Chapter 470: Smoke of the Golden Triangle (II)

At the same time, on the road dozens of kilometers from Da Qili, Regiment Commander Cao Zhengde of the 273rd Regiment was leading all his troops, rushing to Da Qili to reinforce.

The unit advanced quickly along the rugged mountain path, each soldier fully armed, carrying heavy weapons and ammunition, marching with hurried steps, daring not to delay a moment.

Cao Zhengde rode on horseback, his brows knit, his gaze fixed firmly on the road ahead, his whip constantly swinging, urging the unit to speed up.

"Faster, everyone speed up!"

"Regiment Commander, the mountain road is rugged, the soldiers have been marching continuously for over three hours; shall we rest ten minutes?" a staff officer stepped forward, speaking urgently.

After the continuous forced march, many soldiers were already exhausted, their faces full of fatigue, and their steps gradually slowed.

Cao Zhengde shook his head, his tone firm: "No! the battle at Da Qili has already begun, Reinforced Camp has suffered heavy casualties; every minute delayed adds danger. We must arrive as soon as possible! Tell the brothers to push harder; as long as we reach Da Qili and repel the Thai Army, we can rest properly later!"

"Yes, Regiment Commander!" the staff officer turned immediately, shouting loudly to the unit: "Brothers, speed up! The comrades at Da Qili are still waiting for our reinforcement; we cannot let them die in vain, keep it up!"

Hearing the staff officer's shout, the soldiers instantly rallied, their fatigue seeming swept away, and they quickened their pace, racing toward Da Qili.

Cao Zhengde rode on horseback, his heart frantic, constantly looking into the distance; faintly he could hear artillery and gunfire from the direction of Da Qili, the sound striking his heart like a heavy hammer.

"We must hold on, brothers of the Reinforced Camp! We're arriving shortly!" Cao Zhengde whispered to himself, his whip swinging even faster.

He knew that the outcome at Da Qili concerned the whole situation in eastern Myanmar.

Da Qili's location was like a pass; once broken through, one could advance directly to Jingdong.

Of course, while the Expeditionary Force's main body was fighting fiercely, Lv Guoquan also ordered the 93rd Division to construct three defensive works.

Cao Zhengde must lead the 273rd Regiment to Da Qili as quickly as possible, link up with the Reinforced Camp, repel the invading Thai Army, and hold this crucial front-line position.

The mountain road was rugged and dusty; the 273rd Regiment's column stretched like a long dragon, advancing swiftly along the path toward Da Qili and the battlefield.

On Da Qili's front-line position, the Reinforced Camp's soldiers still fought tenaciously, holding every inch of ground with steadfast belief and fierce combat power, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements, and engaging in a life‑or‑death struggle with the Thai Army.

Li Tiezhu leaned against the trench wall, his shoulder grazed by a bullet, blood staining his uniform red, yet he did not retreat, his rifle continuing to fire.

Li Tiezhu looked up toward the distance, silently thinking: "The reinforcement is arriving soon..."

He believed that if they held on a little longer, if the 273rd Regiment arrived.

They would surely repel the Thai Army, hold Da Qili, and not disappoint the division's expectations nor betray the motherland's great trust!

Inside the temporary command post of the Expeditionary Force at Lashu, the lights shone brightly, and the air was tinged with a faint scent of telegram ink and tobacco.

Lin Yi, dressed in a crisp uniform, stood before a large wooden table, on which dozens of decoded telegrams were neatly laid out; beside it sat a telegraph machine, its copper keys polished to shine, bearing witness to the hectic days of recent work.

He had just successfully completed the mission of escorting the division commander's family, delivering them safely to Lashu; without time to rest, he immediately plunged into intelligence analysis work.

Even during the escort, he had been receiving messages from the border intelligence station, noting that Thai military movements were becoming increasingly abnormal.

"Sir, these are three newly decoded telegrams, still encrypted communications from the Thai military; the frequency is much denser than yesterday."

An intelligence staff officer hurried in, holding a freshly organized telegram translation, his tone tinged with urgency.

Lin Yi took the translation, his brows gradually tightening, a hint of gravity flashing in his eyes.

Since the Mandalay campaign ended, the Expeditionary Force's main body entered a rest period.

Lashu, as an important rear base in northern Myanmar, bore the crucial duties of material transshipment and personnel allocation; the 200th Division and the st Division's supplies all came from Lashu.

Of course, because Jiang Anguo was accompanying the operation, the combat units' supplies were all provided by Jiang Anguo Jiang Anguo.

And Jingdong, as the hub linking Lashu with the Thai border, was also quite important.

Lin Yi knew that Thailand had long been flirting with the Japanese Army.

During his time with the Independent Regiment, Lin Yi had also grown considerably; even though Jiang Anguo was fighting domestically, he, together with Song Yu and Wang Fei, simulated the Expeditionary Force's operations and the possible Thai invasion of Myanmar.

Today, the Japanese Army's situation in Myanmar is difficult; the 15th Army under Iida Shoujirou is severely weakened, which will inevitably court Thai intervention, and Jingdong and Da Qili are the most likely targets of the Thai Army.

In recent days, the intelligence station intercepted Thai military telegrams with increasing frequency, the encryption level constantly rising, clearly planning some major operation.

Lin Yi arranged all the telegrams chronologically, comparing and analyzing them one by one, and soon spotted a clue: the telegrams repeatedly contained the keywords "Jingdong", "Da Qili", "gather", "attack", as well as many orders concerning troop movements and material transshipment, even mentioning "Japanese Army advisors" and "joint operations".

Although parts of the content were masked by encryption, combined with earlier intelligence, it was enough to discern the Thai Army's intentions.

They are most likely to cooperate with the Japanese Army, dispatching troops from the border to attack Jingdong and Da Qili, attempting to cut off the Expeditionary Force's rear.

"It seems Thailand is determined to walk the same dark road with the Little Devil," Lin Yi muttered softly, his fingertip pressing heavily on the three characters "Da Qili" on the telegram.

He knew that Da Qili currently had only a Reinforced Camp of the 93rd Division stationed there, with thin forces, and the Thai Army's troop movements were unclear; if an attack truly launched, the Reinforced Camp would inevitably face a bitter fight.

What worried him more was whether Jingdong, as the 93rd Division's defensive zone of the Expeditionary Force, would, like the th Army, be forced to retreat after being beaten.

Even so, Lin Yi had been using Lashu's supplies to reinforce the 93rd Division.

If Jingdong were captured, it would not only sever Lashu's connection with eastern Myanmar, but the bridge from Jingdong to Lashu had already been bombed, giving the Thai Army an opening to advance into Yunnan's Xishuangbanna.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi turned instantly, walked to the telegraph machine, and drafted a telegram himself, sending urgent intelligence to the division commander in Mandalay.

In the telegram, he detailed the Thai military's telegram changes, troop movement signs, and his assessment of their attack direction, requesting the division commander to promptly adjust deployments, reinforce Jingdong and Da Qili, and prepare defenses.