From Myitkyina in northern Myanmar to the border town of Sudian in Yunnan, there is a narrow mountain road, passing through the Jiangao Mountain Pass, it enters the territory of China, and below the mountain is a rare plain area on the border of Yunnan and Burma, and Sudian is located in the middle of the narrow plain.

Alexander and Ebson, while resting temporarily in Sudian, saw a shocking sight, and Sudian and the area around Sudian had almost become a large barracks, and from time to time they saw a group of artillery wagons and tanks rumbling by, raising up a cloud of dust, almost blinding the two British.

It was in the morning, the shouts of the Chinese soldiers drilled came from all angles, and the residents of Sudian Town were not disturbed at all, and continued to be busy with their livelihoods leisurely.

On the long street paved with bluestone slabs, the trading shops are open as usual, and among the people who come and go, you can see that there are mountain people, farmers, hunters, and foreign merchants.

Ebson, a civilian official, looked at this ordinary and ordinary Chinese border town from an economic and livelihood point of view, and to be fair, much more prosperous and vibrant than any town of the same size in Burma under his rule.

In particular, the tranquility and peace that permeated these ordinary Chinese people on their bodies and faces were fundamentally different from the indifferent and sluggish inhabitants of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia that he was accustomed to.

But Alexander is different, looking at it, his face is gloomy, a touch of worry that can't be concealed, climbing up his brows, he is a professional soldier, for the British Empire's overseas territory expansion career, has been working as a dog and horse, from India to Southeast Asia, from Burma to Indochina, Alexander has never seen, ordinary people, surrounded by a large number of troops, life is not disturbed by anything.

Whether it is the soldiers on duty who line up on the street, or the military recruits who push the carts and buy them, the military uniforms on their bodies are very harmonious with the environment, and many residents are familiar with the soldiers.

In all fairness, Alexander thought to himself that his subordinates and the local people could not do this, and the troops with strict discipline were the most terrible, and the troops he saw alone were tens of thousands of troops, and what could not be seen, how many?

Before coming to Tengchong, Alexander frequently lost his subordinates in battles with the squadron, and there were many things he didn't understand, the soldiers and officers of the British Empire's ** team, weapons and equipment, battles, should not be fought like this, he had the impression of the squadron, the soldiers were still using the rifles produced by the Hanyang Arsenal founded by Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang in the late Qing Dynasty.

But what he saw today completely subverted all his knowledge about China, and suddenly, he somewhat understood the uncomfortable feeling of his subordinates fighting in the squadron, and it was precisely because of this understanding that Alexander's mood became more and more heavy.

Ebson withdrew his soulless gaze from a young Miao woman, and suddenly saw Alexander's face, as ugly as a dead fish, and couldn't help but ask in horror: "General, what happened?" Alexander came back to his senses, and his face gradually returned to normal.

He said to Ebson: "Your Excellency the Governor, I am afraid that this negotiation will be much more difficult than expected, our white spoon opponent has enough hole cards, Ebson looked at a loss, he did not understand, when he was in Yangon, Alexander, who was full of confidence and confidence, why did he become much more arrogant as soon as he entered the territory of China?

For Alexander's actions and words, Ebson was very unimpressed, and before he began to negotiate with the Chinese named Tang Qiuli, his partner began to be timid, and he lost momentum before going into battle, which was a taboo in negotiations.

Alexander looked at the idiot-like Ebson, and felt that it was unnecessary to talk nonsense with him, but for the sake of the interests of the British Empire, he should still remind Ebson, "Mr. Governor, the hole card of negotiation lies in the strength in your hand, don't you see the qiē you see along the way?" ”

Ebson is not blind, how can he not see it, he is not a fool, suddenly, he seems to understand Alexander's intentions, "General, you mean that we should lower the conditions required for the negotiations and try to facilitate the signing of the agreement?" ”

Alexander was still very satisfied with his partner's reaction, now that there was a consensus, the two entered the negotiation card again, some harsh requirements, thousands of crisp removal, and even agreed on the final bottom line, according to the original estimate, a big step back, this changed unrecognizable negotiation materials, in the hands of the two British who hold the military and political power, re-released.

Before leaving Sudian and rushing to Tengchong, Alexander seemed to inadvertently ask Yang Keyao, the chief of staff of the independent division who served as a guide, "Are all the troops of your army the same as here, and the military discipline is strict?" Or is it Mr. Tang's elite troops stationed here? ”

Yang Keyao glanced at Alexander and replied: "I'm sorry, this is our white spoon military secret, it is inconvenient to disclose it, but I can tell you that our independent division troops implement a unified standard of discipline, and it is the same there, this is just the station of an ordinary field regiment of ours." ”

Alexander rolled his blue eyes, "This young lieutenant officer is cunning and cunning, and he didn't even reveal the number of the troops," he didn't get the information he needed, however, Alexander remembered that there was a kind of formation of the independent division "Corps", and as for what kind of formation it belonged to, he couldn't figure it out.

After arriving in Tengchong, although along the way, Yang Keyao briefly introduced the basic situation of the division commander Tang Qiuli, but as soon as they met, Alexander and Ebson were still stunned by Tang Qiuli's age.

The negotiation hall, located in the manor of a local gentry in Tengchong, is full of antique Chinese-style buildings, carved beams and paintings, filled with a strong Chinese cultural atmosphere, to be honest, Alexander and Ebson are not very comfortable and like such an environment.

Tang Qiuli's negotiators, in addition to Mei Xue accompanying him, there were only three junior officers who were proficient in English, who served as meeting recorders, compared to the British lineup, it was much simpler, Alexander and Ebson, who had not yet woken up from the Chinese cultural atmosphere, and were greatly hit by Mei Xue's beauty and temperament.

Mei Xue did not wear a military uniform, but a goose-yellow cheongsam, long black hair, coiled into a very classical bun, beautiful face, slender and plump body, even Tang Qiuli himself had an instant loss of mind, this is Tang Qiuli deliberately asked Mei Xue to dress up like this, not only to show the demeanor of the first entry, but also to let Britain see the beauty of Chinese women.

Looking at the two guys with the demeanor of a British gentleman, almost behaving out of shape, Tang Qiuli couldn't help but feel secretly proud, such a beautiful woman is his wife, any man will be proud to have Mei Xue, this feeling of complacency, although there is an element of boasting, is indeed refreshing.

At the beginning of the negotiations, Alexander proposed that the basis for the two sides to reach a ceasefire agreement was to demand that the squadron withdraw from Indochina, and repeatedly stressed that this was the first issue to be resolved before the negotiations, otherwise, there was no need for negotiations, and it was also vaguely reflected that this was an invasion of the overseas territories of the British Empire.

Tang Qiuli smiled coldly, this British general is cunning enough, the troops are withdrawn from the existing occupied area, no matter what the final negotiation result is, Britain has already won the victory, and the rest is an insignificant trivial issue, and the British will make every concession because they have achieved their goal of white spoon.

To tell the truth, if Tang Qiuli didn't plan to let Britain in, to resist the initial attack of the Japanese army, to consume the strength and sharpness of the Japanese army, and to minimize casualties after his troops entered Southeast Asia, he didn't need to grind his teeth with the British at all, and he didn't even mention the matter of negotiations, there was no reason or interest.

Alexander's words somewhat angered Tang Qiuli, and he could only say that Britain still has the value of use, at least as a shield, otherwise, with a few words from this British, they can be driven out, and it is a big deal to start fighting again, but I am afraid that Britain will not have the courage or ability.

"Retreat? Invade? Tang Qiuli asked rhetorically, "Your Excellency General, you should understand a fact, our squadron was pursued across the border in order to pursue the Japanese invaders who invaded our country's territory, there is an indisputable fact, the remnants of the Japanese army who retreated to the British-controlled area, and used your white spoon to control the area, constantly crossing the border to attack and harass our army's garrisons and villages, what did you British do?" ”

"Could it be that we can only be beaten passively, while the Japanese army is stationed abroad, resupplied and rested, and my officer told me that the Japanese soldiers who fought against them used standard British ** team weapons, for this, Your Excellency General, do you have any explanation?"

"Also, it's an indisputable fact that the armed recruits who fought with my troops were not only Japanese soldiers, but also the formed units of your British Empire, right? What is the explanation for this, Your Excellency General? Don't forget, Japan and Germany are allies, and Britain is at war with Germany! What does this behavior of yours mean? ”

"After answering my questions, let's talk about the withdrawal of troops and aggression," Tang Qiuli said in a cold tone.