Chapter 513: Republic of China: Starting from the First Term of Whampoa Chapter 523 If My Subordinate General Lu Weiyue Were Here, Ho

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Although the old man and Stilwell had just joined forces to harshly condemn the British for their shamelessness and incompetence, the contradiction between the two quickly erupted.

The sole focus of the argument was one thing: where should the 200th Division go next?

The Xia Guo side's arrangement for the 200th Division was certain: withdraw from Tonggu City to avoid being encircled and annihilated by the Japanese Army.

But General Stilwell disagreed: "Hold firm! The 200th Division should continue to hold firm and seek a counterattack!"

The old man held the urgent telegram sent by Du Yuming in his hand and completely disagreed with Stilwell's words.

The telegram sent by Du Yuming clearly stated that the 200th Division had suffered over 2,500 casualties, with a casualty rate reaching one-quarter; the flank was now completely empty, and if they didn't withdraw immediately, everything would be lost.

The 200th Division was the old man's heart's flesh, and even more, the mechanized seed he had poured countless efforts into building.

Dai Anlan was also a student of the Whampoa Third Term, he was his own disciple.

The old man would never sit by and watch this elite force be completely ground to pieces by two Japanese divisions at Tonggu.

"General Stilwell, I disagree with your view; this is my troop."

"I want the 200th Division to immediately retreat to Pham Na, preserve strength, and then seek an opportunity to launch a pitched battle."

After hearing this, Stilwell was so angry his face turned red; what he was angry about was not that what the old man said was wrong, but that he believed his command authority had been infringed upon.

"You are excessively interfering in military command! You keep saying you would hand over the command of the Expeditionary Force to me, but what happened?"

"Now you are bypassing me directly and issuing retreat orders to the frontline."

"You should know that you are not in the command position of the Expeditionary Force; this kind of overstepping command is absurd in any country's army!"

The old man was choked by these words; although he felt unconvinced in his heart, after all, he understood that the current situation required aid from the United States.

This great American Buddha, Stilwell, was someone he had invited himself; he couldn't dismantle the other's stage.

This was Burma, a battlefield of multinational joint operations, not a one-man show where the old man had the final say domestically.

"General Stilwell worries too much; I'm just venting a bit of frustration, after all, the British have acted too outrageously."

"There are still important matters at home waiting for me to handle; I'm preparing to return home right now, but the 200th Division must withdraw to the rear for refitting."

After saying this, the old man left in a hurry, as if he didn't want to stay here for another moment.

The generals of the Expeditionary Force all went out to see him off, leaving Stilwell alone in the headquarters.

Before boarding the plane, the old man specifically pulled Luo Zhuoying and Du Yuming aside and gave them low-voiced instructions.

"Listen to General Stilmore on everything... but you can't listen to everything."

"On matters concerning the safety of the Expeditionary Force, you must make up your own minds; if you can't make up your minds, you must definitely telegram me for instructions."

After hearing this, Luo Zhuoying understood the old man's attitude and nodded heavily.

After speaking, the old man boarded the plane without looking back.

Once the old man left, Stilwell seemed to have finally regained great power and immediately began to act with sweeping reforms.

He found Luo Zhuoying and spread out a map.

"Since the British Army has already withdrawn, and the 200th Division has also retreated to Pham Na, then we might as well go along with the plan."

"Move the Expeditionary Force Headquarters to Mandalay! There, we will have a real decisive battle with the Japanese."

Luo Zhuoying nodded in agreement; after all, launching a pitched battle with the Japanese Army was a multi-party consensus of the Expeditionary Force.

The main force of the Expeditionary Force immediately left Lashio, not far from the Xia Guo border, and groups of soldiers headed toward Mandalay, the central city of Burma.

The Expeditionary Force's marching column had high morale, and the dust raised on the Burma Road covered the sky and blotted out the sun.

By the time the headquarters finally settled down in Mandalay, Luo Zhuoying's butt had barely warmed the seat when the old man's telegram arrived.

"Suggest the Expeditionary Force prepare a pitched battle at Pham Na; no need to wait until Mandalay."

Looking at the words on the telegram, Luo Zhuoying felt caught between a rock and a hard place.

This order completely contradicted the Mandalay decisive battle plan Stilwell had just decided on.

Caught in the middle, I am truly at a loss.

Such a major matter cannot be done behind Stilwell's back.

Luo Zhuoying proposed to Stilwell the suggestion of preparing a pitched battle at Pham Na.

After listening, Stilwell looked at Luo Zhuoying with a stern face:

"The two of us and Du Yuming, three people—didn't we agree? Why does the plan have to change again?"

"Let me guess, this definitely isn't your own idea, right?"

"Hehe, the Japanese have only one head, but we here have three heads!"

"How can an army be commanded by three brains? The British, me, and you Xia Guo people, each has their own ideas!"

Stilwell paced back and forth in the office, angrily waving his fist.

Before Luo Zhuoying could think of soothing words, a staff officer walked in.

"Report! Urgent intelligence from the Western Route!"

"The British Army was repelled by the Japanese Army in the Reniangqiang region, and the Reniangqiang Oilfield has fallen!"

"Over 7,000 British remnants are being pursued closely by the Japanese Army, in imminent danger!"

This news was like a bolt from the blue, turning the already depressed headquarters into a complete mess in an instant.

The old man meddling in command from behind was one thing, but the British kept dropping the chain; this battle was fought to the point of extreme frustration.

Luo Zhuoying looked toward Stilwell.

Stilwell gritted his teeth; he couldn't just watch the Western Route completely collapse.

"Order the New 38th Division to move out immediately! At all costs, retake Reniangqiang and pull those British out!"

After receiving the order, the New 38th Division acted extremely fast, marching day and night.

Over the next few days, the atmosphere at the headquarters was extremely oppressive.

Everyone was waiting for news from the West Side.

Finally, an exhilarating telegram broke the strange atmosphere of the Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

"After several days of fierce fighting, the New 38th Division has repelled the Japanese Army at Reniangqiang and successfully retaken the Reniangqiang Oilfield!"

"Over seven thousand besieged British have all been rescued!"

Hearing this news, the Expeditionary Force Headquarters finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Du Yuming, sitting to the side, did not seem very happy.

He stared at the map:

"The Center is handled by our Expeditionary Force's main force, while the Western Route is guarded by the British and our New 38th Division."

"What about the East Route? Lashio to the east is our retreat route back home."

Du Yuming turned his head and looked toward Stilwell sitting on the sofa.

The British performance on the Western Route had already made Du Yuming see through the true colors of these British allies.

They retreated faster than anyone, cried for help louder than anyone, and at critical moments still needed Expeditionary Force soldiers to come rescue them.

"General Stilwell, I want to transfer Dai Anlan's 200th Division to Tangji on the East Route."

"Tangji is the southern gate to Lashio. Holding it there means that even if the Expeditionary Force is defeated, they can still retreat safely through Lashio back home."

Stilwell removed his glasses, rubbed his dry eye corners, and he was extremely disappointed now.

"Du, I am the Chief of Staff of this theater. Your old man gave me full command of the Expeditionary Force, but I now feel powerless."

"The British combat will is truly embarrassing, and your Expeditionary Force troops are so difficult to maneuver. I feel this battle is truly impossible to coordinate."

Stilwell did indeed see some signs of defeat, but he did not want to admit so soon that he was going to fail.

When the atmosphere in the command post was deadlocked, an urgent telegram broke the silence.

The orderly walked in quickly: "British Burma Governor Smith's urgent telegram: Large numbers of Japanese troops have been spotted in the region north of Reniangqiang and west of Mandalay!"

This news immediately caused an uproar in the command post.

If the intelligence was true, it meant the Japanese had pierced into the belly of the Expeditionary Force and the British Army like a sharp blade.

Stilwell stood up, feeling incredulous. Where on earth had this Japanese force claimed by the British come from?

He chose to believe the British intelligence and ordered Du Yuming: "Order the 200th Division to immediately head west, search for and annihilate this infiltrating Japanese force!"

After hearing this intelligence, Du Yuming's instinct told him this was impossible.

"The British intelligence must be wrong! Reniangqiang is now defended by the New 38th Division. Are our Expeditionary Force troops eating dry rations?"

"If the Japanese really reached north of Reniangqiang, the New 38th Division could not possibly fail to notice any movement at all!"

Stilwell waved the British intelligence in his hand: "Governor Smith has already discovered traces of the Japanese north of Reniangqiang!"

Du Yuming still firmly believed in his own judgment: "Are our Xia Guo soldiers all blind and deaf? So many Japanese crossing Reniangqiang go unnoticed, only to be discovered by the British?"

"The 200th Division cannot go west to search for this ghost-like Japanese force. I want the 200th Division to advance east, garrison at Tangji, ensure Lashio's safety, guarantee the Expeditionary Force's retreat route home, and prevent the Japanese from outflanking and cutting off our route home!"

Stilwell also insisted on his own view, quickly gesturing on the combat map.

"Du, the British are not so muddled as that. They discovered Japanese infiltration; this must be true. It concerns the lives of tens of thousands!"

"Look: on the Center Route, the Japanese 18th and 55th Divisions are facing off against our Expeditionary Force main force. The 33rd Division on the Western Route is north of Reniangqiang. Who would infiltrate our defense zone? I think it is very likely the Japanese 56th Division."

"The Japanese Fifteenth Army responsible for attacking Burma has four divisions, all of which have appeared. The East Route is now safe. The 200th Division does not need to go to the East Route; it only needs to focus on searching for the infiltrating 56th Division!"

"As long as we devour this Japanese force, the situation can be completely turned around. I hope you obey command!"

"Multiple commands will only lead to us losing this war!"

Seeing this, Luo Zhuoying could only step in to mediate. After weighing the pros and cons, he advised Du Yuming.

"Guangting, after all, this is multinational cooperation. Let's do as General Stilwell says. The 200th Division's officers and men are of good quality and march fast. Let them go search; it's reassuring."

Du Yuming sighed deeply, helpless, and finally signed the transfer order, sending the 200th Division west to search for the infiltrating Japanese.

After sending the telegram, Du Yuming sat in the office, waiting for time to pass.

He remembered Lv Muzhi's advice to him. The British were completely unreliable. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He chose to send a telegram to Lv Muzhi, expressing his worries and pessimism about this battle.

For two full days, the Expeditionary Force Headquarters garrisoned at Mandalay once again fell into a tense atmosphere.

Until the morning of the third day, Du Yuming, his face full of anger, directly slammed the reconnaissance report sent back by Dai Anlan onto Stilwell's desk.

"See for yourself! North of Reniangqiang there is nothing at all, not even a ghost hair!"

"The 200th Division searched there for two full days and didn't see a shadow of the Japanese at all!"

"The British intelligence is not only wrong, it is simply absurd!"

"I have already ordered the 200th Division to immediately turn around and head at full speed to Tangji on the East Route to defend!"

Stilwell looked at the report, the whole person stunned, and he began to feel uneasy.

"God, what on earth are these British doing..."

"Wrong intelligence, collapsed combat will—this will get us all killed!"

"Quickly transfer the 200th Division to Tangji, hold the Expeditionary Force's route home. I'm feeling more and more uneasy..."

Du Yuming snorted coldly: "I've already sent them there!"

——————

Not long ago, the Japanese 56th Division took a risky move.

They did not take the north-south roads within Burma, but instead set out from Chiang Mai in Thailand, abandoning their heavy equipment.

Japanese soldiers carried rations, quickly weaving through the jungle where poisonous insects prowled, with no major roads, only jungle trails.

They crossed the surging Salween River, relying entirely on their two legs to maneuver through the rainforest.

This ghostly troop avoided the road and launched an amphibious assault directly into eastern Burma, aiming straight for Tangji.

When Dai Anlan led the exhausted 200th Division back to Tangji, he found it had already been occupied by the Japanese Army.

Facing this situation, Dai Anlan immediately organized an offensive; after a fierce battle, he finally recaptured Tangji and regained the South Gate of Lashio.

However, recapturing Tangji did not make Dai Anlan feel relieved.

The intelligence brought back by the Scout made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave: the main force of the Japanese Army's 56th Division had already bypassed Tangji and was rushing toward Lashio; the Expeditionary Force's route home was about to be cut off!

This news was transmitted to the Mandalay headquarters, and all campaign plans instantly became waste paper.

Once the rear was cut off, the Expeditionary Force's connection with Xia Guo was severed, becoming a kite with a broken string.

Who still had the mood to fight a campaign here? Survival was the only target.

Stilwell was once again shocked by the boldness of the Japanese Army; he could not imagine how the Japanese Army had passed through such terrain to appear behind him.

He also regretted not listening to Du Yuming's words, actually choosing to believe the British's incorrect intelligence.

The only thing worth being fortunate about here was that the old man had already left Lashio and returned to Xia Guo under Stilwell's dissatisfaction.

Otherwise, the old man would have faced the Japanese Army's 56th Division directly......

Speaking of the old man, after returning to his country he did not go back to Hankou, but came directly to Kunming to obtain firsthand battle reports of the Expeditionary Force.

But when the news arrived that the 56th Division was charging straight at Lashio, intending to cut off the Expeditionary Force's route home, the old man felt a wave of dizziness, his breathing became somewhat rapid, and he almost fainted on the spot.

His Attendant Dai Li was frightened and hurried forward to support him.

The old man mumbled: "If Lashio is lost, my hundred thousand troops cannot return; the Expeditionary Force is my elite blood......"

"The British are cunning and shameless; Stilwell fantasizes about seizing command of my Expeditionary Force......"

"If my great general Lv Weiyue were here, how could the Expeditionary Force have come to this!"