Chapter 526

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

While Stilwell praised the Sherman tank's formidable strength, he did not forget another important matter.

"The Unity Party guerrillas in Northern Burma and Eastern Burma have been developing with great momentum recently..." Stilwell said, intentionally or unintentionally.

Lv Muzhi did not react much: "They are now also anti-Japanese armed forces, objects we need to unite with. In my opinion, their growth is more beneficial than harmful to us."

Stilwell asked: "The 'us' you speak of probably doesn't include the British, does it?"

"The British are very dissatisfied with the Unity Party's excessive expansion in Burma, repeatedly emphasizing the need to limit the scale of Unity Party guerrillas within Burma."

Lv Muzhi looked at General Stilwell: "General, what do you mean by telling me these things? These words could be said directly to their Unity Party."

Stilwell said: "Except for the relatively scattered Unity Party guerrillas in central, western, and southern Burma."

"The Unity Party guerrillas in Kachin State in Northern Burma and Shan State in Eastern Burma are the most concentrated. I estimate that the guerrilla armed forces in these two places probably exceed eighty thousand."

"Kachin State and Shan State have an important commonality: both places are within the Xia Guo garrison area in Burma."

Upon hearing this, Lv Muzhi retorted: "Could it be that the old man is secretly supporting them? Fine, I'll have a word with him when I go back."

Stilwell patted his head: "General Lu, why must you be like this?"

"As for Zhongnan State and the Unity Party, I have no hostility."

"I returned to my country not long ago. I should lay my cards on the table: judging by Britain's current national strength, they should not possess so many colonies."

"Do you understand what I mean? Xia Guo mobilizing so much manpower, and the United States mobilizing so much financial resources, is certainly not to help Britain keep its colonies."

"The Unity Party should become the vanguard in dismantling British colonies. General Lu, I understand and silently support your role in this."

Lv Muzhi scrutinized General Stilwell before him. It seemed Stilwell had returned to his country not long ago and accepted instructions from some high-ranking US officials.

"I roughly understand what you mean. The Unity Party's action strategy naturally has its own plans, and I cannot interfere in that."

"What is most important right now is still to defeat the Japanese army group entrenched in Burma."

Seeing that he had conveyed his attitude toward the Unity Party clearly, General Stilwell began to discuss the subsequent counteroffensive plan against Japan.

"The wars in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region are one."

"According to the plan, the US Army will launch an attack on the Japanese army at Guadalcanal in the Pacific."

"The war on the Indochina Peninsula will be handled by Britain, Xia Guo, and Zhongnan State."

"The Zhongnan State National Defense Army and Sun Liren's unit of the Youth Army Expeditionary Force will attack Thailand."

"The British Army, Xia Guo Expeditionary Force, and Xie Jinyuan's unit of the Youth Expeditionary Army will attack Mandalay, a key town in Burma."

"Unity Party guerrillas in various places will coordinate with this operation."

Lv Muzhi asked: "When is the US Army's attack on Guadalcanal scheduled?"

Stilwell answered: "Around August."

Lv Muzhi thought for a moment: "August? The rainy season in northern Indochina Peninsula hasn't passed by then. I think launching an attack in September would be more appropriate."

"I am arranging laborers to widen and maintain the Burma Road, ensuring logistics transportation for the future counteroffensive in Burma."

Seeing that Lv Muzhi wanted to launch an offensive on the Indochina Peninsula in September, Stilwell hesitated for a moment, feeling it would be better to attack at the same time, lest the Japanese army on the Indochina Peninsula reinforce Guadalcanal.

However, after careful consideration, with Allied forces gathering on the Indochina Peninsula, where would Terauchi Hisaichi dare to transfer troops away?

"Alright then, I will report your opinion to my superiors."

"Launching an attack in September, as the rainy season draws to a close, is not impossible."

Stilwell thought of Lv Muzhi widening the Burma Road and asked: "I heard you mobilized one hundred thousand laborers from within Xia Guo to come here to widen and maintain the Burma Road?"

Lv Muzhi nodded: "Yes, these one hundred thousand laborers were recruited from famine-stricken areas in Henan."

"Not only building roads, but also responsible for the logistics construction of the army in the Lashio area, including airport expansion, barracks construction, and so on."

"They are just here to earn a living. General Stilwell, do you think that is inappropriate?"

Stilwell shrugged: "I have no opinion. It's just that the British should think more. They have always regarded Burma as their sphere of influence."

Lv Muzhi didn't care: "Do you see any British on this land... The Japanese come more diligently than the British."

"At least occasionally there are Japanese small units coming here to raid, and Japanese fighter planes coming to bomb. The British? Since they withdrew into India, I haven't seen them again."

Stilwell laughed heartily: "Alright, I think you're right."

"Anyway, if one day the British return to Burma, you can figure out how to deal with them yourself."

"What is most important right now is to prepare with all our strength for the counteroffensive war on the Indochina Peninsula."

After General Stilwell exchanged some information with Lv Muzhi, they parted ways in Lashio.

Afterwards, Lv Muzhi called Xie Jinyuan to his side and asked: "How is the tropical military training of the Sixth Youth Army going?"

Xie Jinyuan answered: "The Sixth Youth Army has three divisions. One division was transferred from the old Expeditionary Force base in Zhongnan State, with rich combat experience."

"Two divisions were recruited domestically and underwent two months of concentrated training at the Kunming camp."

"After entering Burma, they continued another month of concentrated training in Lashio. Training is currently still ongoing."

Lv Muzhi asked again: "Is the equipment of the Sixth Youth Army all in place?"

Xie Jinyuan began to calculate his resources: "Among the Sixth Youth Army, the equipment of the Youth Thirteenth Division is the best. They are fully equipped with M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles, and all light and heavy machine guns are in place."

"The other two divisions mainly use Zhongzheng-made rifles, with M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles as a supplement. The allocation of light and heavy machine guns is the same as the Thirteenth Division."

"Tanks currently mainly consist of T26 tanks and 38T light tanks, totaling over one hundred vehicles, convenient for maneuvering."

"There are also twenty-four Sherman medium tanks for coordinated combat."

"What about artillery?" Lv Muzhi asked.

"The 105 mm howitzers, 75 mountain guns, infantry guns, and rocket artillery units of the three divisions are all in place."

"Only three 155mm howitzer battalions remain in transport, transferred from North China, not yet arrived in Kunming."

Lv Muzhi was quite satisfied with this progress.

Currently, ground forces' equipment is largely complete; Lashio has deployed over a hundred P-47 Thunderbolts, BF109 fighters, and P40 fighters combined.

Lv Muzhi is just waiting for the rainy season to end, to strike the Japanese Army on the Indochina Peninsula hard across the board.

"I must leave for a time; you stay here and train the troops well, await the attack order."

"Yes!"

In the following days, Xie Jinyuan had no idea of Lv Muzhi's whereabouts, only knowing that Unity Party guerrillas sent people to invite him to visit their base construction.

——————

Eastern border of Shan State, Burma, Wanbai Village.

This is a typical three-no-man's-land mountainous area, located on Burma's eastern border, adjacent to the Luang Prabang Region of Zhongnan State to the west, and bordering the northwestern Thai mountains to the south.

Although it is a three-no-man's-land, it is a hotbed for Unity Party guerrilla activity.

Lv Muzhi and Prime Minister Fan Jing appeared in this small village of Wanbai at this moment.

Standing beside them were over a hundred Youth Army soldiers including Long Wenzhang, and the Division Commander of Zhongnan State's First Division, Ruan Linqing, also appeared here.

Ruan Linqing, Division Commander of Zhongnan State's First Division, and Long Wenzhang and others were originally garrisoned in the northwestern Thai mountains; due to the short distance, they came to handle Lv Muzhi's security protection.

Also arriving at this Wanbai village was the overall commander of the Burmese Unity Party guerrillas, a Burmese monk named Sada.

Ruan Linqing and Long Wenzhang did not know why Lv Muzhi would come here, but both felt in their hearts that it should be some important matter.

That Burmese monk named Sada now controls all Unity Party guerrilla forces.

Lv Muzhi knew the Sada Monk; the Sada Monk pressed his palms together toward Lv Muzhi and bowed.

Lv Muzhi also bowed slightly in return, then looked toward Ruan Linqing and Long Wenzhang behind him.

"Colonel Long Wenzhang, have your men set up a perimeter defense; no one is allowed to approach."

"Yes!" Long Wenzhang accepted the order and turned to leave.

"Major General Ruan Linqing, come with me."

Lv Muzhi called out, then walked toward the depths of the village with Fan Jing and the Sada Monk.

Ruan Linqing could only follow, feeling baffled.

"Kachin State and Shan State have been developing quite well lately..." Lv Muzhi opened his mouth to ask.

The Sada Monk still kept his palms together: "Thanks to General Lu's blessing, many green lights were opened for our Unity Party; otherwise, how could our strength in Burma have grown so fast?"

"After the British left, the Xia State Army stationed in Lashio and Myitkyina, and the Unity Party in Burma lost many constraints."

Lv Muzhi asked: "Do you know who we are going to see today?"

The Sada Monk felt very strange, looked at Fan Jing beside him: "Wasn't it said that Zhongnan State's Prime Minister Fan Jing would meet with us here? That we would discuss cooperation and actions in the Burma aspect together?"

Lv Muzhi "hmmed", looked at Ruan Linqing following behind; he still looked completely clueless.

Prime Minister Fan Jing took over the conversation: "It is like this, Zhongnan State's Unity Party and Burma's Unity Party share the same origin; contacts should be strengthened, to prepare for the future..."

Fan Jing rambled on there; the Sada Monk just narrowed his eyes, palms together listening; both actually misjudged the purpose of this meeting.

The group walked toward the depths of Wanbai Village; many armed guards not wearing uniforms stood on both sides of the forest path.

Passing through the forest path, walking past several tottering bamboo houses, they arrived at a small courtyard.

Fan Jing said with a smile: "General Lu, you chose a good meeting spot; the British don't allow Zhongnan State to contact the Unity Party inside Burma; meeting here, the British are guaranteed not to know."

This small courtyard sits on a slope, with an excellent field of view; no superfluous decorations around, only a few plainclothes guards guarding the intersection.

Lv Muzhi pushed open the ajar wooden door and led everyone inside.

In the middle of the courtyard stood a square table; a faint tea scent permeated the air.

Two men sat beside the square table, facing the door, as if they had been waiting for a long time.

One was an old man in his sixties, dressed plainly.

Beside the old man sat a military officer, who was respectfully pouring tea for the old man.

"Chair... Chairman?"

"And Commander Ruan Wen?"

The originally calm Sada Monk, the moment he recognized that old man, could not stop the shock on his face.

Sada's mind went blank in an instant.

Zhongnan State is now nominally governed by the Unity Party, but the secret society Yixin Society behind the scenes is the true master.

The Yixin Society is full of Unity Party Senior Elders and elite figures.

The old man sitting beside the square table is the Chairman of the Yixin Society, Lin Shirong.

The Sada Monk is one of the Yixin Society's Core Members; Ruan Wen is too; never expected they would appear here simultaneously.

Zhongnan State's Prime Minister Fan Jing and Major General Ruan Linqing are not inside the Yixin Society, but seeing the Sada Monk's shocked appearance, they also felt very strange in their hearts.

"Junior Classmate, you've finally come; I've waited until my hair turned white." Lin Shirong pointed at his own white hair and said.

At these words, except for Lv Muzhi himself, everyone felt it was unbelievable, their minds a tangled mess.

Among those present, Northern Vietnam Military Region Commander Ruan Wen and Burma's guerrilla overall commander Sada Monk are Core Members of the Yixin Society; they were shocked by the Junior Classmate addressed by Chairman Lin Shirong.

Ruan Wen commands the Northern Vietnam Military Region of Zhongnan State, holds heavy troops, a power-faction figure in the Yixin Society and Unity Party.

Due to Lv Muzhi's deep interference in Zhongnan State affairs in recent years, Ruan Wen has always been wary and helpless toward him.

He originally thought today was an internal secret meeting of the Yixin Society, aimed at discussing future countermeasures, including strategies targeting Lv Muzhi and the Youth Army.

Never expected Lv Muzhi and some non-Yixin Society members would appear at the secret meeting; this is the Yixin Society, a secret organization many Unity Party members don't even know exists.

And the Sada Monk; he thought he was coming to meet with Zhongnan State Prime Minister Fan Jing, to discuss how to expand the guerrilla forces in the Burma region, resist the Japanese and British; never expected to directly see Chairman Lin Shirong and Senior Member Ruan Wen.

The most puzzled were none other than Fan Jing and Ruan Linqing.

As Zhongnan State's nominal Prime Minister, Fan Jing is a puppet put forward by the Yixin Society's various power factions; he himself didn't know the Yixin Society existed; later he went from being the Yixin Society's puppet to becoming a marionette of Lv Muzhi and the Youth Army.

In this scene, he watched his own incomparable Commander Ruan Wen respectfully pouring tea for an old man, and that old man even addressed Lu Muzhi as Junior Classmate; Fan Jing only felt his mind a tangled mess — wasn't he here to meet with the Sada Monk?

Ruan Linqing was equally baffled; as a native Zhongnan State general, a Unity Party Major General Division Commander supported by Lu Muzhi, he likewise knew nothing of the Yixin Society's existence, only knowing to draw as close as possible to Lu Muzhi and the Youth Army.

Now seeing the situation so complex, Ruan Linqing couldn't help but approach Lu Muzhi: "Lu Commander, what is this situation?"

Ruan Wen, meanwhile, shielded Lin Shirong, initially wanting to draw his gun, yet discovered his gun was not on him: "General Lu, why would you appear at a Yixin Society meeting?"

Fan Jing frowned and asked: "What Yixin Society?"

Lin Shirong slowly stood up, laughing: "Let me answer you."

"The Yixin Society embodies the Unity Party's entire will, and I am the Yixin Society's Supreme Leader."

"As for him......" Lin Shirong pointed at Lu Muzhi before him and said:

"He is the true architect of all this."