Time flies, and it is the end of February in the midst of the war.

In the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival, there is not much festive atmosphere in Tang Harbor.

On this day, three distinguished guests came to Tang Harbor. One was the British Governor in Ceylon, Ceylon, and Commander-in-Chief of the three armed forces, Sir Hodjie, who was known for his ability to reconcile race relations. One was General Leighton, the commander-in-chief of the British army in Ceylon, and the last was General Alexander, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the British Indo-Burmese army.

For such three people, Li Guang can be said to have a very good impression of two of them. Sir Hao Dejie also has a considerable skill in dealing with the contradictions of various ethnic groups in Ceylon, according to Professor Yuan Ye, this person is a master of peace and mud. The Maritime Resistance Army was in Tanggang and had a lot of dealings with Sir Hao Dejie, but in short, the cooperation between the two sides was quite pleasant.

The other, as soon as he entered the door, Li Guang recognized him at first sight. This is the guy who is on the beach of Dunkirk, holding a glass of red wine, listening to the roar of German fighters, leisurely. The original commander of the British army, now the commander-in-chief of the British Indo-Burmese Army, General Alexander.

The last one, Li Guang also knows, but he doesn't have much affection. This British general is an extremely arrogant fellow, and he has always imposed restrictions on the Naval Resistance Army, and even set up a checkpoint on the border of Tang Port to restrict the economic and military activities of the Naval Resistance Army. Admiral Leighton, don't look at it as a general, but he is not a famous general in Britain, and his authority is actually not very large. But now that the situation is in crisis, no one has much opinion on this general, and this old guy has spared no effort in his defense.

Night owls come into the house and come with nothing.

Although Li Guang has a good impression of the first two, it is difficult to say how much personal perception can play in the transaction between countries.

These two are obviously not here to talk about friendship. Although General Alexander, in the gesture of an acquaintance, expressed the "goodwill" of General Leighton. Li Guang saw it. Alexander apparently came to ease relations between the Naval Resistance Army and Admiral Leighton, as Alexander's office did not have much jurisdiction over Ceylon.

The greetings, which did not have much nutrition, ended quickly, and several people were busy, and immediately moved on to the formal topic.

First, Governor Haudge suggested that the sharp Japanese attack had destabilized Ceylon under the British Empire. In a sense, the Japanese offensive in Southeast Asia has boosted the morale of the yellow race in Southeast Asia, and the indigenous population of Ceylon is now ready to move, and the situation is somewhat unpleasant. Li Guang is very clear about this, Ceylon is different from Madagascar, Ceylon has a long history. Although they are also an agrarian people, they have their own culture, and even their cultural roots are longer than those of the British. The people of Ceylonese have been colonized by the British for a long time, and if they have the opportunity, they must want to fight for independence. As for whether it can really rely on Japan's strength, few people know clearly. But many Ceylonese are ready to move at the moment. This is not surprising at all. There were also many exchanges between the Haitang Kingdom and the local forces of Ceylon, and there were also some local forces of Ceylon who wanted to attach themselves to the Haitang Kingdom.

Governor Hao Dejie. I hope that Tang Gang will cooperate. Take control of the situation in Ceylon. This Li Guang agreed very happily, if the whole Ceylon is in chaos, it will not be beneficial to the Naval Resistance Army.

On the second matter, Admiral Leighton proposed that the two armies should work together, implying that he wanted to command the naval resistance forces.

This thing. Li Guang looked at it separately. The land forces of the Naval Resistance Army were responsible for the security of Tang Harbor and could never be handed over to the command of the British.

After more than two months of fighting in Malaya, the British had already somewhat recognized the situation, and the proud British Empire had to admit it. The British army was inferior in combat effectiveness to the Japanese army. During the four years of China's independence and resistance against Japan, the Chinese army often lost the battle against the Japanese army with a force of 1:6, and it was difficult for even a force of 1:10 to achieve victory. The casualty ratio is even higher, and the number of victories is rarely less than 1 to 2, and the casualty ratio of defeats is often more than 1 to 5.

All this has become the reason why Britain and the United States and other countries ridicule the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army and look down on the Chinese army. But when the British army really faced the Japanese army's butcher's knife, they found that their combat effectiveness was not higher than that of the inferior Chinese army, or even weaker. What the British were reluctant to admit was that the two or three divisions of the Japanese army on the Malayan Peninsula were far inferior to the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army in Chinese mainland. At this time, due to the rapid expansion of the size of the Japanese army, it had expanded from 370,000 troops in 37 years to 1.6 million, of which the proportion of elite veterans had seriously declined.

For example, the 18th Division was divided into a wing and many backbones to form the 35th Infantry Brigade. Another example is the Japanese army's ace Fifth Division fought with dozens of divisions of the Chinese army on the Chinese battlefield, but the loss of troops was lost, and the Chinese army was almost completely wiped out by a brigade in the battle of Kunlun Pass alone, and nearly half of the soldiers of the Fifth Division at this time were enlisted in the army for less than a year. The Guards Division, another main division under the 25th Army of the Japanese Army, was actually only half of the backbone of the original Guards Division of the Japanese Army (later became the Second Guards Division of Japan).

In the Malay Peninsula, there were more than 135,000 British troops and Australian troops. The Japanese army only had three divisions and 35,000 men under Yamashita Fengfumi. You must know that when the Anti-Japanese War broke out, the strength of only one Fifth Division could reach 30,000. In fact, although the British army was facing three divisions of the Japanese army, its pressure was no greater than that of the Chinese army against one of the main divisions of the Japanese army.

The ratio of forces between the two sides was 3.8 to 1, but the final result was that the British army was completely annihilated, and more than 100,000 people became prisoners. With such a result, the British army has completely lost face.

The British could find many reasons to cover up the incompetence of the British army, but the excuse was an excuse after all, and the British had completely lost the will to resist after being beaten by the Japanese army. This history was almost taboo in Britain, so much so that it was reluctant to mention it for decades after the war.

A few days ago, the British army tried in vain to keep Malaya and Singapore, but at this moment the British army lacked confidence in even keeping Burma and Ceylon. Several high-ranking British officials and generals took the initiative to go to Tanggang, which fully shows that Britain is still very good at putting down its position at a difficult juncture.

Ceylon was of great importance to both the Kingdom of Haitang and the United Kingdom. Ceylon is Britain's most important overseas rubber producer, Ceylon produces more rubber than Malaya and Singapore, and without Ceylon, Britain will lose half of its rubber supply.

In addition to this, Ceylon's strategic position is even more important. It is the center of the Indian Ocean. The island of Ceylon was simply too important to the British Empire. He controlled the Indian Ocean, the passage to India, the shipping routes to the oil fields of the Persian Gulf in the Middle East, and was the most important rubber producer in the British Empire.

Occupying this place would control the Indian Ocean, and once it was occupied by the Japanese army, not to mention rubber, British transportation would be cut off throughout the Indian Ocean.

The interests of both sides coincide in the matter of defending Ceylon. As a result, some issues are relatively easy to negotiate. But some issues are not so negotiable, such as the command of the army.

The naval battles of the British Empire can still be circled, but the level of land warfare. Li Guang couldn't believe it at all. If the army of the Naval Resistance Army were under the command of the British, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Li Guang immediately rejected the British's request. This is a matter of principle and is non-negotiable.

However, he said that it was agreed that the two militaries would work together and share intelligence. The commander-in-chief could be General Layton on the British side. But the Naval Resistance Force has autonomy.

During the talks, General Leighton was proud.

The British though defeated in Malaya. But Leighton still did not believe that the Japanese were capable of capturing Ceylon.

In the opinion of General Layton. Since the Japanese were not going to capture Ceylon, it was not so important to bring the Naval Resistance Army into the British command system, so the two sides reached an agreement on this.

The establishment of a liaison group by Lieutenant Colonel Smith of the British Army and several staff officers of the Naval Resistance Army was a symbol of the cooperation between the two armies.

But when General Alexander asked the question, Li Guang hesitated.

General Alexander was not for the Burma war, but for the incoming James . Admiral Royal Navy in Somerville was a lobbyist. It is wanted to bring the navy of the Naval Resistance Army into the command of the Far Eastern Fleet.

James. Somerville had not yet arrived in Ceylon, and Alexander had begun to act for it, and he seemed too anxious.

However, Li Guang did not refuse, and the method he proposed was that the warships of the Naval Resistance Force and the British warships could fight together. But it should be divided into two fleets, echoing each other.

To put it simply, the two sides are in a collaborative relationship. However, such a cooperation is obviously not reliable enough, and both sides are military personnel and understand the dangers of such cooperation.

The naval power of the British army in Ceylon did not have much combat effectiveness at the moment. Although the British army promised to send more warships, Li Guang did not even know how many troops the British army would invest here, so he could not agree at all. If the British wanted the Naval Resistance Army to be cannon fodder, Li Guang would definitely not do it.

James. Admiral Somerville is a well-known general in the British Royal Navy, but Li Guang only knows some of his brilliant achievements, and he doesn't know much about this person, so it is impossible to agree at all.

Alexander didn't give much advice on this, and he probably understood that it was a bit of an extravagant hope to hand over a navy to the command of the British army just out of thin air.

Li Guang had an idea at this moment, since the British asked for this and that, although there were many reasonable elements in it, the Naval Resistance Army could not ask for nothing at all.

So Li Guang asked to send troops to Burma. On the surface, Li Guang's reason was only to ensure the smooth air transportation channel of the Naval Resistance Army, and asked the British Army to promise that the Naval Resistance Army could be stationed in Myitkyina, which is located in northern Burma, and in particular, the airport and other facilities should be transferred to the Naval Resistance Army. In addition, British airfields on the territory of India are also open to transport aircraft and fighters of the Maritime Resistance Force. To put it simply, it was still a requirement to use the air transport corridor controlled by the British army.

Li Guang's decision was not easy to make.

Although the naval resistance army was much stronger than before, and the Japanese army did not occupy Ceylon in history. But the soldiers are in danger, and who knows what will happen to history because of Li Guang's arrival. An army of 10,000 or 20,000 is simply like a drop of waves in this kind of world war, and the naval resistance army is still too weak.

However, Li Guang was very entangled, and the tragic situation of the 100,000-strong army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in history has always troubled him, although he has already reminded Chairman Chiang to pay attention to the way back. But the inertia of history is enormous, and although some things have deviated from the trajectory of history, more of them are exactly the same as in history. For example, the Japanese army attacked Pearl Harbor and sent troops to Southeast Asia.

Li Guang has always tried his best to grasp the several historical events known to him, to obtain the greatest benefits from them, and to make contributions to China's anti-Japanese cause.

In the history of the Anti-Japanese War, which he did not know much, the Chinese Expeditionary Force sent troops to Burma, and finally collapsed in the sand. He saw this incident from a TV documentary, and he was quite impressed. If he can't do something for these soldiers, if it's still like in history, tens of thousands of Chinese men hate Savage Mountain. Li Guang's conscience will really be unbearable.

On the surface, Li Guang was doing what he was doing once Rangoon was occupied by the Japanese (that's for sure, the British generals were now seriously lacking in confidence. If Myitkyina is kept, it will be able to guarantee the commercial routes of air transportation for the Maritime Resistance Forces.

General Alexander did not think further at all, after all, Myitkyina was not at all an important strategic point in Burma, on the contrary, Myitkyina was located in the northwestern part of Burma, in a remote location. Now it seems that Myitkyina was the rear of the front. The British did not garrison troops there at all.

After asking clearly about the scale of Li Guang's planned troops--two battalions. Alexander readily agreed, and Li Guang also promised to provide six to twelve fighters to Myitkyina, which could provide combat support for the British army like the aircraft carrier Liberty Dragon.

It should be said that Li Guang's request is not excessive. In simple terms. Li Guang was ready to use twelve fighters to support the battle in exchange for the right to use the Myitkyina airport. Although the Naval Resistance Army transported troops. Two battalions are slightly too much. In peacetime, the British army naturally would not agree. But the sides are now standing in a trench, and two battalions are not excessive. So General Alexander readily agreed, but explained that he could not give a positive answer within the time limit.

Being able to do this, Li Guang is already quite satisfied. You must know that the naval resistance army is stationed in Tang Port, in fact, Churchill has already regretted it very much. Originally, Churchill thought that the Naval Resistance Army would only have a few small warships. It does not pose a threat to the rule of the British Empire, and can control the naval resistance army at any time. However, the Naval Resistance Force has only cooperated with Britain for half a year, and it is already out of control, not only the navy is strong. Even the army was expanded to the level of the British garrison in Ceylon.

And Alexander's ability to agree to Li Guang's request was mainly based on the face of the Naval Resistance Army's rescue of the British and French forces in Dunkirk. The garrison in the British colony is not yet under its command, and this kind of thing, in addition to the American soldiers, the naval resistance army is still the first part.

Li Guang sent several distinguished guests out, and General Alexander also emphasized that Li Guang should consider the issue of naval command. Li Guang said that he would definitely consider it carefully, and the two sides said goodbye to this.

When the conditions were negotiated, Li Guang immediately arranged for the troops to be dispatched.

The first is the army, according to the geographical topography of Burma, Li Guang decided to let Su Qing lead the team.

It is said that the strength of the two battalions is about 2,000 men, but the strength is not accurately stated. Li Guang quickly assigned a mixed group of more than 2,000 people to Su Qing.

One of the jungle battalions - four companies, a mountain company, a field company, an artillery company, an armored company, an anti-aircraft artillery company.

In addition, a mixed squadron of fighters, twelve P40 fighters and six transport-bombers were deployed. It was also under the command of Su Qing.

Although the total number of troops exceeded two thousand, it reached two and a half thousand. However, if the antiaircraft artillery company and the fighter squad are separated, it is still 2,000 troops, which can be considered reasonable.

It should be pointed out that the armored company led by Su Qing is all equipped with British-made Vix tanks. The only tanks available in the Navy are the French-made B1 tank and the British-made Vickers tank. The weight of the French tank is more than 30 tons, which is really not suitable for the terrain of Myanmar, and most of the bridges in Myanmar are difficult to bear 30 tons.

The Wicks tank, said to be a tank, but in fact there were only two water-cooled heavy machine guns, which were not to be used as tanks. For this reason, the Naval Resistance Force has been modified quite a bit. Su Zizi already produced some napalm bombs, and based on this gel-packed fuel, the engineers of the Maritime Resistance Army could easily build Spitfire tanks.

In the other part, the turret was removed, and the tank destroyer of the Naval Resistance Army was imitated, and a 37-mm anti-aircraft gun was equipped. Protection was simply the addition of a ring of one-inch armor to the front. Although it looks ugly, it has basic tank combat capabilities.

After Li Guang and Su Qing gave a face-to-face lecture, this unit loaded a ship and headed for Burma on the same day.

The strength of the Naval Resistance Army in Ceylon was reduced again, but Li Guang was very relieved, and this operation solved a tangle that had been pressing on Li Guang's heart. I hope to do more to China's war of resistance. (To be continued......)