The War of Resistance: From Overseas Chinese Mechanics to King of Nanyang

The headquarters of the Japanese 18th Division on the outskirts of Lashio.

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi stood on the high ground, looking at the distant Lashio Castle through his binoculars.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the operations staff officer approached him from behind, "According to the latest intelligence, the 55th Division has already departed and is expected to arrive in Lashio within three days. Once they arrive, they can form a pincer movement from the north and south and capture Lashio in one fell swoop."

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi slowly lowered his binoculars, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Three days?" Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi's voice was deep and powerful. "That's too long. Although the Chinese defenses are strong, their ammunition and supplies are almost gone. If we continue to delay, they might break through before the 55th Division arrives."

"But Your Excellency, Division Commander," the operations staff officer hesitated, "our offensive has lasted for three days, and casualties are mounting. If we halt the attack now and wait for the 55th Division, we can minimize unnecessary losses."

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi turned around and looked at the other man: "Do you think I'm worried about casualties? No, I'm wondering why Huang Zurong is so tenacious? How can a security regiment commander, a former Nanyang Overseas Chinese mechanic, hold off the attack of our 18th Division?"

He walked to the battle map, his finger slowly moving along the Burma Road: "Think about it, we're not facing an ordinary security regiment. They have a large number of artillery pieces and precise night raid capabilities. Is this the kind of strength a security regiment should have?"

"You mean..." the operations staff officer exclaimed, suddenly realizing, "The British??"

"Possibly," Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi sneered. "Or perhaps the Allies, especially that American Stilwell. If Huang Zurong really is Stilwell's man, then we're not just facing a security regiment, but a pawn in an international power struggle."

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Pass on my order: the entire army shall halt its offensive, construct defensive fortifications, and await the arrival of the 55th Division. Then we will encircle Lashio together and take it down in one fell swoop."

"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the operations staff officer hesitated, "would pausing the offensive give the enemy a chance to regroup?"

"No," Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi said confidently. "Because my plan isn't to pause, but to lure the enemy deep into our territory. I'll make them think our offensive is faltering, thus lowering their guard. Once the 55th Division arrives, we can strike them dead in one blow."

The operations staff officer nodded: "Understood, I'll arrange it right away."

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi picked up his binoculars again, gazing at the distant Lashio Castle, his eyes gleaming with calculation.

He believed the plan was foolproof and that Lashio would soon fall into his hands.

But his wish was about to be dashed.

The next morning, over Lashio

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi was sitting in the command post, listening to a report from the front-line commander.

After the Japanese army suspended its offensive, Huang Zurong's troops seemed to relax their vigilance, and the number of counterattacks did indeed decrease significantly.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the frontline commander reported, "based on observations, Huang Zurong's troops are repairing their lines and show no signs of breaking out."

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi nodded: "Yosh, it seems they think we're really running out of steam. Pass down the order to keep the troops in a defensive posture, but be ready to attack at any time."

Just then, a loud rumbling sound came from outside, growing louder and louder, as if something in the sky was approaching.

"What's that sound?" Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi frowned and walked to the window.

He looked up, his pupils suddenly contracting.

In the sky, more than a dozen fighter jets were flying in from the south.

Their wings were painted with U.S. military insignia, which reflected a blinding gleam in the sunlight.

"American warplanes?" Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi's voice trembled slightly. "How did they get here?"

The operations staff officer rushed into the command post, his face pale: "Division Commander, something terrible has happened! A group of American C-47 transport planes has appeared over Lashio, and they've started airdropping supplies!"

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi suddenly turned around and rushed out of the command post. He stood on the high ground, looking at the terrifying scenes in the sky.

C-47 transport planes lined up in neat formation and circled over Lashio. Their hatches opened, and huge packages were pushed out, their parachutes deploying in mid-air as they slowly drifted to the ground.

"What are they airdropping?" Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi roared, his fists clenched and his face ashen.

"Ammunition? Food? Or weapons?"

The operations staff officer took out his binoculars and observed carefully: "Your Excellency, those packages are marked with U.S. military insignia; they appear to be supplies."

"Baka!" Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi roared.

He then took a deep breath and continued.

"Supplies? Hmph, even if they had supplies, how long could they hold out? Our 18th Division plus the 55th Division has a total strength of over 30,000 men, while they only have a few thousand. No amount of supplies would help."

That's what they said, but the purpose was obviously to stabilize morale.

But he soon discovered that the situation was much more serious than he had imagined.

After the airdropped packages landed, Huang Zurong immediately organized people to collect them.

Before long, Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi learned from the Burmese what the supplies were.

Inside were heavy weapons—mortars, heavy machine guns, submachine guns, and so on.

"Heavy weapons?" Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi's voice was deep. "A lot of them?"

The operations staff officer gave a wry smile: "Division Commander, Stilwell has really gone all out this time. If Huang Zurong's troops are equipped with these weapons, our attack will be even more difficult."

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "Pass down the order to the artillery units to prepare and find a way to catch them off guard."

"Division Commander," the operations staff officer hesitated, "if we attack now, they'll likely use the equipment they just acquired on us, and that would result in heavy losses for us."

"I don't care about the losses." Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi's eyes sharpened. "These supplies absolutely cannot be allowed to be familiarized with too quickly."

The operations staff officer nodded: "Understood, I'll arrange it right away."

Not long after, the operations staff came over to report.

"Your Excellency Division Commander, the artillery units are ready and can begin shelling at any time."

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi nodded: "Okay, tell the artillery to aim at the area where they're collecting supplies and find a way to destroy the supplies they're airdropping."

After saying this, he felt sorry for the field guns that had been destroyed earlier. If they had been included, the explosive effect might have been doubled.

"Hai."

Instantly, the Japanese artillery positions opened fire.

Dozens of shells whistled towards Lashio, drawing deadly arcs in the air.

Shells landed in the city, causing a series of explosions.

Flames soared into the sky, and smoke filled the air.

Huang Zurong's troops reacted quickly and immediately dispersed.

They weren't stupid; they immediately organized their artillery to return fire.

In an instant, the sound of explosions echoed throughout the entire city of Lashio once again.

Lashio Provisional Command

Huang Zurong stood in the command post, listening to the deafening artillery fire outside, his face expressionless.

He knew that the Japanese shelling was targeted at the supplies that had just been airdropped.

"Commander," Lin Yi rushed in, "the Japanese artillery bombardment is extremely fierce. Many of our supply collection points have been destroyed. The artillery positions are counterattacking, but the effect isn't very good. The Japanese artillery positions are very well concealed."

Upon hearing this, Huang Zurong nodded: "Understood. Let the people collecting supplies retreat first. It's no big deal if they lose those supplies."

"Understood." Although Lin Yi didn't understand, he still carried out the order.

"What a pity, there are still a lot of supplies left." Lin Yi said with a regretful expression.

"It's just some supplies. If we run out, we can ask Stilwell for more. Since he wants us to work for him, surely he can provide us with these supplies?" Huang Zurong said calmly.

He only cared about the weapons and equipment; he didn't really care much about the other supplies.

"Yes, but are the Japanese just going to stand by and watch? Won't they send fighter planes to intercept them?" Lin Yi asked after thinking for a moment.

"That's something the US military needs to consider. What does it have to do with us?" Huang Zurong shook his head, indicating that the other party shouldn't think too much about it.

"If Stilwell sends fighter jets to airdrop more, we can say that we've almost finished considering it and can try it for a month first," Huang Zurong said, stroking his chin.

"What? Try it for a month?" Lin Yi was instantly dumbfounded.

Is it worth a try?

Will the other party agree?

He suddenly realized that he couldn't understand it.

"Yes, let's try it for a month and see if we can cooperate smoothly. Remember, they are the ones asking for our help now, so we need to be firm and not be spineless." Huang Zurong knew that it was impossible to get the other party to change immediately.

So we can only take it slowly.

"Yes." Lin Yi could only scratch his head, not understanding, but respecting the order.

On the other side, at the Japanese command post, Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi listened to the report from the front-line commander with a gloomy expression.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the operations staff officer reported, "although the shelling has destroyed some of the Chinese supplies, their counterattack is extremely fierce. Our artillery positions have suffered heavy losses; at least ten cannons have been destroyed."

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi sneered, "It seems Stilwell gave them more supplies than we expected. Now we can be certain that they are pawns of the US military. But when did they make contact with them?"

"Yes, Division Commander," the operations staff officer continued. "What worries us even more is the precision of their counterattacks, clearly exceeding that of ordinary troops. This indicates that Huang Zurong's troops have received American-style training."

Lieutenant General Renya Mutaguchi stood up, walked to the window, looked into the distance, and remained silent.

He realized he had really misjudged the situation; he had originally thought it was just a local militia that could be easily controlled.

It turned out to be a man-eating beast.

He's really in a bind now. If he retreats, aside from the loss of face, both of his regiments in northern Myanmar will be wiped out.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the Chief of Staff's operations officer stepped behind him, "the 55th Division will arrive in two more days. If we don't attack now, we'll still have a chance once they arrive."

Mutaguchi pondered for a moment: "You're right, there's no point in continuing the attack."

"Pass down the order: halt the entire army's attack."

"Hai."

……

Imphal Allied Command.

General Stilwell stood before the enormous battle map, his brow furrowed.

His finger moved back and forth across the location of Lashio on the map, as if searching for something.

"General," Adjutant John entered, holding a newly deciphered telegram, "Huang Zurong's reply has arrived."

Stilwell whirled around, a glint of anticipation in his eyes: "What did he say?"

The adjutant opened the telegram, read its contents carefully, and then smiled: "General, he agreed. Huang Zurong has indicated his willingness to accept our command, but he requests a one-month trial period."

Stilwell paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "A month's trial? Haha! This guy is really interesting."

"Can we try it for another month? But as long as he agrees to cooperate, a month is fine."

He walked to the window, looked at the gloomy sky outside, and his mood became exceptionally bright.

This news came just in time.

The situation in northern Myanmar is critical. If Lashio can continue to hold out, it will be a shot in the arm for the entire situation that is on the verge of collapse.

"However, the other party stated that some of the airdropped supplies were bombed by the Japanese army."

"Oh?" Stilwell turned around and asked, "How much supplies were lost?"

The adjutant reviewed the telegram attachments: "According to the report, the Japanese artillery bombardment destroyed approximately 30% of the airdropped supplies, including heavy weapons such as mortars and heavy machine guns, but most of the key equipment has already been received."

Stilwell shook his head, his tone relaxed: "30%? That's nothing."

"Gaining their loyalty for this small amount is absolutely worth it. As long as they're willing to join our ranks, even losing 50% would be worthwhile, let alone 30%."

Stilwell walked to the map and pointed heavily at Lashio: "This means that from now on, no one will treat our words as if we're invisible."

"This unit reports directly to me. Do you know how much that elevated my standing on the Burma front?"

As he spoke, Stilwell burst into laughter.

"Materials can be reproduced, weapons can be transported again, but a fighting force like this is a rare find."

"Since they're being so understanding, I can't be too stingy."

"Get me to the air force base and tell them to continue airdropping supplies to Lashio tomorrow, this time doubling the quantity. Also, send an air reconnaissance squadron to provide air cover for the troops in Lashio."

"General," the adjutant hesitated, "double the supplies? Do we have enough transport planes?"

"If it's not enough, we'll borrow some." Stilwell said firmly. "Borrow from the British. In short, I want Huang Zurong to know that working with me won't let him suffer." As he finished speaking, his eyes gleamed with excitement.

The adjutant nodded: "Understood, I'll arrange it right away."