Northern Myanmar, Hukang River Valley.

The Burmese word for the Hukang River valley means the place where the devil lives, which shows the harsh natural conditions.

The Hukang Valley is located in the northeast of Myitkyina, and further north is the Savage Mountains, which even the locals talk about.

Not far from the Chinese expeditionary force of nearly 80,000 people entering the Hukang River Valley, the original main road became a small road in the jungle, coupled with the heavy rain, the road was muddy, and the heavy equipment such as cars, tanks, and heavy artillery was no longer able to move.

Since these heavy equipment can't be brought back to China, they can only be burned.

Looking at the neatly parked rows of tanks, cars, and large-caliber heavy howitzers on the river beach, Du Yuming's state of mind can be described as more than desolate? When the expeditionary force just stepped out of the country, the steel torrent formed by the convergence of these heavy equipment once brought strong self-confidence to the officers and soldiers of the whole army, and the people of western Yunnan were also in the middle of the road to see off, everything was still in front of them, but now ...... "The military seat, you can't burn it, this is the only family foundation of our Fifth Army, it really can't be burned!" ”

Hu Xianqun, the commander of the tank regiment standing behind Du Yuming, knelt down with a puff, and then Zhu Maozhen, the head of the artillery regiment, and Hong Shishou, the head of the automobile regiment, also knelt down.

"Throne!" Zhu Maozhen, the commander of the artillery regiment, stepped forward on his knees, hugged Du Yuming's thigh, and roared with a hideous expression: "You leave the cannon and all the shells, and then leave my artillery regiment, I promise not to embarrass you on the military seat, nor to disgrace the [***] people, let alone let these cannons fall into the hands of the little devils!" ”

Du Yuming was silent, and Luo Zhuoying next to him said, "Head Zhu, what do you want to do?" ”

Zhu Maozhen snorted and ignored Luo Zhuoying, the deputy commander-in-chief, and immediately said to Du Yuming: "Junza, since our artillery regiment entered Burma, it has not fired a single shot, but now we are going to burn all the equipment, I really don't have a taste in my heart, Junzao, you promise me, let our artillery regiment fight with the little devil!" ”

It's really sad to say, after the artillery regiment entered Burma, it really didn't fire a single shot.

When the 200th Division fought fiercely in ancient times, the artillery regiment was still far away in Lashio, and when the artillery regiment finally rushed to the front line, the situation on the Burma battlefield had deteriorated sharply.

"Yes, Junza, let's fight with the little devil!"

"If we go back like this, where will we have any face?"

"Yes, even if we die, we will die on the battlefield, and the [***] people among us are by no means a bad seed!"

Dai Anlan, Liao Yaoxiang, Sun Liren and other division commanders were immediately indignant and asked for battle.

Not far away, Stilwell shook his head with emotion, the squadron has the best soldiers in the world, and also has a large number of officers who dare to die and fight, but unfortunately, most of the commanders of the squadron are mediocre, and their supreme commander is a lame man.

"What are you yelling about, what are you yelling about?" Du Yuming's face finally fell, and he reprimanded loudly, "It is an order from Chairman Jiang to lead his troops back to China, as a soldier, you should take obedience to orders as your duty, do you want to disobey orders?" ”

"It's okay to disobey such a chaotic order!" Seeing that Du Yuming's determination had been decided, Sun Liren couldn't hold back any longer, and said coldly, "The Savage Mountain is hundreds of miles inhabited, and it is simply a road of no return, I would rather take the seven thousand brothers of the new 38th Division to die on the battlefield than take them to a dead end!" ”

"Sun Liren!" Du Yuming said coldly, "What do you want to do?" ”

"Our new 38th Division has decided to carry out General Stilwell's order and withdraw to India!" Sun Liren did not flinch.

Du Yuming was furious, and it took a long time to restrain the anger in his heart, and said miserably: "Okay, then you and I will go our separate ways." ”

After saying that, Du Yuming immediately turned around, and was about to order the burning of all the heavy equipment and supplies that could not be taken away, when suddenly a major staff officer hurriedly ran over, and immediately stood up and said: "General seat, the Military Commission is in an emergency!" ”

Du Yuming waved his hand and said without thinking: "Read!" ”

The staff officer of the major immediately opened the telegram and said loudly: "Du Yuming is hereby relieved of his post as commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force and commander of the Fifth Army, and immediately transferred to India to return to China to report on his work, appointing Yue Weihan as the new commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, and Dai Anlan as the commander of the Fifth Army, still concurrently serving as the commander of the 200th Division. ”

"Huh?"

"This ......"

"Yue Weihan? I heard you right! ”

The division commanders and regiment commanders present looked at each other in disbelief.

Du Yuming's face instantly became extremely embarrassed, and the dismissal before the battle was definitely a great shame for any general, not to mention that Du Yuming had a very high opinion of himself, and he also wanted to bring the troops back to China, and then regroup, and then go abroad to compete with the army, but he never thought that Chairman Jiang directly dismissed him.

Before the army commanders, division commanders, regiment commanders, and staff officers present recovered from the great shock, the major staff officer immediately opened another telegram and read: "Commander Yue's order: All divisions of the expeditionary force will rely on the Hukang River Valley to build fortifications on the spot, and he will be airborne in the Hukang River Valley before noon tomorrow. ”

"What? Defense-in-place? ”

"Airborne into the Hekang Valley, I heard you right, right?"

"Dare to parachute without training, does he really think he is a god?"

As a senior general who graduated from West Point, Stilwell knew very well how dangerous low-altitude parachuting is, even if he is a well-trained paratrooper, he often falls to his death by accident, and as a commander, it is extremely unwise to risk parachuting.

However, for Yue Weihan, the new commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, Stilwell's heart was still full of expectations.

At least one thing is certain, Yue Weihan will never be like Du Yuming, the remote control command of "peanuts" is submissive, like a puppet without assertiveness, Yue Weihan's name, Stilwell has heard more than once, half a year ago, Yue Weihan even appeared on the cover of the American "Time" magazine, and he is also well-known in the United States.

However, Stilwell was deeply worried about the first military order issued by Yue Weihan after taking office.

In Stilwell's view, the opportunity for the Chinese Expeditionary Force to engage in a head-on decisive battle with the Japanese army had been lost, and the best option at this time should be to withdraw to India, receive a full set of American-style equipment at Imphal, and train the 80,000 officers and men of the expeditionary force according to the training standards of the American army, and then it would be possible to counterattack Burma.

However, Stilwell also admits that although the expeditionary force has lost its strategic advantage, it is not without the strength to fight.

Judging from the excited performance of those high-ranking officers when Du Yuming decided to go to the Savage Mountain just now, the military spirit of the expeditionary force has not been weakened, the fighting spirit has not been lost, and it may not be that it will not have the strength to fight a war, but the logistical support of the expeditionary force is a big problem, and the army can obtain a steady stream of supplies through roads and railways, but the expeditionary force cannot do so.

There is neither a railway nor a road connection between the Hukang Valley and India.

If the expeditionary force holds the Hukang River valley for a long time, the only thing it can rely on is military supplies, and although the United States is constantly strengthening its military forces in Asia, especially its air force, it is still unable to maintain the logistical supply of a large force of 80,000 men for a long time through air supply.

Of course, the expeditionary force can also choose to fight a limited defensive battle with the Yue army, and wait until the food and ammunition are almost consumed, and then destroy all the heavy equipment and withdraw lightly into India; given the road conditions in the Hukang River Valley, it is difficult for the mechanized equipment of the Yue army to carry out effective maneuvers, and the expeditionary force can completely retreat calmly.

………… Lady off.

Yue Weihan walked out of the gate surrounded by a large group of generals.

"Alright, let's send it here." Yue Weihan turned around and blocked the accompanying generals.

All the generals immediately stood upright, and saluted Yue Weihan in unison, Li Qinglong, who has always been known for his coldness and ruthlessness, couldn't help but have red eyes at this time, and choked up: "Boss, take care all the way." ”

"What, what's this for?" Yue Weihan smiled and said, "It's not life and death. ”

"Alright, let's all go back." Yue Weihan waved his hand, and immediately turned around and got into the truck, Chu Zhongtian, who was back to Yue Weihan's attendant adjutant, and the thirty special operations elites who were responsible for protecting Yue Weihan also followed the car, and with the roar of the engine, the truck quickly disappeared on the mountain road from Niangziguan to Taiyuan.

When the truck disappeared, Liu Yi turned around and said: "Okay, let's go back and prepare separately, three days later, the troops will start on time, or in three months, everyone will be able to meet again in Myanmar, no need to cry and mourn." ”

After speaking, Liu Yi deliberately patted Li Qinglong's shoulder again, which was considered a comfort, among the many division commanders and brigade commanders present, only Li Qinglong was afraid that it would be difficult for him to return to Yue Weihan's command.

………… On the mountain road from Niangziguan to Taiyuan, trucks are slowly galloping.

Yue Weihan is sitting in the co-pilot with his eyes closed, he is about to go to Myanmar, he is going to Myanmar, he is going to face a completely unfamiliar battlefield environment, and there are completely unfamiliar parts, Rao makes Yue Weihan accustomed to seeing life and death and countless bloody and bloody winds, and at this time he can't help but feel a little upset and fluctuating, because the opportunity to change history has been placed in front of Yue Weihan!

As for the Taihang base area and the 39th Group Army, Yue Weihan had already arranged it.

As a [***] member, Yue Weihan would never hand over the Taihang base to the Central Army or the Jin Sui Army.

As for the 39th Group Army, Yue Weihan did not have the slightest worry, if Chairman Jiang or Chief Yan wanted to bribe Cao Xinglong, Chi Chengfeng and other senior generals on the way to the march, and tried to intercept one or several divisions halfway, it would be wishful thinking at all, and Yue Weihan was still very confident in the descendants of the troops he brought out single-handedly.

Even if there are really individual division commanders who want to find another high branch, they may not be able to pull the troops away!

Yue Weihan's influence on the 39th Group Army is unparalleled, and his prestige has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of every officer and soldier of the 39th Group Army, not to mention that the 39th Group Army's military salaries and bonuses for killing enemies are also much higher than those of other [***] units, and officers at all levels never deduct military salaries, which is much inferior to even the Central Army.

The only thing that worries Yue Weihan is that the journey from Shanxi to Myanmar is too long, at least seven or eight thousand miles.

Fortunately, from Taiyuan to Xi'an, as well as from Yucheng to Burma have been built highways, the real difficulty is the "Shu Road" between Xi'an and Yucheng, however, with the quality of the 39th Group Army, coupled with no heavy equipment, it is impossible to stump them, the fastest two months, the slowest three months, the 39th Group Army will definitely be able to reach the Yunnan-Burma border!

………… At noon, Yue Weihan and his entourage arrived in Taiyuan smoothly.

Chief Yan set up a banquet in the mansion and warmly entertained Yue Weihan and his entourage, expressed great appreciation and admiration for Yue Weihan's righteous act of going to Burma, and wished Yue Weihan a victory.

Yue Weihan stayed at the Yan Mansion until six o'clock in the evening before taking a car to Taiyuan Airport.

At this time, the night fighters should not have been equipped with troops, so it should be safe at night.

Necessary security measures are still needed, Yue Weihan is the commander-in-chief of the Indo-Burma Expeditionary Force, such a big matter, it is impossible for the army agents not to know the news, Yue Weihan does not dare to sit on Chief Yan's special plane in broad daylight and swagger to Yunnan, if the little devil's fighter plane is intercepted, it will be called a tragedy.

As a matter of fact, the secret service of the base camp of the Japanese army has indeed received the news.

This morning and afternoon, the air regiment directly under the North China Front Army sent two reconnaissance planes to the airspace over Taiyuan Airport to conduct aerial reconnaissance, but no Chinese planes were found, and they had no choice but to return home.

However, the commander of the Southern Army, General Terauchi Shouichi, did not intend to carry out the orders of the base camp.

The reason is very simple: Chennault's Flying Tigers are stationed at Baoshan Airport in Yunnan, and the Americans have also established an extremely powerful early warning system in Yunnan.

The flying group of the Southern Army had already engaged in several air battles with the Flying Tigers, which turned out to be a crushing defeat.

The base camp of the Southern Army and the headquarters of the Southern Army are all puzzled by this, and the Zero fighters that the Southern Army Flying Group has just equipped are obviously superior to the P-40 fighters equipped by the Flying Tigers, and in terms of the quality of the pilots, the pilots of the Southern Army's Flying Group are all veteran pilots drawn from the Kwantung Army and the North China and Central China Fronts, and their rich flight experience is by no means comparable to that of the Flying Tigers, who obviously lack actual combat experience, but the Southern Army's Flying Group simply cannot beat the Flying Tigers. And the proportion of battle losses is extremely disparity!

(To be continued)