Chapter 605: Pacify the Chaos

After the envoy reported back, Zhi Tian Xinzhong's expression was calm, and he already understood clearly that Dao Meng was obstinate and ineffective; only by using force to intimidate could Banwa Town be thoroughly pacified.

Zhi Tian Xinzhong looked at the terrain map of Banwa Town and solemnly ordered: "Banwa Town's terrain is treacherous; a frontal assault would incur excessive losses. Send an elite unit to loop around the back mountain road and launch a surprise attack on Dao Meng's armory."

"The main force will hold the front, and once the armory is destroyed, launch an immediate all‑out attack. Remember, minimize civilian casualties and do not harm the innocent."

The South China Freedom Army was equipped with four 94‑type mountain guns; just those four guns are a nightmare for Dao Meng!

That night, under deep darkness, the South China Freedom Army acted according to the plan. The rear detachment slipped through the rugged mountain path under cover of night.

The mountain roads of Northern Myanmar were narrow and steep, and after the rainy season turned to mud; the soldiers advanced cautiously, evading Dao Meng's patrol posts, and successfully reached the area behind the town near the armory.

Regarding night fighting and ambushes, this South China Freedom Army, formed from Japanese Army POWs, was more than familiar.

At the sound of a signal gun, the soldiers surged forward, eliminated the guards of the armory, and a large fire ignited the depot.

"Boom—boom—" the explosions rang through the night sky, and the flames stained half the heavens red.

Dao Meng learned the armory had been blown up and instantly panicked; the confidence in his heart largely vanished.

He hastily gathered his troops to mount a counterattack, but the South China Freedom Army's main force had already launched a frontal assault; artillery struck the town's defensive works with precision, inflicting heavy casualties on the defenders and throwing their morale into chaos.

Most of Dao Meng's soldiers were local civilians who already were unwilling to die for him; when they saw the South China Freedom Army's swift assault, they dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Zhi Tian Xinzhong personally led his troops into the town, harming no civilian along the way, and even offered medical aid to the wounded.

Dao Meng, with the remaining few hundred close aides, fell back to the council hall to make a desperate stand.

Zhi Tian Xinzhong arrived outside the council hall and shouted inside: "Dao Meng, your armory is destroyed, most of your soldiers have surrendered, you have nowhere to run. Lay down your weapons and surrender; I will spare your life and treat your family kindly. If you continue to resist, don't blame me for being unmerciful!"

Inside the council hall, Dao Meng watched his panicked aides and heard the South China Freedom Army's shouts from outside; his heart was filled with despair and resentment.

He knew he could no longer turn the tide; if he kept resisting, his family would be ruined and he would die. In the end, Dao Meng lowered his weapon, opened the council hall doors, and surrendered to Zhi Tian Xinzhong.

After pacifying Banwa Town, Zhi Tian Xinzhong immediately set about soothing the populace and restoring order.

He abolished the heavy taxes imposed during Dao Meng's rule, opened the granaries, and distributed food to the people.

He dispatched medical staff to treat injured civilians and promised that Nanko would invest supplies to repair roads, build schools and hospitals, improving local living conditions.

Regarding Dao Meng's remaining forces, Zhi Tian Xinzhong did not exterminate them; those willing to submit to Nanko were incorporated into local security units.

Those unwilling to stay were given travel expenses to return home.

Targeting the local Keqin clan, Zhi Tian Xinzhong summoned their chieftains and patiently explained Nanko's ethnic policy: "Nanko is a multi‑ethnic nation where all peoples are equal. Your family's interests will be protected as long as you cooperate with Nanko's governance, refrain from secession or oppressing civilians, and you can still retain your property and status."

The Keqin chieftains, who had initially harbored doubts, saw the South China Freedom Army treat civilians kindly and keep their word, gradually lowered their guard and expressed willingness to submit to Nanko and cooperate in governance.

Zhi Tian Xinzhong's combination of benevolence and authority not only fully pacified Banwa Town but also earned the locals' trust and support.

In just a few days, Banwa Town restored its former order; smiles returned to the streets, jadeite veins were mined orderly, and cross‑border trade gradually resumed.

Zhi Tian Xinzhong stood on a high point in Banwa Town, gazing at the scene, aware that the road to pacifying Northern Myanmar was still long.

But as long as he upholds the principle of "peaceful evolution as the primary method, armed deterrence as the auxiliary."

Treating every ethnicity kindly will surely eradicate separatist forces, allowing Northern Myanmar to truly integrate into Nanko, achieving Nanko's unification and stability.

Regarding the Northern Myanmar tribes that refuse to cooperate or submit to Nanko, Jiang Anguo never shows mercy.

Since they refuse to submit, there is no need to let them exist; perhaps in a short time, these tribes' names will be completely erased from the map.

And on the lands they vacate, brand‑new Han villages will soon spring up, each with five hundred people, cultivating land and building houses, fully bringing this chaotic region under Nanko's control.

Northern Myanmar has long been a chaotic region plagued by constant war and factionalism.

Each tribe entrenched in its own area, its leaders each ruling like a local emperor, tyrannizing and oppressing civilians, utterly unwilling to accept Nanko's unified governance.

Jiang Anguo knows that for such forces, a conciliatory policy is useless; only thunderous measures can fully intimidate and clear governance obstacles.

He will not allow such law‑less, autocratic separatist forces to exist within his domain.

The South China Freedom Army led by Zhi Tian Xinzhong is the core force executing this thunderous suppression.

Even when confronting some strategically difficult, hard‑to‑defend tribal strongholds, Zhi Tian Xinzhong has his own countermeasures.

The Freedom Army itself is equipped with superior firepower—light and heavy machine guns, mortars, all present—enough to meet the tribes' rudimentary defenses.

If met with stiff resistance, he directly calls for air support; carrier aircraft take off from Chang'an or Lashu, precisely bomb tribal bases, after which ground troops seize the opportunity to assault—hardly any fortress remains unconquerable.

Because of this, Zhi Tian Xinzhong's pacification of Northern Myanmar proceeded unusually smoothly; the stubborn tribes were either utterly crushed or forced to surrender.

For tribal chieftains willing to relinquish power and voluntarily submit, Nanko does not exterminate them but "invites" them to be guests in Chang'an.

Though called a visit, it is effectively house arrest, keeping them away from their tribes so they cannot interfere in local affairs.

More crucially, the children of these surrendered chieftains will all be sent to Huadu.

They will enter specialized schools for ideological education, learning Nanko's culture, systems, and ideas, completely severing their ties to the old tribal forces.

As for when these chieftains may return to their tribes, they never get to decide.

Only when Nanko fully consolidates local rule and confirms they have no ulterior motives will a return become possible.

Of course, many more tribal leaders still covet their power, preferring to resist to the end rather than submit to Nanko.

For these individuals, Jiang Anguo did not order total extermination, but gave them the heaviest punishment.

All were sent to mining sites across Nanko, reduced to miners.

In Jiang Anguo's view, these resistant captives are the finest labor force; they can contribute to Nanko's mineral development and completely crush their arrogance, making them understand that the price of opposing Nanko is far heavier than imagined.

In an instant, Northern Myanmar's separatist forces were cleared one by one; uncooperative tribes vanished, and brand‑new Han villages sprouted everywhere.

Surrendered chieftains were placed under house arrest, resistant leaders became miners, and the once chaotic Northern Myanmar gradually became orderly.

Jiang Anguo's thunderous tactics not only intimidated all tribes but also rooted Nanko's rule deep in Northern Myanmar, laying a solid foundation for subsequent comprehensive governance.