Laos, will dry.

Located at the junction of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, Huisun has a strong colonial atmosphere. Of course, this atmosphere has nothing to do with a happy life, but with the characteristics of a poor and backward colony.

Whether it was during the French colonial period, or later, in exchange for more support from the British, the French 'transferred' most of Laos' territory to the British, and Huishai has never been linked to wealth.

Even compared with the administrative cities of Myanmar at the same level, Huitan is far inferior, narrow, shabby, poorly clothed and hungry, and children running around the streets are the characteristics of this 'city', and when it comes to scale, the old and smelly streets with dirty water and overflowing, three and one cross, forming such a Laotian city, a poor place in Laos that is not even as good as a small town in Myanmar and a village in northern China.

As soon as the day dawned, the Laotians, who knew how to sunshine, found that on the mountain road 'outside the city', there was a large army, which was really armed to the teeth.

"Wow Wow ......"

Some of the children who wanted to run to see the excitement were dragged back into the house by their parents, slamming the door behind them, looking at the approaching army in fear.

"The Burmese are coming."

Some Laotians with a little knowledge, when they saw the eagle flag symbolizing the Burmese People's Army, could not help but exclaim, this strong neighbor, although powerful, has never invaded Laos, but only operates in more border places. When many people go to the mountains on the border of the three countries, they often see patrols with such banners, and it is said that they guard the gold in the mountains, but no one knows what they actually do. But there is a saying among the nearby Lao mountain people that they should never go near the big mountainous area, otherwise the Burmese will use the most brutal means to kill every intruder.

And now, this Burmese army, which has never set foot on that mountain, has appeared in Huisai, which naturally caused panic. Although the Laotians had forgotten about war for decades under the colonial rule of the French and then the British, their fear of the army had not diminished in the slightest.

"Maybe they're here to snatch the millet and the ore." Many Laotians prayed with trepidation that the Burmese had no better reputation for cruelty than the Burmese, despite their cruelty, for their use of iron and blood to kill the hill people who had ventured into the border areas of the three countries.

In the distance, on the col, several people on horseback finally appeared on the hill. I was holding a telescope and looking at a small Huisun.

"General Guluo, this is Huisun. The troops at the front had already taken over, and the Laotians were so frightened that they did not dare to put up any resistance. ”

A Burmese staff officer walked up to a general wearing the rank of lieutenant general of the Burmese People's Army and saluted. The staff officer admired the Lieutenant General Guluo in front of him very much, not to mention his great military exploits for the Burmese people's axe, but he was able to let go of the enjoyment of the lieutenant general, dismantle the sedan chair prepared by the logistics department, but rode a horse to the forefront of this army.

The young officer on the horse was none other than Koo, and just as the Burmese staff officer envied, Kulo's Chinese identity was also revered by the soldiers in the army, and he was repeatedly praised by General Tuo Chung for this.

Under the backdrop of the uniform of the Burmese People's Army, which was designed with the help of northern China, is a heroic young general, although he is not very old, but there is a sharp air of a war falcon between his eyebrows.

"Order, the troops are supplied on the spot according to the plan, and the garrison troops are planned to find a place to prepare for the construction of barracks. It is imperative that all ministries are strictly restrained and not to disturb the lives of the Lao people. Also, send someone to communicate with the Lao leader here, and he will say that I want to see him. ”

Looking at the pointed pagoda in the opposite 'small city', the corners of Gu Luo's mouth showed a slight smile, that is already the best building here, the heart of the road, completely exotic, maybe one day, but it will be completely incorporated into China.

He seemed to see that on the pointed stupa, instead of a flag symbolizing religion, a golden dragon flag symbolizing the political axe of the north was hung by the Laotians themselves.

He knew very well the mission of the army he led.

This 20,000-strong elite mountain force will be responsible for maintaining law and order in the entire northern part of Laos in the 'established occupied areas of China'.

It is impossible for the north to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to administer this place thousands of miles away, so China in the north reached an agreement with the Burmese political axe to form a garrison army by the Burmese People's Army, and transfer more than 20,000 elite mountain troops to the area north of Taqu in Laos.

After coming to Burma for many years, in addition to the excitement of fighting the British and the French, today he can lead his own hand-trained mountain troops to help his country garrison Laos, which he considers a kind of success for himself.

After all, he has never been humane, the name Guluo is actually a pseudonym, even General Tuozhong does not know, Guluo is also from China, and there is a very modern Chinese name: Luo Chengjun, and the more mysterious number number: number 295 Of course, 'Guluo' will not know that his general also has a very mysterious number: 172, and an equally traditional Chinese name: Huazhong.

"There's a long way to go."

Gu Luo picked up the telegram in his hand and looked at it, it was the latest march notice of northern China, the elite northern army was like a bamboo, a British regiment stationed in the north, captured in one go, and then quickly moved south, towards Vientiane.

Once Vientiane is successfully occupied, then the combat mission in Laos will soon be over, because it is only one step away from Vientiane.

Thinking back to General Tuozhong's instructions before leaving, Gu Luo couldn't help but be excited.

In addition to commanding this garrison of more than 20,000 people, Gula was also responsible for training the native Lao army.

This was also the initial arrangement of northern China, first to draw troops from Burma, then train the Lao servant army, and then the Lao and Burmese officers to command and train the servant army in northern Vietnam.

This may seem like a confusion of command, but it completely avoids the self-esteem of the indigenous officers, and the army trained by themselves in this form ensures that these officers can command the 'foreign [***] units more smoothly."

What is even more favorable is that in the long run, the countries of Southeast Asia, dominated by military power, will soon become accustomed to this joint rule, with intersecting powers, and eventually become the assured territory of northern China.

This is much more advantageous than the direct occupation of these countries by the [***] team. It not only saves the garrison, but also does not cause much resistance from the indigenous population. Even if it is needed, there are people who do bad things, and they don't need to do it with the [***] team in the north. When necessary, they can even play a mediating and peacekeeping role.

"General, the telegram I just received."

A staff officer approached and handed a telegram to Guro.

Guluo opened it and saw that it was a report about the Chinese teachers sent by Northern China and the Chinese teaching materials delivered by his peers.

"Order the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of the 2nd Division to immediately march to Luang Nam Tower, where the teachers and teaching materials from the north have arrived, and go to pick them up. In addition, engineering units were dispatched to prepare for the construction of schools. ”

"Yes, General." The staff officer saluted that he was familiar with Chinese and Chinese teaching materials, and that the troops had already begun to teach, and in northern Myanmar, the promotion of Chinese had been carried out for three years, and children in many places had begun to memorize Tang poems and Song lyrics and learn Chinese characters.

In schools in northern Myanmar, although the Burmese language has not been forcibly abolished, teachers have stopped teaching in Burmese, and Burmese students who excel in learning in China have been rewarded with scholarships from the school.

The staff officers could not help but sigh that the movement in the north was really fast, and before the troops on this side occupied Vientiane, their Chinese plan had crossed the border.

After resting for half a day, leaving a battalion of troops and some engineers to repair the school, Gulo continued to direct the army forward, and when he saw the frightened Laotian leader in the morning, he just patted him on the shoulder, smiled most sincerely, and said, "Don't be afraid, we will all be a family from now on." We are not here to kill, we are here to protect you. ”

As a result, the man only knew how to lie on the ground, and was so frightened that he didn't know how to answer, and finally remembered to show his loyalty, and swore to his faith that he would order the Laotians who knew how to dry and obey the order.

Three days later, the Burmese mountain troops, again divided into two battalions of garrisons, finally reached the vicinity of Vientiane.

Coincidentally, the main force of the 1st Division of the Ninth Army had just arrived in Vientiane, and in Vientiane City, it was a brigade of British troops who were preparing to confront each other with rifles and machine guns in the streets and alleys.

"Commander Zhang, this is the commander of the Second Army of the Burmese People's Army, General Guluo of the Burmese People's Army!"

"General Gu Luo, this is the commander of the 21st Army under the Ninth Group Army of the Chinese People's Army, Major General Zhang Zhizhong."

Outside Vientiane City, Guluo finally met this General Zhang Zhizhong, and his previous impression of him was basically on the information, but now that he has seen a real person, he feels quite a general's demeanor. If it weren't for the People's Army's strict rank promotion system, Zhang Zhizhong, the army commander, would have been mentioned as a lieutenant general a long time ago. Maybe after this war in Southeast Asia, he will be able to be promoted to lieutenant general.

"General Zhang really has the true character of a fierce general, and he deserves to be an iron-blooded general in the north." Gu Luo stepped forward and saluted, and then shook hands with Zhang Zhizhong. "General Tuozhong asked me to convey greetings to the general, and I gave him a small greeting gift."

What Tuozhong sent was a jade wrench, perhaps because he knew the strict regulations of the People's Army, and it was not precious.

"General Guluo has won the award, Wen Bai is just a mediocre general, and there are many people in the People's Army who are more capable than me. However, General Guluo led his troops to fight many fierce battles with Britain and France, and even I have heard of it many times in the north, which is worthy of being a model for my Chinese. Before leaving, Lieutenant General Xue Yue, commander of the Ninth Group Army, asked me to convey my greetings to General Guluo. ”

Zhang Zhizhong took a piece of writing from the adjutant next to him, solemnly handed it to Gu Luo with both hands, and said: "The general's jade ring is still too precious, and the contemptible person will hand it over to the political commissar for disposal first, haha." This painting was given to you by General Xue Yue. ”

"Oh? It's too precious. Gu Luo took the word with both hands, opened it and looked at it, but couldn't help but applaud, only to see that it was written: 'Yongzhen Southeast' four words.

Seeing these four powerful characters, which were quite imposing, Gu Luo couldn't help but have some tears in his eyes, and stood up and saluted, "General Zhang, please tell Commander Xue Yue, I, the Burmese People's Army, and I Gu Luo, can afford these four words." ”

"Okay, okay." Zhang Zhizhong patted him on the shoulder and said happily.

"General Zhang, let's do this siege battle." Guluo said confidently that he was not talking in vain, this army was originally a selected mountain army, many of whom were veterans of the Burmese Reading War, had received severe training from Chinese instructors in the north, and their weapons were also advanced.

"It's okay, then I'll transfer two 37-year-old infantry artillery regiments to cooperate with your attack." Originally, Zhang Zhizhong was still afraid that the Burmese would attack, and the casualties would be too great, but after thinking about it, although the combat effectiveness of the Burmese People's Army could not be compared with the Chinese People's Army, it had finally fought with Britain and France. It was only in order to reduce their losses that 2 infantry artillery regiments were transferred to cooperate with them.

The terrain in Laos was worse than in northern Vietnam, and along the way, the 21st Army only brought infantry guns, one in front of the other, one person pushed, one person pulled, and at most someone next to him helped to support, this kind of 37-year-old wheeled infantry gun, which had been improved several times, could pass on any narrow road.

"Okay, General Zhang, please watch the battle with me." Guro said happily.

An hour later, after the infantry artillery regiment was in position, a division of the Burmese People's Army was also ready to attack, and this division of nearly 8,000 men had at least surpassed the disengaged brigade in Vientiane. Although Guluo was full of confidence, he did not let go of the superior forces, but tried to concentrate the largest number of troops on the limited offensive surface and make a breakthrough in one fell swoop.

In the war room of the military tent, Guro simply gave the order, "Order the infantry artillery regiment and battalion, to concentrate fire, and attack the No. 3 area, No. 4 area." At the same time, the 1st Division and 3rd Regiment launched a feint attack in Area 3, and five minutes later, the main force launched a general attack on Area 4, and it was necessary to take Vientiane City in one fell swoop. ”

If it weren't for the British army relying on the buildings outside the city of Vientiane to build a defensive line, the Sino-Burmese coalition army could even walk into the city in a walk, and the Burmese army of more than 10,000 people, the Chinese Southeast Asian Expeditionary Force of one army, was enough to hold hands and walk into the city.

And the most strange thing is that the British generals on the opposite side, although facing tens of thousands of enemy troops with a few thousand people, actually went against the norm and did not choose to surrender like the British troops in other small towns.

Of course, neither Zhang Zhizhong nor Guluo knew that in the city at this time, Major General Paul, the supreme commander of the British army and the commander of the 25th Brigade of the newly compiled reading force, had just given an order.

"We only need to block them for a day before we can announce surrender. The great empire that does not fall, even if it is defeated and surrendered, must retain the bearing of a gentleman. ”

From time to time, two infantry artillery regiments of the People's Army and two infantry artillery battalions of the Burmese Army finally launched an attack on the British defenders near the outer city of Vientiane.

"Shell those buildings directly, don't skimp on your shells, don't worry about killing civilians, all you need to do is keep firing."

This is the order that the artillerymen received from the commander.

For a time, the No. 3 and No. 4 areas outside Vientiane City fell into a sea of fire, and the 37-year-old infantry gun, which was not amazing in terms of single explosive power, finally showed great power after concentrating the artillery power of nearly 3 regiments.

Houses collapsed in pieces in the smoke and dust from the explosion, and the British troops hiding behind the houses were blown into the sky one by one. Although Vientiane is an important town in Laos, its overall size is not as large as that of a county town in Yunnan, a certain part of the Republic.

There is no strategic depth at all, and there is no hard battle in the city at all, and soldiers with good physical strength can even hold their breath and chase from one end of the city to the other.

Sure enough, after the continuous shelling, the Burmese army launched a feint, and when it reached a limited level of attention from the British, Ku Lo finally gave the order for a general attack.

"The general offensive begins!"

…… As a result, Zhang Zhizhong finally saw a small town battle that made him more satisfied.

Gula first concentrated his artillery, focusing on bombing the British in two areas, and decisively decided to destroy the houses to avoid being used by the British as natural firing bunkers.

Subsequently, the Burmese Second Army, which had an absolute numerical superiority, launched a general offensive in a rapid straggler formation. These elite mountain troops belonging to the Burmese Second Army were also very good at attacking such small towns, they learned a lot from the Chinese instructors, and after many years of actual combat with the British and French, the Burmese army did have a minimum of combat effectiveness, and they also appeared to be very skilled in the use of various tactics.

When the British Major General committed suicide by pulling the trigger of a pistol in Vientiane, Vientiane finally fell into Chinese hands.

Three days later, he lost his position, and an Indian division was easily defeated by the 21st Army of the Chinese Ninth Army.

The KPA entered the city, but it had no intention of handing it over again.

...... "General de Gaulle, you can also see that both in Laos and in the Chinese in northern Vietnam are going very well. However, although they refused to negotiate and directly put forward more demanding territorial claims, it is reassuring that they finally stopped near Taqu and Donghai. Admiral William showed no mercy in the face of this unlucky 'French commander', "You must admit that the free French political axe can no longer stop the greed of the Chinese." Of course, we can't. ”

"Unless we concentrate our forces, it will be possible to stop them, but I have caused us too much trouble." De Gaulle's mood naturally could not get better when he faced the reports of defeat every day, and when he learned that the French army had even been defeated by the so-called mountain divisions of the Burmese in the mountains, he felt a sense of doom. "Admiral William, perhaps we can ask for help, the Anglo-German war in Europe does not need too many infantry, while in the Far East and India there are large numbers of empty troops."

"It's useless, General de Gaulle. We can mobilize ten divisions, and the Chinese can mobilize twenty, or even fifty, divisions. The total number of our troops looks similar to theirs, but Southeast Asia is like their yard, just too close. William shook his head.

"And what do you suggest?"

With a pipe in one hand, William stood up, pointed to the large map, and said, "The best way to abandon Saigon and create an opportunity for China to go to war, or at least to destroy their vague alliances, is the best way at the moment." ”

When de Gaulle heard this, he subconsciously became angry, if Saigon is lost, Vietnam will also be lost, then will the French free political axe really rely on the small colonies that are much smaller than Britain to survive?

William smiled and shook his head, he could see De Gaulle's embarrassment and know his concern, but he didn't care, "General, if you don't agree, we will also take countermeasures." I hope you can seriously consider that if you and I jointly apply for reinforcements, at the latest half a month, the new recruits who perform well will continue to be sent. ”

De Gaulle had a very complicated mood, he could accept the loss of a small part of Vietnam, but now he wanted to use the whole of Vietnam as bait to induce two butchers to fight, and he felt a sense of powerlessness.

William comforted him indifferently: "General de Gaulle, even if the French Free Axe loses everything, we have enough places, such as India." As for the Chinese and themselves, it may be more suitable to fight in Vietnam, and we may be the best choice to shrink our defensive line and withdraw to the territory of Thailand and southern Burma. A Vietnam, if it can be exchanged for competition between the Chinese and himself, then it is not a pity. Whatever your decision, I have reported this plan to the British Command in India. ”

Four days later, after the Chinese People's Army formally occupied Dong Hai and completed the operational objectives of the Taqu-Dong Hai front, the French suddenly abandoned Saigon, and all British and French troops in Vietnam north of Saigon also withdrew. He was about to start a decisive battle with Britain and France near Saigon, but suddenly found that his fist had smashed into cotton.

It took more than a week for Britain and France to completely withdraw from Vietnam, and a large number of Anglo-French-Indian troops began to build a strong defensive line in Thailand, and concentrated their forces to encircle and suppress the 20,000 or 30,000 troops that were disturbing the logistical supply lines in southern Burma.

There was a power vacuum in much of southern Vietnam, and I was overjoyed and worried that China would snatch the fruits of victory from the south of the Cave Sea.

However, what made Yue himself, and even the British and French, break through the glasses was that the original plan was that Britain and France gave up Vietnam in order to trigger a scramble between China and Vietnam.

As a result, instead of going south, the Chinese built fortifications and field airfields in Donghai-Taqu. The closest place between the squadron and the army is that you don't even need a telescope to see each other's faces.

However, the squadron and the Burmese army, with the utmost patience, did not make a move.

A very strange situation has arisen in Southeast Asia, where the four countries of China, Britain and France are cramped in small Southeast Asia, looking at each other, but they have entered a short period of peace.

After the Yue army in southern Burma was scattered and fled into the mountains and forests, all three sides were actively preparing, the difference was that Yue himself was busy landing more troops and supplies to prepare for an attack on Thailand, while the Chinese and Britain and France were digging trenches, but China was defending against any possible enemy, while Britain and France had to face an attack by a much larger Yue army in Southeast Asia.

And when William found out all this, he knew that the situation he expected that China and Yue Ben would compete for half of Southeast Asia would not appear, and after careful consideration, he could only sigh in the end: "Damn Yue himself, they are like a dog, they can bite, but they are afraid of stronger people, they dare to attack Britain and France, but they turn a blind eye to the huge northern Vietnamese region, northern Laos." But, one day, they will pay for that fear. The Chinese are so good at tolerating that I don't think they will let them go, even if they behave like a wild dog that fears a tiger. ”

(To be continued)