Chapter 519

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The Japanese Army captain stared at the wounded before him, with several armed soldiers standing behind him.

They were soldiers of the Japanese Army's Matsumoto Regiment, supervising the severely wounded to commit suicide on the spot.

Due to the Youth Army paratroopers pressing step by step, the Matsumoto Regiment had to contract one after another.

Not only the Matsumoto Regiment, but the Jingxiu Regiment was also being driven back continuously by the 200th Division.

The two Japanese Army regiments finally had to retreat together, huddling for warmth.

As for the severely wounded who could not move, the Japanese Army officers uniformly demanded they commit gyokusai themselves.

Whoever dared show a hint of hesitation would be personally dealt with by the Japanese Army officer responsible for supervision.

The Japanese Army severely wounded either pressed grenades tightly against their hearts or pressed grenades tightly against their temples.

The entire dense forest was filled with rising and falling explosion sounds, and scattered blood mist and chunks of corpses decorated this jungle like a slaughterhouse.

Da-da-da!

Gunfire not far away became dense, that was the Youth Army's submachine guns strafing the remaining enemies.

The Japanese Army captain looked toward the direction of the gunfire, then turned to look at the severely wounded who had not yet killed themselves.

"The enemy is catching up! Quickly finish off the rest, we're retreating!"

Several severely wounded who were unwilling to commit suicide and were still hesitating and wandering were even shot dead by their comrades' machine guns before they could beg for mercy.

The Japanese Army captain took one last look at the corpses all over the ground, and without looking back, drilled into the depths of the dense forest.

When the Youth Army paratroopers finally advanced here, all they saw were twisted Japanese Army corpse chunks all over the ground.

Also advancing here was a regiment of the 200th Division.

The Youth Army paratroopers finally joined forces with the troops of the 200th Division, and the two forces tightly encircled the two Japanese Army regiments together, preparing to completely annihilate them!

——————

Kunming Command Headquarters, Lv Muzhi looked at the positions of various units on the sand table.

The participation of Zhongnan State was within Lv Muzhi's expectations, so there was not too much surprise.

But the old man appeared very excited: "Good! Zhongnan State has also joined the war, this is very beneficial to us, perhaps it can attract the Japanese Army in Burma to return to Thailand!"

Lv Muzhi looked toward the mountainous region of Northwestern Thailand, the 1st Division of Zhongnan State had already advanced there, and then he looked at the position of Du Yuming's Fifth Army.

Du Yuming was caught in a bitter battle, not only were the mechanized units of the 56th Division attacking him, but the 18th Division was also charging his defensive line.

Judging by the current situation, the Japanese Army had no intention of transferring reinforcements from Burma to Thailand, it seemed they hoped to achieve victory as soon as possible on the Burma Front!

The old man asked: "Where are Song Xilian's troops now? When can they enter Burma to support?"

A staff officer said: "The 36th Division sent a telegram a quarter of an hour ago, they have already crossed the Burma border, and are riding trucks along the Burma Road to support the Fifth Army!"

"The main forces of the 87th Division and 88th Division are also gathering in Ruilong, Longchuan, Mangshi and other places in the border region, ready to enter Burma for combat at any time!"

Lv Muzhi was very satisfied with this: "With Song Xilian's three divisions entering Burma to support, the Japanese Army will feel tremendous pressure."

"I can be certain, the Japanese Army will not achieve complete victory in Burma!"

Lv Muzhi drew a conclusion, the old man felt much more relieved, but soon he began to frown and look worried again.

"So many troops have advanced into Burma, I don't know what the British will think? The influence here is too great..."

The old man was worrying when a staff officer came in to report.

"General Stilwell and Governor Smith are about to land in Kunming by plane!"

Exactly what was feared came to pass.

The American General Stilwell and the British Governor Smith have flown to Kunming.

The old man looked at Lv Muzhi: "Wei Yue, we still have to go receive them."

Lv Muzhi thought for a moment: "Governor Smith is probably coming to demand an explanation, as for General Stilwell, he probably wants to advance the Burma war."

"Let them come to the headquarters themselves, our energy still needs to be focused on military affairs."

Seeing this, the old man, thinking of his Expeditionary Force almost falling in Burma, also spoke firmly: "Dai Li! You send a car to pick them up, Wei Yue and I will not go personally!"

Dai Li obediently took a car to the airport, thinking that as the old man's confidant going to pick up General Stilwell and Governor Smith was already giving them enough face.

But Governor Smith, upon seeing the person who came was Dai Li, wearing a Major General's rank on his neck, was very unhappy.

"According to my knowledge, you control Xia Guo's secret police institution, but you actually only hold a Colonel's rank, right?"

"Xia Guo just sent you, a Colonel, plus two cars to pick me and General Stilwell up?"

After hearing the translator's words, Dai Li glared with both eyes, thinking this was too impolite, I personally came to pick you up and you still feel wronged?

"The commanders are busy with military affairs, the mess left in Burma, the two of you know, it's really exhausting."

"I can only send me, this person who can't help much, to welcome the two of you."

Governor Smith was about to get angry and question, but General Stilwell hurriedly stopped him, saying: "I can understand that the Xia Expeditionary Force has turned the tide, let's quickly take us to the headquarters!"

Dai Li then ordered someone to open the car door, invited the two into the car, and pulled them to the headquarters.

Smith and Stilwell, upon entering the headquarters, found only the old man and Lv Muzhi inside, obviously the others had been sent away.

General Stilwell, without saying a word, walked straight to the sand table, leaned over to observe carefully, wanting to see what stage the Burma war situation had developed to.

British Burma Governor Smith, however, pointed at Lv Muzhi and asked: "Why did he appear here? Why did the Youth Army appear in Burma?"

The old man was about to answer, but Lv Muzhi directly spoke up to retort: "This is Kunming, it is Xia Guo's land, of course I can come here!"

"Also, the Youth Army in Burma? How would I know! Did you see it? Or did you hear it from someone?"

Governor Smith looked at the old man: "Paratroopers have appeared in Lashio, according to my knowledge, only the Youth Army has trained paratrooper units in Xia Guo!"

"I've issued orders again and again: the Youth Army is prohibited from entering Burma. Lü Muzhi is a supporter of Zhongnan State—do you want to take this opportunity to support the Unity Party within Burma?!"

The old man snorted coldly: "Hmph! What do you know?"

"Then let me tell you: what you know is wrong! I have paratroopers too!"

Governor Smith wore an expression of disbelief.

The old man felt slighted: "What expression is that? You think I can't train paratroopers?!"

"The paratroopers at Lashio are my paratroopers; they have nothing to do with the Youth Army."

"Lu Shangjiang came to me specifically to brief me on the situation!"

Governor Smith blinked, looked at Lü Muzhi, then at the old man: so these two had teamed up again—truly fickle!

"How do you prove it? Are the paratrooper units Xia State's Central Army, not Lü Muzhi's Youth Army?"

Facing Governor Smith's question, Lü Muzhi dismissed it: "He who claims bears the burden of proof. You say the paratroopers over Burma are the Youth Army—then produce actual evidence!"

Governor Smith was instantly speechless, shaking his head: "Not right, not right!"

"We had an agreement! Only the Xia Expeditionary Force may enter my Burma colony to fight."

"The Expeditionary Force has three army designations. Any force outside those three armies should not enter my Burma colony, and paratroopers obviously do not belong to the Expeditionary Force!"

The old man grew angrier the more he listened, his blood pressure nearly rising, as he pointed at Governor Smith and scolded:

"White-haired scoundrel! Gray-bearded old thief!"

"If it weren't for the British Army only thinking of fleeing, how could the war situation have collapsed so quickly? How could my Expeditionary Force have fallen into such danger?"

"To clean up the mess you left behind, we have no choice but to reinforce Burma with troops."

The old man glanced at Lü Muzhi, then glared at Governor Smith: "You're still unhappy? If it weren't for Lü... if I hadn't acted, Lashio would have been occupied by the Japanese Army long ago!"

"Don't you rather let the Japanese Army occupy Burma than allow our Xia State to set foot in Burma?"

The translator appropriately optimized the old man's words and translated them for Governor Smith.

General Stilwell finally came back to himself from the sand table: "Wonderful! Wonderful! Fortunately Xia State has taken remedial measures!"

General Stilwell came before Lü Muzhi: "Turning the tide! The Burma situation nearly collapsed completely. Zhongnan State deployed military force, Xia State reinforced Lashio—very good!"

Governor Smith was stunned, thinking we came together, so why is General Stilwell praising Xia State?

"General Stilwell, this involves the interests of British colonies; you must judge fairly."

General Stilwell glanced at Smith: "Colonial interests? The interests here will soon be snatched away by the Japanese. At this critical juncture, you actually have the mind to blame the Xia people?"

"Truly eye-opening! My Stilwell's reputation nearly went down with the Burma situation!"

Governor Smith was very unhappy. He was the governor of Burma; if Burma was gone, where would he go to be governor?

Now the Burma situation seemed recoverable, so Governor Smith naturally had to advocate for British power in Burma and strive to keep his governor's post.

Lü Muzhi looked at General Stilwell and sighed: "Alas! A weak nation is bullied!"

"The old man and I are honest folk. Seeing the Japanese Army devour Burma, a friendly nation, we were anxious like fire burning, couldn't think of much, and so disregarded danger to reinforce Burma with troops."

"Governor Smith is just bullying us for being honest folk. Honest folk work hard, and still get bullied by their own people..."

Seeing Lü Muzhi's wronged appearance, General Stilwell said: "Rest assured, the United States side will give Xia State a fair deal!"

"In my view, Xia State acted completely correctly, very well salvaging the Burma situation. I will issue an objective report."

"General Lü, for the next phase of operations, how should Xia State's forces advance?"

General Stilwell looked at Lü Muzhi and the old man, asking sincerely.

Who is the main force of the Allied Forces in Burma? It is beyond doubt.

Governor Smith could only stand by and watch, completely unable to interject.

Lü Muzhi pointed at the sand table and said: "First, secure Lashio, continuously reinforce Lashio, use Lashio as a springboard for Xia State's army to counterattack Burma, and retake the Burma Road."

The old man asked: "The Japanese Army has occupied Burma's southern ports. Retaking the Burma Road seems meaningless now; we can hardly retake the ports."

General Stilwell was also thinking: "Perhaps we could consider transporting aid supplies to Xia State from within India."

"This is what Xia State deserves. You deserve better equipment to fight the Japanese Army. I am considering building a road across Northern Burma, connecting India and Xia State, to transport supplies."

Lü Muzhi did not fully agree: "The road must be built, but that's too slow. Better to fight a decisive battle to open up the transport route."

Lü Muzhi pointed at Mandalay's position on the map: "Mandalay! We must retake Mandalay!"

"Plant our feet there, clear the enemies west of Mandalay, and link up with Imphal in India."

"From Imphal in India to Mandalay in Burma, there is existing road transport. From Mandalay to Xia State, there is the existing Burma Road."

General Stilwell looked at Lü Muzhi, shocked: "You mean Xia State not only wants to plant its feet at Lashio in Northern Burma, but also retake Mandalay from the Japanese Army?"

Lü Muzhi nodded: "Xia State's international supply line cannot be broken. Only by retaking Mandalay will the Expeditionary Force not have gone abroad in vain."

General Stilwell said cooperatively: "Lu Shangjiang, I admire your courage!"

"Zhongnan State has already declared war on Japan. We now have another force we can use!"

General Stilwell then looked at the old man: "Zhongnan State attacks Thailand, pinning down the Japanese Army stationed in Thailand, while the Xia Expeditionary Force launches a counteroffensive in Burma and retakes Mandalay!"

The old man was stunned: "Me?"

Lü Muzhi, without changing expression, nudged the old man and said to General Stilwell: "Rest assured. As long as the United States supports us more, the Japanese Army on the Indochina Peninsula will be completely defeated in no time!"

Governor Smith, listening from the side, quickly spoke up: "And the British Army! They will also launch a counteroffensive against the Japanese Army within Burma. The British Army will return to Burma!"

Governor Smith spoke in a hurry, afraid that if he didn't speak up, he wouldn't get a seat at the table.

General Stilwell was very satisfied: "Wonderful. The British Army, the Xia State Army, the Zhongnan State Army..."

"So many forces united! I will report this to the home country."

"Before that, please have Xia State's forces plant their feet firmly at Lashio."

As soon as Zhongnan State was mentioned, Governor Smith immediately changed his face: "Zhongnan State's troops are not allowed to set foot in Burma!"

"And the Unity Party guerrillas—they should find a way to withdraw from the British colony. Otherwise, I cannot cooperate with Zhongnan State."

When Governor Smith said this, he stared at Lü Muzhi, thinking Lü Muzhi could control all of this.

Lv Muzhi did not speak.

Unity Party Guerrillas? Don't know them, what good does telling me do?

General Stilwell said: "Governor Smith, we must unite all forces resisting the Japanese Army."

"The matter of the Unity Party can be discussed in detail afterwards; retaking Burma cannot be done without Xia Guo's help, there's no doubt about that, right?"

Governor Smith could only nod, and General Stilwell whispered something to Governor Smith, the gist being to tell Smith to let go and face reality.

The old man said in Lv Muzhi's ear: "Wei Yue... I fear neither the British nor Zhongnan State can be relied upon; I have no confidence."

"Why not transfer several ten thousand of your Youth Army from the Central Plains to Burma? I know you've stockpiled cannons in your arsenal in Kunming; are you just waiting to sortie into Burma?"

Lv Muzhi looked into the old man's eyes; he seemed serious, but there was also another scheme in his heart.

"There's no rush for this matter; it's better to ask the Americans for more things..."

——————

At this moment, over two thousand men of the Matsumoto Regiment and Jingxiu Regiment around Lashio were scattered and encircled on several hills.

Lv Ziqing's Paratrooper Unit and Dai Anlan's 200 Division did not actively launch an attack, but waited for reinforcements to arrive.

The vanguard troops of the 36 Division dispatched by Song Xilian, with the help of trucks provided by Lv Muzhi, quickly rushed from the domestic interior to Lashio.

The 36 Division borrowed 105-millimeter howitzers from Lv Muzhi, hauled them to Lashio by truck, and helped mop up the Matsumoto Regiment and Jingxiu Regiment putting up stubborn resistance.

Twelve 105-millimeter howitzers deployed firepower coverage against the hilltops occupied by the Japanese Army; in an instant firelight shot into the sky, and the Japanese positions became a sea of fire.

The command headquarters of the Matsumoto Regiment was hit by a shell, and Regiment Commander Matsumoto himself was killed on the spot.

Under fire support, the Paratrooper Unit and officers and men of the 200 Division launched the final attack on the Japanese Army around Lashio.

The infantry of the 36 Division did not remain in Lashio, but quickly passed through Lashio and continued south to support Du Yuming's Fifth Army.

The defensive line of the Fifth Army is now facing fierce attacks from the Japanese Army's 56th Division and 18th Division, and urgently needs the support of the 36 Division!

Once the Matsumoto Regiment and Jingxiu Regiment in the Lashio area are wiped out, Lv Ziqing's Paratrooper Unit and Dai Anlan's 200 Division will also support Du Yuming, making it impossible for the Japanese Army to advance a single step in Northern Burma!