Thailand took the initiative to attack the French army in French Indochina, which would have been unimaginable a year ago, and in fact Thailand was relatively "docile" a year ago. Despite the desire from the top to the common people to reclaim the land that had been forcibly seized, no one dared to propose the use of force against France, because it was not much different from self-destruction.

But now it is different, with the defeat of France in Europe, the dictatorial marshal of Thailand thought that the time was ripe, so he took the initiative to launch an offensive operation against French Indochina, the Royal Thai Army had the strength of five corps, and a small but well-equipped mechanized force, and at the same time benefited from the import of Japanese warplanes and warships, and had an advantage in naval and air warfare.

In the first round of the attack, the Thai Army captured the weakly defended areas of the French army on the west bank of the Mekong River, but as the French counterattacked, the Thai army was repulsed and retreated. At the same time, the navies of Thailand and France also engaged in fierce battles in the waters off the Indochina Peninsula.

The Chinese side is still more concerned about the war that happened on China's doorstep, and when the news came, Chen Feng frowned. To be honest, there were three countries that Chen Feng hated the most in the entire World War II, and the remaining two countries were Britain and Thailand.

Not to mention Britain, during World War II, Britain's use of the Chinese army to block their eyes and embezzlement and withhold supplies to China was a conscientious Chinese would be angry. However, compared to the British, what Thailand has done is more hateful than the British, and the faces of its people are even more ugly.

No matter how shameless the British are, they are just doing small things behind their backs. On the surface, the British and the Chinese are still allies. In the middle and late stages of World War II, Thailand not only assisted the Japanese in invading Southeast Asian countries, but also sent troops to attack the Chinese army.

Historically, in order to support the British army in defending Burma and maintaining international transportation routes, Chiang Lao decided to send an expeditionary force to Burma to fight. In February 1942, the 6th Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force entered Burma, and in early March, the 93rd Division of the 6th Army was stationed in Jingdong. Lieutenant General Lu Guoquan, commander of the 93rd Division, graduated from the second phase of the Whampoa Military Academy in his early years, and he planned to annihilate the Japanese in Jingdong. Shame on the Chinese nation. But his 93rd Division was waiting not for the Japanese army, but for the Thai army.

The Thai dictatorial general's Japanese victory in the early days of the Pacific War made the Thai dictatorial general angry, and with strong Japanese support, he quickly had the Thai General Staff draw up a military plan for sending troops to Burma. Lieutenant General Chanthanarabo, Chief of the General Staff of the Thai Army, believes that this move will plunge Thailand into the whirlpool of the world's war. But Luang Phibun did not listen to any objections. He said to senior generals of the Thai army. The British army had already been defeated by the Japanese, the Chinese army was not worth mentioning at all, and the glorious prospect of establishing the "Great Thai Empire" was at hand.

February 1942. Thailand formed the "Burma Front", which consisted of 2 Thai army divisions (the 1st and 3rd divisions) and 1 Thai air force wing, but the command of the Thai army was taken away by the Japanese Lieutenant General Moriya Jinger, who put on a Thai military uniform and came to command the "Burma Front". Under the unified deployment of the Japanese high command, the 1st and 3rd divisions of the Thai army marched towards Jingdong in northern Burma, in a vain attempt to open the passage to southwest China in one fell swoop. Soon, some Thai spies who had been lurking in Jingdong for many years successively sent reports to the Thai army headquarters, reporting the location of the 93rd Division of the Chinese army in Jingdong.

Based on the information provided by the spies, Moriya ordered the Thai Air Force to bomb the Chinese positions first. After three days of bombardment, two Thai divisions began to encircle the 93rd Chinese Division from three sides, and a Chinese army company commander at the front of the front tried to dissuade the Thai army from exercising restraint, but was shot dead by the Thai army as soon as he walked out of the trench. The reckless Thai attack finally annoyed the officers and men of the 93rd Division, who rose up and prevented the Thai army from moving forward. After a day's fighting, the Thai army dropped hundreds of corpses in front of the Chinese army's positions and retreated.

The Japanese army was very dissatisfied with the cowardice of the Thai army, so he personally went to the front line to supervise the battle, and the Thai army began to launch a fierce attack on the Chinese army. Due to the surveillance of the Japanese warlords, the Thai army did not dare to retreat without permission, so they had to attack the position of the 93rd Division in turns. The 278th Regiment engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the 1st Division of the Thai Army, the Thai soldiers had never seen a bayonet fighting formation, more than 100 people surrendered, and the Chinese army also captured a major battalion commander of the Thai army. The Chinese army fought for three days without losing a single position.

After the news of the setback of the "Burma Front" reached Bangkok, Luang Phibun was worried that he would not be ridiculed by the Japanese after a long war, so he transferred the "elephant troops" to the direction of Jingdong. Most of the officers and men of the 93rd Division had never seen elephants and were curious. However, in an instant, the Thai army's "war elephant regiment" rushed through the position of the 93rd Division, and the Thai soldiers riding on the war elephants frantically strafed the Chinese army, and the Chinese soldiers suffered heavy casualties, losing more than 1,500 people on that day alone. At this time, the Japanese army had cut off the Yunnan-Burma road and was preparing to encircle the 93rd Division with the Thai army. Seeing that the situation was no longer possible, Division Commander Lu Guoquan ordered the troops to withdraw from Jingdong and retreat to the Sino-Burmese border area before gathering the remnants.

The occupation of Jingdong did not satisfy Luang Phibun's ambitions, and during a break in the fighting, Luang Phibun reorganized the 1st Thai Division into a mechanized unit and decided to challenge China again. In February 1943, without any Japanese advisers, the 1st Thai Division launched a solo attack from northern Burma towards Yunnan, China.

After nine months of rest in the border area, the 93rd Division has fully recovered its combat effectiveness, and in the face of the Thai army attacking again, Lu Guoquan no longer carries out any orders to "provoke me". 500 elites were dispatched to form a Chinese death squad, and then quietly entered the camp of the 1st Division of the Thai Army, burned many Thai tanks, and many Thai officers and soldiers became ghosts under the knife in their sleep. After the victory in the initial battle, the 93rd Division scattered and attacked the Thai army as a company, which greatly demoralized the Thai army. When the Thai army was exhausted, Division Commander Lu Guoquan quietly gathered his troops. The 93rd Division launched a general attack on the Thai army with the strength of the 277th Regiment and the 279th Regiment, and the 1st Thai Division collapsed and fled from China, and the commander of the 1st Division almost became a prisoner of the Chinese.

It is precisely because of these histories that Chen Feng knows that Thailand may have fallen to Japan at this time. Therefore, on the one hand, he reminded the Nationalist Government of the sneak attack of the small Thai army, and on the other hand, he transferred an armed detachment. They were then sent to Thailand to assassinate the Thai dictatorship General Luang Phibun.

Chen Feng guessed correctly, Thailand has indeed fully fallen to Japan, which is a full year and a half earlier than Thailand in history.

On April 25, 1940, in celebration of Thailand, a rare Asian ally, Prime Minister Konoe of Japan made a radio speech to the effect that "the situation in the world has taken a sharp turn for the worse recently, and it has shown an astonishing change. The old order of the world first collapsed from Europe, and now it will spread to the rest of the world. We must seek to reform our domestic system, and we are willing to do our part. If there are various opinions in the country that are opposed to each other and quarrel with each other. It is inevitable that we will not be able to concentrate on the outside world. As a result, they look left and right to miss the opportunity. ”

"In retrospect, political parties have always had two major ills. The first is to adopt liberalism, democracy, or socialism in the purpose of party building, and the fundamental outlook on the world and the present of life of the three are fundamentally incompatible with China's national system. This is something that must be quickly changed and corrected radically today. The second is. The main purpose of forming a party is to compete for power. This is by no means a way a supplement to imperial politics through the legislature. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of these two shortcomings and restore Japan to its original appearance. Emperor Kamito's will is to serve the Imperial Kingdom with all sincerity. ”

Moreover, the problem is by no means limited to the political parties, and all people in the civil and military affairs, the land and the sea, the government and the opposition, and the upper and lower levels must be of one heart and one mind, and faithfully follow the teachings of His Majesty to assist the politics of the imperial state. That is to say, under this new system, it is necessary to be united in mind and to bear in mind the Emperor's will in order to quickly and appropriately resolve the many problems that have been piled up at home and abroad at a time when the situation in the world is undergoing a historic and drastic change. And while I was contemplating this new system, I was suddenly ordered to form a cabinet. Therefore, I must first seek to implement this new system within the Government. Fortunately, there is complete agreement and sincere cooperation between the Army and the Navy and between the Army and the Navy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I am confident that the Cabinet will be able to overcome any difficulties and move forward with courage in the future, guided by a firm policy. ”

"Now let's talk a little bit about the policy. First of all, in diplomacy, I believe that we must always stand on the independent side of the empire and follow the path of the empire alone. Although it is said to be a solitary path, it does not in any way imply passive diplomacy of autonomy. We must realize that this is not just a simple and passive response to the changes in the situation in the world, but also to take the initiative to guide the changes in the world and establish a new order in the world according to our own strength. Therefore, I believe that foreign policy should not be swayed by current trends, but must always move forward autonomously, actively, and constructively in 10, 20, and even 50 years. ”

"Second, economically, in order to resolutely pursue the above-mentioned foreign policy, it is necessary to get rid of dependence on foreign countries as soon as possible, and in this sense, the need for the empire to cooperate economically with Manchuria and China and to develop toward the South Seas is increasing. Of course, in the short period to come, there may also be a shortage of materials and an imbalance between supply and demand. In this regard, the government will do its utmost to ensure the daily necessities of the people. However, it is true that this issue concerns the daily lives of each of the 100 million people, and it is therefore important for all citizens to put aside their selfishness and actively strive to increase production while striving to economize. There has never been a country that has prospered in the pursuit of luxury and pleasure. The government is also prepared to cut the budget as much as possible, deducting expenses that are not urgently needed and saving unnecessary expenses. We want to control the people in all kinds of ways, but we do not want to suppress the creativity of individuals and destroy the hopes of the people. What I mean by this is that in these extraordinary times at home and abroad, it is necessary to guide all the people so that they can be self-reciprocating, feel comfortable, and sincerely serve the Imperial State. ”

"The last thing is education. Both diplomacy and the economy are adapting to the situation and are preparing to overcome great difficulties and carry out a major change. At such a time, it is not permissible to remain rigid in education. No, when thinking about the future of the country, it should be said that the key to the success or failure of the national policy and the growth and decline of the country's fortunes lies in education. The so-called cultivation of the citizens of the Imperial Kingdom must not stop at words or skills, but must be realized in the depths of their souls. Historically, there has always been a malaise of playing with abstract thinking rather than being down-to-earth, and this must be deeply reflected. In order to cultivate a second-generation citizen who can truly uphold the national system and take on the responsibilities of the country, educators must have the loyalty to respect the imperial cause. The Government intends to renovate education under the guidance of this policy. ”

It is not difficult to see from Konoe's radio speech that Japan has made a decision about the future direction of the country. The system reform he spoke of was just a pretext for strengthening the centralization of power in the Japanese military, and Konoe talked about the shortcomings of the party and the importance of unity and unity in all walks of life, with the aim of bringing everyone around Emperor Hirohito and the base camp.

From the standpoint of the so-called independence of the empire, the essence of taking the path of the empire alone is nothing more than continuing the path of external expansion and foreign aggression. Konoe's economic policy was nothing more than to push the Japanese economy, which had already entered the wartime system, to a deeper level of wartime economy. (To be continued......)