The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Throughout September, the newly formed 212th Division under Zhang Chi's leadership was busy with expansion matters.

With cheap aviation fuel in the system at 5 Silver Lions per barrel (200L), Zhang Chi generously organized a C-47 charter service, establishing a stable air route between the newly formed 212th Division's headquarters and Chuncheng.

Since this route of less than 700 km does not require flying over the Himalayas and is fully escorted by an air force equipped with P-40 'Tomahawk' and F4U 'Corsair' fighter jets, it is far superior to the Hump Route in both efficiency and safety.

Countless captured Japanese weapons and valuables were airlifted to Chuncheng, and exchanged for planeloads of veterans, Nanyang mechanics and gold returning to the 212th Division's headquarters.

With sufficient personnel replenishment, Zhang Chi not only filled the newly formed infantry regiments/battalions, but also provided tank driving and maintenance training to the Nanyang mechanics who had experience in truck driving and repair.

At the same time, considering that the officers such as Hao Yi and Xiao Dongbei have been following Zhang Chi since the "start-up period", although they all held high positions in the newly formed 212th Division after the expansion, they themselves came from the military and had not received formal military education.

Therefore, Zhang Chi also organized a team of officer cadets headed by the new colonel commander Hao Yi, and transported them by plane to the Ramga training base in Sindhu for three months of training under the instruction of the White Eagle instructor.

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So what were the Japanese in Pegu doing when the independent regiment was expanding?

Due to the outbreak of the Battle of Guadalcanal, Fuso, which had weak maritime transport capabilities, could only prioritize recruiting soldiers and transporting supplies and ammunition to the South Pacific. This resulted in the Southern Army Commander Terauchi Hisaichi's plan to encircle and annihilate the Independent Regiment only remaining in the plans of Showa's staff.

With the withdrawal of the Guards Division, the 18th and 22nd Divisions, the 15th Army stationed in Pegu was left with only the 33rd, 55th, and 56th Divisions. The Japanese in Pegu had no choice but to train puppet troops and puppet police on a large scale while withdrawing their main forces.

The elite 113th Regiment of the 56th Division stationed at Myitkyina, along with a battalion from the 56th Field Artillery Regiment, were assigned to the division's supply corps, a medical corps, and a portion of the epidemic prevention and water supply unit. Following orders, they were stationed at Songshan on the west bank of the Nujiang River in Yunnan Province. (The Nantianmen in the drama)

This 3000-man brigade was named the "Lameng Garrison." They dug numerous caves, built bunkers, and deployed artillery on Song Mountain, not only cutting off the Burma Road but also posing a constant threat to the Nationalist troops on the other side of the Nujiang River. (The Japanese were so insane, using their elite field troops as garrisons.)

Because the 56th Division had lost more than two battalions of its troops to Zhang Chi in the previous battle, and after losing the main force 113th Regiment, the commander of the 56th Division, Lieutenant General Matsuyama Yuzo, almost completely abandoned all the township strongholds in Kekan State.

Under his order, the remaining troops of the 56th Division retreated to Myitkyina.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Chi asked all his troops to form an elite boat task force with torpedo boats, speedboats, amphibious tanks and other vehicles as the core, and carry out combat-based training activities.

Active raids were carried out against the Japanese and puppet troops through the Mailika River, N'Maika River, Tanai River and its tributaries north of Pegu.

So in the next few months, all small and medium-sized mines, villages and towns within the defense zones of the 33rd and 56th Divisions in the north of Pegu, as well as any strongholds close to the river, would be suddenly attacked from time to time by the newly formed 212th Division.

No matter day or night, Zhang Chi's newly purchased PTF-7 patrol speedboats and the original PT-6 torpedo boats would suddenly appear along the river near the strongholds of the devils or puppet troops at any time and anywhere.

Then, the high-rate-of-fire 40mm, 20mm, and 12.7mm guns would spray several kilograms of ammunition onto the unsuspecting puppet troops or devils on the other side in a short period of time, and then flee before the remaining enemies could react, leaving behind only a pile of broken corpses that had died from "excessive iron content in the body."

Because these attacks came and went quickly, all the Japanese soldiers whose strongholds were near the river lived in fear every day.

In the end, it even developed to the point where many native puppet troops would mutiny and scatter as soon as they heard that they were going to garrison in the mining villages and towns along the Yanhe River.

The few small inland patrol boats equipped with Type 92 heavy machine guns that the Japanese army had in Pegu were quickly destroyed by PTF-7 patrol speedboats filled with pipes, and they completely lost control of the inland rivers.

Originally, the best way to deal with these fast-moving, elusive speedboats was to send aircraft to patrol fixed areas and wait for opportunities to attack.

However, as the Zero fighter's advantage was no longer there, after the 1st Marine Division took control of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, the battle for air supremacy in the South Pacific became intense.

The entire 15th Army's flying force was also transferred to the South Pacific battlefield, resulting in a sharp drop in the air defense pressure on Zhangchi's troops.

As a result, the activities of the newly formed 212th Division became increasingly unscrupulous.

With the support of intelligence from internal spies, Allied aerial reconnaissance, local guerrillas, and immigrants from the Qian Kingdom, the Japanese defenses in northern Pegu were torn to pieces.

Although the kills from Zhang Chi's vehicles only brought him 10% of the system benefits, the accumulation of small amounts still brought him a large amount of R&D points and Silver Lion coins.

In this way, the Japanese's outer strongholds became Zhang Chi's daily hunting grounds for training troops and earning profits from the War Thunder system.

Countless brick and stone gun towers and wooden watchtowers built by the puppet army were quickly reduced to ruins by the 40mm Bofors fire.

The wooden chevaux de frise and barbed wire were uprooted under the powerful firepower of various mortars and machine guns.

By disarming the captured native puppet troops in an organized manner, Zhang Chi obtained a large number of Fuso weapons, which were quickly converted into more veterans and gold.

Although the core cities of Pegu are all in the southern coastal area, in the north, the Locust Army's rule, which has become shaky due to the successive attacks of the 212th Division, has gradually become a headache for Terauchi Juichi.

For this reason, the angry Terauchi Hisaichi had to seek help from the navy to help eliminate Zhang Chi's speedboat force.

However, the Japanese navy, which had always been at odds with the army, refused to send boat troops deep into the north of Pegu on the grounds that "fuel was precious", and watched the army's humiliation with a gloating attitude.

Terauchi Hisaichi, who was trapped in a situation where he could only take a beating and could not fight back, naturally could not swallow this humiliation. He mobilized his domestic relations and finally got a regiment of reinforcements and a certain amount of supplies, preparing to carry out the "encirclement and annihilation of the independent regiment operation" that had been shelved.

In this way, as time passed, Zhang Chi's 212th Division became stronger and stronger, and Terauchi Hisaichi's "three-way siege" plan was gradually taking shape.