Chapter 66: Cross-border Operations
Zhuo Fei had already thought of all the things that needed to be paid attention to before he wasted those Japanese prisoners of war, and Vivien asked rhetorically, but Sir Henry was speechless, because he really couldn't find a place to refute. "Look, Sir Henry, I am afraid you yourself know that such an unwarranted accusation against us is vexatious. You have slandered us so much, and I think the relationship between the Umbrella Company and the British Army needs to be redefined. Vivien was unforgiving, and there was a little coldness between her words.
Sir Henry returned again in vain, and the British army in India had no choice but to focus on those Japanese soldiers, hoping to annihilate these damned Japanese troops as soon as possible. With no heavy artillery, no aircraft, and no naval artillery fire support, these Japanese prisoners of war released by the Independence Army burst out with the same fighting strength as before, defeated the British army in Imphal, and took the opportunity to capture a number of tanks and armored vehicles of the British army in Imphal, and formed an Indian servant army of more than 5,000 men.
"I don't care if you steal or rob, as long as you don't just cross the border into Myanmar or China, as long as you can get half the weight of your body in gold. I promise that the Umbrella Company will prepare a way out for you at the border, and promise to send you home when the war is over, but only if you live. These were Zhuo Fei's exact words before sending those Japanese prisoners of war across the Chindun River, and it was precisely because of this that the Japanese troops who were forced to enter India began to loot gold from the Indian people on a large scale.
Indians love gold, this is something that almost everyone on the earth knows, but it will be a little difficult for this group of Japanese soldiers to get gold from India equivalent to half the weight of their bodies, because they have more than 4,000 people after all. As a result, the Umbrella Company offered a new price code, that is, some British factory facilities in India, if the Japanese army can fully control some of the British factories in India and can disassemble and send them to Burma, the Umbrella Company will also treat these Japanese prisoners of war who were sent to India to stir up trouble.
Since the Ming Dynasty, there have been a variety of down-and-out samurai or merchants who have crossed the sea to China to plunder, but now they have changed the target of plundering to another country. "This Zhuo Fei is really too good at tossing." After Chongqing learned of this, the high-level people had different opinions, but no one said that Zhuo Fei did something wrong, at most it said that Zhuo Fei was a little childish.
Complete control of Burma is a large part of Zhuo Fei's ultimate plan, and the southbound migrants must enter other controlled South Asian countries through Burma, and if the British control the situation in Burma again, Zhuo Fei's ultimate plan may deviate greatly, and it will not be able to avoid obstruction from European countries. Zhuo Fei, who had no time to worry about the domestic war, was very busy at this time, the first batch of more than 100,000 southbound immigrants had crossed the border into the front line of Lashio, and the umbrella company had to prepare the necessary materials and tools for these immigrants, and before the arrival of a new round of rainy season, the food supply of the independence army would depend on these immigrants.
The umbrella company has a large number of machinery, and before the resettlement program is ready, Ruili's ordnance base has set aside dozens of tractors in warehouses to prepare for the food production of the immigrants. The Independence Army moved south, and the camps and a large number of houses left behind along the way would be reserved for the resettlement of migrants, and a large number of agricultural tools provided by Yunnan were continuously sent to Wan Town along the railway, and the umbrella company had done all the work to welcome the migrants south.
The resettlement of the migrants has almost been completed, but Zhuo Fei's heart is still a little uneasy, the Burmese servant army that entered Thailand from Pasang has been in contact for two days without sending back a message, Zhuo Fei is not worried about those Burmese natives, he is worried about a regiment of independent troops that accompanied the army. The commander of this regiment of independent troops was a lieutenant colonel named Yan Xiguang from the national army system, and according to the plan of action in advance, they should have been in contact with the headquarters of the independent army every day.
Zhuo Fei was worried about the independent army troops commanded by Yan Xiguang, but he didn't know that Yan Xiguang was enjoying a rare leisure in a Thai temple at this time. Crossing the jungle into Thailand, if you just look at it literally, it is nothing at all, but when it comes to actual operation, Yan Xiguang, who was originally full of confidence, found that there were many difficulties. Most of the Independence Army were big-nosed Jews, and although they had been trained in the military in Ruili for more than two years, they were still outsiders to real jungle warfare.
If Zhuo Fei hadn't sent two additional scout troops to Yan Xiguang, plus the assistance of those Burmese servants, the regimental independent army commanded by Yan Xiguang might not have been able to get out of the jungle at all. Due to insufficient prior consideration, the backup battery of the regimental radio station could not be used anymore due to moisture, and after their radio station ran out of power, Yan Xiguang had actually lost the means of contact with the headquarters of the Independent Army.
Fortunately, Yan Xiguang is also a long-time battle-hardened person, and after finding that he could not guarantee contact with the headquarters, Yan Xiguang immediately launched the second set of plans, and dispatched a part of the Burmese servant army to escort the more than 1,000 Thais forcibly recruited, and immediately opened the passage between himself and Pasang. Yan Xiguang's method is very simple, just cut down trees according to the marks they left when they crossed the jungle, carve out a simple passage in the jungle with a width of more than 20 meters, and splash lime.
Logging is not a problem, the Independence Army has a logging chainsaw invented by the Germans, the Germans have invented a chainsaw for logging as early as 1026, Vivian seems to have stumbled upon a logging chainsaw made by the Germans in Germany, so she bought a few. After finding that this kind of chainsaw is very suitable for logging operations, Angela dispatched relevant technicians to improve and upgrade the chainsaw produced by the Germans, in addition to Zhuo Fei's guidance and guidance, Ruili has already produced a logging chainsaw powered by gasoline years ago, and the volume of the chainsaw has been reduced a lot.
With the sound of gasoline logging chainsaws, the trees and rattans in the jungle were cleared little by little, and a large number of Thais were forced to follow behind to clear the roots and shrubs, and to pour lime on the clearings to prevent the shrubs and rattans from growing again. Yan Xiguang was completely idle, and before he reconnected with the headquarters of the Independent Army, he didn't want to risk his soldiers with all the details. The Burmese servants were released and were going around capturing Thais and sending them into the jungle to dig up tree roots, and Yan Xiguang's only promise to them was to promise that all the spoils of war caught during this time would go to the servants.
Gold and silverware, cloth, grain, livestock, and the like were being brought to the areas occupied by the Independence Army, and every Burmese native food sent to Thailand as part of the Servant Army was filled with joy. Looting is indeed faster than farming and hunting, and the soldiers of the Burmese Servant Army are now thinking about only one thing: how to find more Thai villages. Because as soon as they find a Thai village, they can rush in and hunt down the Thais, and after sending these Thais to dig up roots in the forest, everything in the village belongs to them.
The first batch of Burmese servant soldiers sent to Thailand had been trained by Yan Xiguang to become bandits and robbers according to Zhuo Fei's plan, and they were no longer satisfied with farming or hunting like ordinary people, because they found that there were businesses in this world that could make money faster. The main thing is that with weapons in their own hands and absolute military support, the raid can be sustained, and they can always get benefits that they could not believe before.
"Wolf nature, I just want to cultivate their wolf nature, after tearing off the last fig leaf in their hearts, these seemingly cowardly Burmese natives will grow into a formidable force. Of course, this intimidation refers to South Asians, not us. Before leaving Pasang, Zhuo Fei had a private conversation with Yan Xiguang, and as the commander of the forward force, Yan Xiguang must unconditionally act according to Zhuo Fei's instructions, including conniving at a series of raids by the Burmese servant army in Thailand.
"We are soldiers, and soldiers should not have political leanings, let alone sympathy for our enemies. South Asia was originally a vassal state of China, and because of the cowardice of the Manchus, it was time to give these vassal states some thunderous means. The military will focus only on the outcome of the war, not the process, and our goal is not only to drive the Japanese out of South Asia, but also to regain control of South Asia, so the indigenous populations of South Asia are the key to this. Zhuo Fei's words were very simple, but Yan Xiguang had already listened to them.
When he was transferred to Ruili from the front line by the Ministry of Military Affairs for training, Yan Xiguang thought that he had offended people, and he was transferred to Yunnan to be a cold bench in the cold palace. But he didn't expect that he was not only promoted, but also appointed as the commander of a new type of unit with brand-new firepower, and what he didn't expect was that he, who was originally just a small battalion commander, was actually given such a difficult task. Yan Xiguang had no impression of South Asians, and he didn't have any good feelings, and if it weren't for the orders of the headquarters of the Independence Army, he wouldn't even want to act with those Burmese servants.
But after having a secret conversation with Zhuo Fei, Yan Xiguang changed his mind, and wanted to firmly control South Asia, and the number of local natives was the biggest problem, so Yan Xiguang agreed with Zhuo Fei's plan very much, and those Burmese servants would definitely be good helpers for this plan. Under Yan Xiguang's deliberate connivance, the scope of the Burmese servants' raids expanded more and more, and finally, the Burmese servants' troops who went out to plunder were pursued by the Thai army, and Yan Xiguang, who had rested for many days, was also ready to meet the Thai army.