The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

In northern Myanmar, there's a small village called Lho Mu Sang, surrounded by towering mountains and dense jungle. It's a narrow, hilly area dotted with sparsely populated, low-lying bamboo houses of varying heights. This secluded area is where the 200th Division headquarters, after navigating difficult and dangerous journeys, settled temporarily.

For over ten days, the Japanese 56th Division had pursued them relentlessly, launching fierce attacks. Faced with overwhelming enemy pressure, the 200th Division was forced to disperse to avoid being surrounded and annihilated. Currently, only the division headquarters and approximately guards remained near the village of Luomusang.

Deputy Division Commander Huang Wei and Chief of Staff Zhou Zhizai arrived at a humble bamboo building. It was a simple, bare-bones structure, furnished with simple furniture. A tall, now frail man lay on a bed, covered in a thin military blanket. A young nurse carefully wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The man's intermittent coughing interrupted Huang Wei and Zhou Zhi's silent thoughts. A solemn and worried expression crossed their eyes. Finally, the nurse finished wiping the man and changing the gauze. The man gradually fell asleep from his coughing fit. The nurse stood up wearily, about to wash the gauze, and turned to find the two officers standing before her.

Huang Wei and the other man stopped the female soldier from saluting and gestured for her to step aside. She quickly saluted them and whispered, "Sir!"

Zhou Zhi returned the greeting and asked, "How is the situation with the Master?"

The female soldier replied sadly, "I just changed his dressing. The wound won't heal and has become festered."

Huang Wei frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

The female soldier explained: "We no longer have any anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications. He has a fever every night and a severe cough."

Zhou Zhi sighed again and said, "This won't work. We have to find a way to get him treatment as soon as possible."

The female soldier nodded and then shook her head. "Military Doctor Li has been searching for available medicine nearby. However, there's no way to remove the shrapnel from the division commander's body, and these simple medicines won't have any antibacterial or anti-inflammatory effects."

Huang Wei raised his head and glanced at the man sleeping soundly on the bed, then whispered, "Let's go out first and don't disturb his rest."

The female soldier sighed softly and began to pack up. Huang Wei and Zhou Zhi then quietly walked down the bamboo building. Zhou Zhi then said to Huang Wei, "Deputy Commander, we must find a way to get penicillin. The commander's condition is getting worse."

Huang Wei really wanted to rescue this anti-Japanese hero immediately, but unfortunately, the 200th Division was in a very bad situation. The Japanese army was getting closer and closer, and the various units had been scattered. Huang Wei could not even find Qin Shi and the 600nd Battalion of the 2th Regiment who had been arranged to pick them up. Kuang Zhengqi was now leading the remaining troops of the 600th Regiment as the rear guard of the entire division, while trying to ambush the Japanese army to see if he could get the needed medicine. This not only affected the lives of Dai Anlan, but also dozens of seriously injured soldiers.

"Are you clear about the current location and situation of each unit in our division?" Huang Wei asked.

"The 598th Regiment still has about 400 men to our north. Their commander has been killed, and Deputy Commander Zhu Jisheng is currently in command. Only one of the three battalion commanders remains, and most of the company and platoon officers have been killed." Zhou Zhi continued, "We can't contact the 1th Regiment. According to previous arrangements, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should be to our left. The baggage train and artillery are with the army training team. At their speed, they should be close to Yingduo."

"Now we hope that the 600th Regiment can hold back the Japanese army. Unfortunately, Colonel Kuang only has one battalion and a small number of direct teams." Zhou Zhizai said with a serious expression, extremely uneasy about the current situation of the 1th Division.

Huang Wei came back to his senses and said to Zhou Zhi again, "Chief of Staff, no matter what, we can't stay here for long. We must leave tonight. The division commander's injury can't be delayed any longer. It's most important to get to Imphal as soon as possible!"

Huang Wei cursed inwardly, "Qin Shi, where have you been all these days? Don't let me down at this moment!"

......

About 30 kilometers east of Huang Wei and his entourage, one of the pursuing Japanese forces, the 56rd Battalion Headquarters and the 147th Squadron of the 3th Regiment of the 4th Division, also halted. As darkness fell, they had forced a 20-mile march through the muddy roads, searching and advancing. All the soldiers appeared exhausted, their clothes stained by rain and mud.

The battalion commander, Major Sakuzo Sakuno, knew that his men had not had a hot meal or warm soup for several days in pursuit of the remnants of the Chinese 200th Division. He felt sorry for them and ordered them to start cooking.

The curl of smoke rising from the opposite hillside caught Kuang Zhengqi's attention. Kuang Zhengqi and his companions had passed through this area earlier that morning, so he knew it wasn't the work of his own people or the locals. Without a doubt, the smoke was coming from the pursuing Japanese troops.

The enemy is coming so fast! Kuang Zhengqi muttered to himself. At this moment, the most important thing is to quickly contact the division headquarters, reminding them to strengthen their vigilance and move as soon as possible. According to the time and itinerary, the division headquarters should not be too far away from here. However, for fear of exposing his position, he did not dare to activate the radio easily. So, he summoned several signalmen and sent them to search in the west, north and south, hoping to establish contact with the division headquarters as soon as possible. At the same time, he ordered the various companies of the first battalion to disperse and expand the cordon. The regimental guard platoon was sent out yesterday. Kuang Zhengqi hoped that they could attack part of the Japanese army tonight, and preferably obtain the much-needed medicine.

Over ten miles south of Kuang Zhengqi, another unit was also hurriedly advancing. They were Qin Shi and the 600nd Battalion of the 2th Regiment, along with its artillery company. According to Huang Wei and Kuang Zhengqi's original plan, Qin Shi, with the 2nd Battalion and the artillery company, had already begun laying defenses and traps northwest of Myitkyina and Bhamo before the Japanese forces had even broken through, aiming to counter the Japanese encirclement and clear a path for the 200th Division, which was planning to return north from there. However, due to the butterfly effect of his brothers' actions, history had changed. In particular, the battle at Imphal by Yang Hong and his men shifted the entire expeditionary force's movement westward. Just as Qin Shi received a telegram from division headquarters, preparing to rendezvous with the 200th Division, the latter was attacked by the Japanese much earlier than planned. Simultaneously, the Japanese encirclement and suppression campaign had also begun earlier and intensified, forcing Qin Shi and his men to miss the opportunity to capture the 200th Division.