to train hard, otherwise you'll face many Japanese," Jiang Anguo pats Lin Yi's shoulder.

Lin Yi salutes and says, "Yes, Battalion commander."

Jiang Anguo immediately scolds, "Lin Yi, this is wartime training; who told you to salute? I told you before."

"Report, wartime regulations forbid saluting superiors," Lin Yi instantly realizes his mistake.

Jiang Anguo repeatedly emphasizes that after entering Myanmar, no one may salute any superior, himself included.

Even in routine training, especially combat drills, saluting is even more prohibited.

"What a fine place, high mountains and dangerous terrain," Jiang Anguo says.

The Expeditionary Force's defeat triggered a chain reaction: the Japanese Army's 56th Division seized the opportunity to invade Yunnan, and Songshan blocks the traffic throat from Western Yunnan into the Nu River East Bank.

It's not that Songshan is especially treacherous; it's that its location lies on that road on the map.

Jiang Anguo has been studying maps for days; crossing mountains consumes a lot of supplies, and if you must cross Huitong Bridge and attack Baoshan, you have to go through Songshan.

Indeed, Songshan sits right by the Nujiang Huitong Bridge, "facing a deep valley, backed by a great slope," with mountains on both left and right; it juts out on the Nu River's west bank like a natural bridgehead, blocking the Dian‑Mian Highway and controlling a forty‑li stretch of river surface north of the Nu River crossing.

"Songshan truly is a fine place!" Jiang Anguo exclaims.

If there were no war, this would be a tourist spot, but if the Japanese advance into Yunnan, Songshan must be held; Lashu is the Expeditionary Force's rear in Myanmar, while Songshan is the rear for Tengchong, Longling, and Mangshi. Once Songshan falls, the only option is to bomb Huitong Bridge to resist the Japanese advance.

As long as Songshan is in hand, one controls the initiative on the Nu River battlefield: advance to attack, retreat to defend; it also forms a flanking position with Tengchong and Longling County.

Jiang Anguo stops; he is drenched in sweat, and many soldiers, having run hot, have taken off their clothes.

Songshan is only ten kilometers from Chanda, yet Jiang Anguo didn't realize it was right beside him; he blames himself for being absorbed in studying Myanmar's topographic maps and ignoring his surroundings.

Moreover, Yunnan is full of mountains, so one more hill isn't lacking, but this particular hill is especially important.

No wonder the Songshan battle: the Japanese could use this single hill, with just over a thousand troops, to inflict over seven thousand casualties on the counter‑offensive Expeditionary Force.

Even when the later Expeditionary Force had air support and artillery, the heavy casualties remained.

Permanent fortifications indeed deal massive damage to infantry.

"Lin Yi, mark this spot for me; I will build a fortification on this mountain, and all companies will take turns constructing fortifications at Songshan." Whether or not the Japanese can break into Myanmar or Yunnan, Jiang Anguo decides, to be safe, to first establish a position on Songshan.

A position took two years to build, and in those two years it caused over seven thousand casualties; Jiang Anguo doesn't want so many Chinese to die, so he decides to first establish a position on Songshan.

Currently his battalion has 2,345 men, comprising nine Infantry Companies plus a Guard Company, a Transport Company, and an Artillery Company.

He glances at his points—goodness, he already has enough points to spend.

"System, exchange me an Engineer Company," Jiang Anguo tells the system; professional matters should be left to professionals.

Although infantry could do it, actually building a position quickly and efficiently still requires engineers.

As for brute force, all soldiers can take part.

"Alright, Host," the system says.

Soon an Infantry Company appears before Jiang Anguo, still 160 men, including one Company Commander and three Platoon Leaders.

A company with only four non‑commissioned officers is naturally few; some officers can be promoted from the ranks, and the soldiers exchanged by the system can also become capable.

Exchanging one company requires 850 points; the price isn't high, and the cost‑performance is actually excellent.

In fact Jiang Anguo didn't spend that many points; the exchange returns 320 points, so he actually spent only 530 points, plus daily earnings, which are ongoing.

He doesn't know if it's a system bug or what, but Jiang Anguo quite likes it.

He wonders, without the system, how he could turn the tide and fight the Japanese hand‑to‑hand.

Most likely he wouldn't dare; the only way is to go abroad and do some industry, because the victory of the anti‑Japanese war is only about three years away, and what he can do outside is better than not knowing when he'll die on the battlefield.

"Report, Commander, Engineer Company Commander Liu Sheng reporting to you." Liu Sheng, the Engineer Company Commander, looks sturdy—a civil engineering man.

Liu Sheng's trait is also civil engineering; his luck seems good. Character traits are randomly generated, but purchasing a professional character raises the chance of a professional trait.

Engineer Company soldiers cost the same as Basic Infantry—5 points per man—because they aren't a technical branch like Artillery or Tank Soldier.

"Alright, Company Commander Liu, your garrison is at Songshan; think of a way to turn Songshan into a defensive position. Before we head to Myanmar, we should complete this fortification as much as possible," Jiang Anguo says.

"Yes, Commander, mission guaranteed," Liu Sheng says boldly.

Jiang Anguo glances at the engineers behind Liu Sheng; they also carry infantry weapons and ammunition, but they have extra tools for excavation.

Seeing this, it's clearly professional, yet Jiang Anguo knows little about trench works; he only has vague memories and refines them with the soldiers' combat training.

If you ask why build trenches instead of attacking, Jiang Anguo has over two thousand men, plus Liu Sheng's company, totaling about 2,500.

A Japanese Army division has nearly 20,000 men; the Japanese deployed four divisions and their attached units in the Myanmar theater, totaling 100,000 men, so a division of 20,000 is not unusual.

Two thousand versus twenty thousand, the enemy also has fighters and bombers; Jiang Anguo knows the math—charging forward would be suicide.

Look, whose Guard Company has five hundred men? That's clearly a death‑wish.

Therefore, they can only fight a defensive war against the Japanese.