Chapter 536: ‘Release

Jiang Anguo watched as the WarSystem suddenly showed over a hundred thousand points, and the especially conspicuous eighty thousand points, which was Iida Shojirou himself.

He looked, indeed it was William's fighter plane, which shot down that person; he also wondered why William and his group were flying toward the southern sea.

It seemed Iida Shojirou tried to escape by sea, but was spotted by his own fighter.

What a pity; it's unclear whether the corpse can be found, and the chance to capture his image is gone.

July 27, 23:11.

Inside Yangon the artillery still roared, the Japanese 55th Division's resistance was very tenacious, and they clearly would not abandon Yangon so easily.

Flashes of illumination grenades lit up the whole of Yangon in the sky.

The tardily arriving Expeditionary Force main body finally reached Yangon.

The first to arrive was still Dai Anlan's 200th Division; Dai Anlan also worried that his reckless brother‑in‑law might cause some mishap.

However his worry proved somewhat unnecessary.

Jiang Anguo was already at ease with a frontal breakthrough of a division.

War is actually that simple: under superior firepower, relentless bombardment; as for the city of Yangon, it doesn't matter, and the Myanmar civilians of Yangon matter even less—he only needs an empty city.

"Anguo, why not pull back part of your troops? I'll send the 600th Regiment up!" Dai Anlan said anxiously.

Jiang Anguo shook his head, "Now is not the time for fresh troops to enter Yangon; my 201st Division is already delivering the final strike against the Little Devils, and withdrawing the positions now would render the earlier sacrifices futile."

"However, the 200th Division can help me hold the Yangon airport direction, but do not attack the Japanese, even if they retreat north from here, do not attack," Jiang Anguo said mysteriously.

Dai Anlan was somewhat puzzled why they should not attack the Japanese.

"Anguo, what do you mean?" Dai Anlan could not understand.

In front of Dai Anlan, Jiang Anguo was not trying to hide anything; moreover, the establishment of Nanko, which Dai Anlan had been involved in, made many matters clear to him.

Jiang Anguo looked toward the West at India and said, "The British will eventually return, so it would be better to let the Japanese enter India, throw the whole of India into chaos, reshuffle Southeast Asia, and then Nanko can establish itself in Southeast Asia as quickly as possible."

Jiang Anguo was not worried about the British, because at most they would attack Myanmar from the Indian direction, and as long as the enemy does not launch a multi‑pronged assault on Myanmar, he was confident he could hold Myanmar.

But if the British, the Americans, and the French attacked on three fronts, even with all his forces Jiang Anguo would struggle to cope, since Nanko's foundations were still shallow, resources limited, and he must concentrate strength on the most critical direction.

He knew that even the WarSystem could supply endless materiel, but the prerequisite was that Jiang Anguo also had to fight in Frontline Combat.

For example, Germany fighting on three fronts left Jiang Anguo stretched thin.

Of course, after a series of battles in Myanmar, Jiang Anguo was well aware that even if he abandoned the entire southern region, he could still defend northern Myanmar.

The terrain of the Shanbang Plateau was indeed ideal for defense, and Jiang Anguo also had a series of early defensive positions laid out at Lashu; the enemy, lacking ten times the troops, could not hope to enter the Shanbang Plateau.

"Anguo, you mean let the Japanese go through and enter India!" Dai Anlan said.

Jiang Anguo nodded, "Yes, as the saying goes, besieging three while missing one; if we block all retreat routes for the Little Devils inside Yangon, they will certainly fight to the death. We've already won the Myanmar campaign, the Dian-Mian Highway is about to be opened, so there is no need for needless sacrifice!"

"Then, Anguo, what about Ren'ankiang's rd Division? Their forces have not been depleted and still have combat power," Dai Anlan asked.

"This isn't urgent; I'll find a way to push the rd Division toward India." Jiang Anguo had placed Yang Zhi's Infantry Regiment behind the rd Division to block its northward route.

Now the rd Division has become a completely isolated force in Myanmar.

The key is that the rd Division still lacks sufficient logistical support; a Japanese unit in Myanmar without adequate supplies would make Jiang Anguo imagine what those Little Devils might do.

"Since you've already made up your mind, I won't say more!"

Dai Anlan nodded and immediately went down to deploy troops.

July 28 evening, 19:38, rain poured down in sheets, the icy water streaming over Yangon's smoke and bloodstains, yet it could not wash away the city's horror and desolation.

After days of bloody fighting, the Expeditionary Force finally fully captured Yangon.

The Japanese 55th Division collapsed along its entire line; its commander Takeuchi Hiroshi was cornered and ultimately captured by Expeditionary Force soldiers.

The once‑arrogant Japanese commander now lay on the ground as a prisoner, his face full of panic and despair.

Meanwhile, Angshan, the leader of the Myanmar volunteer army trying to flee amid the chaos, lost his way during the escape and crashed straight into the pocket formation set by the 200th Division's 600th Regiment defending the airport.

Without offering any resistance, he was captured alive by Expeditionary Force soldiers who had been waiting there; the volunteer army he had painstakingly built could not escape its doomed fate.

In this battle, the Expeditionary Force achieved a complete victory.

Only a handful of Japanese managed to escape Yangon; a few hundred fled north amid the chaos, already having lost combat capability.

Days of pursuit and melee left the Expeditionary Force soldiers exhausted to the limit, their uniforms smeared with mud, oil and blood, eyes blood‑shot, even the strength to lift a hand nearly spent.

Night fell, the rain still unrelenting; the 201st Division's soldiers lacked the energy to erect tents, so they spread rain‑proof sheets on Yangon's ruins, huddling in small groups to sleep on the ground.

Some curled up under blankets; even in the downpour they quickly fell asleep, the lingering fatigue making them ignore the cold rain and the mud beneath their feet.

It wasn't that the soldiers didn't want to enter houses; the war had been so intense that artillery and tank soldiers bombarded in succession, shells raining down on Yangon as if money were no object.

The once‑prosperous city had long been reduced to ruins; broken walls and crumbling structures were everywhere, collapsed houses and streets riddled with shell holes, with no intact shelter to shield from wind and rain.

Post‑war cleanup was even more arduous; Yangon was littered with corpses of Japanese and Myanmar volunteers, emitting a pungent stench.

If not dealt with promptly, plague would easily break out.

The soldiers divided into several squads, first registering the Japanese corpses, meticulously searching them for valuable items and intelligence, then gathering all bodies together, clearing a plot outside the city for a unified burning.

As for the civilian corpses inside the city, since no one claimed them and they held no value, they were also taken outside and burned together with the Japanese bodies.

The task of burning the bodies was extremely arduous; the acrid smell of scorching mixed with blood made one vomit.

The soldiers tasked with the burning could only endure each batch for a short time; after more than ten rotations, every face bore exhaustion and discomfort, many even vomiting on the spot, yet they gritted their teeth and persisted.

The raging fire burned outside the city for three days and three nights, its flames reddening half the sky, yet even so it could not incinerate all the bodies.

The cold rain fell on the blaze, producing a sizzle, puffing out plumes of white smoke that mingled with the foul odor in the air, becoming Yangon's most unforgettable post‑war imprint.

The exhausted Expeditionary Force soldiers rested while continuing to handle post‑war matters.