In a Western-style building in a neighborhood in Mandalay, Japanese agent Yokoji Takeda is meeting with a Burmese general. The sunlight shines softly through the windows, and the interior is brightly lit. On the table was a leather chest, the lid of which opened to reveal gleaming gold bars. "General U Tan Pokyo, the Japanese Empire is currently in secret negotiations with the Burmese elite in Thailand, and soon an independent, sovereign and complete new Burma will be born, and I don't think the general will miss this opportunity." ”

Wu Danbo's eyes were greedily aimed at the gold bars, and he seemed to be engrossed. "General! I know you have a deep hatred for the colonization of the British. At present, with the help of the Great Japanese Empire, more than 30 warriors from Guibang, including Dechen Aung San, Dechen Thonou, and Deloitte Xiuxiang, are forming the Burmese Independence Army in Thailand for the sake of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. The Japanese Empire promised to help the people of Burma free themselves from British colonial rule without any conditions attached. The opportunity must not be missed, what else is the general hesitating about? ”

"Mr. Takeda is right, the British are now exhausted. But now it is too risky for me to go against the British. "General, it is unrealistic for you to be the enemy of the British now. I know that the general also does not have a good feeling for the Chinese, and only needs a small favor from you. At present, Ruili on the Yunnan-Burma transport line from Lashio to the Chinese border is the Chinese army responsible for the garrison, you should understand what I mean! "This will not offend the British!" "Yes, you just have to do what I ask, these gold bars are your personal remuneration, and in addition, we also provide the event funds in pounds!"

"Mr. Takeda, what do you need me to do?" Profit is a risky bet, and Wu Tanbo has just made up his mind. "It's very simple, you lead your subordinates to the Yunnan-Burma Highway north of Lashio. According to the intelligence we intercepted, the Chinese government has shipped 200 fighter jets to the United States to be transported back to China via the Yunnan-Burma Highway. Your mission is to intercept convoys, blow up planes, and eliminate the threat of the Imperial Japanese Air Force on the battlefields of China. "I heard that the Chinese army is stationed on the Yunnan-Burma Highway to serve as a guard, which is very difficult!"

"The line from Lashio to the Chinese border is more than 100 kilometers long, and the strength of the Chinese army is only one regiment. You can take advantage of the night to do it, and you have a good chance of success. In addition, our people will provide you with information to help you. "But our weapons and equipment are extremely poor, so please ask Mr. Takeda to support some of them." "Weapons and ammunition have been prepared for a long time, please follow me!" Soon, the two came to the basement.

In the basement, a room full of machine guns, mortars, 38 rifles, and grenades filled the room. Wu Danbo's eyes once again revealed greed, and he made no secret of his greed. "Your Excellency General, we have done all the preparations, are you still dissatisfied?" Wu Danbo just rolled his eyes and said: "I have no right to send troops to the north, military movements must be approved by the British, and I must have a good reason." "Your Excellency, please rest assured that the British will take the initiative to transfer you to the north, on the grounds that ・・・・・・."

Inside the Lashio Special Forces Headquarters, the atmosphere was relaxed and peaceful, and the ticking of telegrams could not be heard. Most of the combat staff officers were out on duty, so the room was quiet. At this time, Mu Shixiong's eyes were focused on the map. News came from Yangon that 200 warplanes from the United States had been loaded onto the train and were expected to arrive in Lashio in the evening. The British side reported that the fighters were loaded with three trains. For the sake of safety, it should be transported to Lashio at one time, and the British side is responsible for the transportation safety of the railway line.

"Commander, the domestic convoy has arrived. 4 horse-drawn carts, the first batch of 100 cars. All carriages have 4 wheels and rubber tires. Hao Yi, the head of the regiment, walked in and said with great interest. Mu Shixiong didn't say anything, and looked at Hao Yi with a serious expression. "Commander, the plane has already departed from Yangon, and your demeanor makes me nervous, it could be that something went wrong on the way." "Hao Yi, your people searched and laid nets outside, and didn't find any clues!" Mu Shixiong answered the question.

"No, according to your deployment, we are within 30 highways on the east and west sides of the highway, and after a month of investigation, we have not found any suspicious people." "The fighter planes have already departed from Yangon, and the enemy is still so quiet. The target was very obvious, and it was impossible for the Japanese agents not to know it. But nothing happened, and even the enemy radio stations ceased to operate. It is not normal for the trees to be quiet and the wind to stop. "Yes! It stands to reason that the enemy should act! ”

"The Chief of the General Staff called: In order to ensure the safe transportation of fighters to the country, we are asked to minimize the danger. The Chief of the General Staff has left us leeway for what is to be lowered to the lowest point, but our standards must be foolproof. How to avoid risks, achieve early detection and early prevention, is what we must consider. Just because your people don't notice any suspicious signs doesn't mean that they don't take action. Even if the enemy is unable to get close to the road, if a shell falls in the transport procession, the consequences are unimaginable. ”

Mu Shixiong's analysis made Hao Yi realize the seriousness, yes, the enemy's purpose was to blow up the fighter. The huge convoy had a large target on the road, and the enemy would indeed be unable to defend against it if it was bombarded by mortars. "Commander, I will immediately redeploy, and the sniper team will all be dispatched in groups of two, and form a tight cordon within 5 kilometers on both sides of the road." "Wait!" Hao Yi's footsteps stopped.

"How are you going to lay it out, search repeatedly within 5 kilometers on both sides of the road!" "Stupid, do you think the enemy is a fool and dispatches men and horses to set up an ambush in advance? At present, it is very difficult for the enemy to approach the highway by conventional means, but it is relatively easy to use mortars to shoot accurately. The largest caliber mortar of the Japanese army was 60 mm, with a range of 6,000 meters, and our safe zone was locked within 5 kilometers on both sides of the road. ”

"My deployment is like this, after the convoy departs from Lashio, your blocking detachment will advance ・・・・・・ north at the same time as the convoy on both sides of the road. This can form a double insurance factor. "The commander's deployment is very thorough, and the idea of setting up a perimeter cordon is wonderful. After more than a month of investigation, the sniper brigade has a good understanding of the terrain and landforms on both sides of the road, so that we can do everything we can. "There are still not enough manpower, and at present, the two mountain regiments are responsible for the security task from Ruili to Kunming, and they cannot draw troops at all, otherwise there is no need to rack their brains."

"Report, the listening group has found something new?" "What's the situation?" Mu Shixiong and Hao Yi were slightly surprised. An operational staff officer put down the phone and replied: "The monitoring team reported that the British Army Command in Mandalay reported that there was a riot in the Baldwin mining area, and a Burmese army unit in Mandalay was ordered to go north to suppress the riot, and the Burmese army numbered about a regiment!" "Commander, it can't be a coincidence that a riot broke out!" "What do you think?"

"It's a bit strange, but it's normal for the British Army Command in Mandalay to send the Burmese Army to quell the riots." "If it's a riot deliberately created by Japanese spies, do you think the situation is normal?" "This is too weird!" "It's not strange at all, with the intelligence capabilities of the Japanese army, they must have known that we entered Burma to serve as road guards. Imagine what it means to send a strong special forces to protect the road? ”

"The Japanese must think that we are going to send important military supplies, and the Japanese already know what we are going to ship?" "Since the Japanese knew that we were in charge of protecting the road, it meant that the attack would not succeed by conventional means. However, the use of the Burmese was somewhat unexpected, and the Japanese would not be unaware that the combat effectiveness of the Burmese army was that the horse's tail and tofu could not be lifted at all, and the goal was so obvious. You see, the Baldwin mining area is close to the Yunnan-Burma Highway, and it is impossible for us not to know that the Burmese army is going to quell the rebellion. ”

"Commander, what do you mean is that the Japanese are deliberately exposing the Burmese army to attract our attention, which shows that the Japanese have follow-up means, and the riots in the mining area are just a cover-up." "Maybe the Japanese have prepared two sets of plans, one bright and one dark. Clearly letting the Burmese army go to the mining area to quell the rebellion, in fact, the goal is to target us, if the Burmese army can succeed, it will be great, and if it can not succeed, it will also play a covering role. The Japanese are not fools, and we cannot be fooled. ”

Mu Shixiong took a few steps and said decisively: "The deployment in front remains unchanged, and the assault battalion is ordered to immediately go to the Baldwin mine area to closely monitor the Burmese army." If the Burmese army is disturbed, it will be annihilated on the spot immediately. Your sniper brigade is still responsible for perimeter search and vigilance, and according to our deployment operations, the cover battalion is responsible for the escort of the convoy. The train transporting the fighters will arrive about evening, so go and get ready! In the afternoon of the same day, the second batch of 100 transport vehicles arrived, and Lashio was transformed into a market of neighing people and horses.

That night, the assault battalion was secretly deployed east of the Baldwin mine to monitor the movements of the Burmese army. And about 60 kilometers east of Lashio, another group of men and horses appeared in Menau. In a courtyard in the town of Menau, about 30 people gathered. In the center of the courtyard stood 20 60 mortars. Inside the house, Yokoji Takeda said to several subordinates: "In order to blow up the enemy's fighter plane, we have been preparing for a month. The Hanoi command instructed us to destroy the enemy's warplanes. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have made great preparations for this operation. For this reason, we have not spared any expense to lobby the Burmese army to cover our operations. The Burmese army's actions are almost non-existent, and this move is intended to attract the attention of enemy forces and let their guard down. The shells that were airdropped this time were specially developed incendiary bombs, and the effect was very good. The enemy transferred the powerful Eighth Route Army special combat team to protect the road, but it was unthinkable that we would attack in this way, and it was very well planned. The location of our attack was here ・・・・・・. ”