When Sun Liren hung up the phone in the chairman's chamber, it was already more than ten minutes later.

Huang Ke was looking at the approval document, and after receiving the phone and listening to what Sun Liren said, he thought about it and said: "There is no problem with this, you can relay the original words to Stilwell and Alexander: 'In order to show sincerity and consolidate the friendship between the alliances, the Chinese side can allow the British to send the original administrative personnel to manage the reconquest area, but it must not affect the stationing and marching of the expeditionary force, and if necessary, the expeditionary force must also be coordinated. ’”

"Yes, it's just that in this case, we are not ...... for the British" Sun Liren's later words did not come out, but the meaning was already clear.

Huang Ke smiled and said, "What are you afraid of?" The British troops have withdrawn from Burma, leaving some officials to run Burma, do you think it is realistic? The army is stationed in Burma, and Burma is in our hands, and no one can take it away if we want to. Do you understand? ”

Although Huang Ke's words are not straightforward, the meaning is clear enough. After hearing this, Sun Liren smiled knowingly: "Yes, Chairman, I understand, this will be conveyed to Stilwell and General Alexander." ”

"Don't worry, it's too easy to just promise them." Huang Ke said: "We always ask for money to guard Burma for them, and let the British army leave some of the heavy equipment and supplies as our capital to cover their retreat, and let them go for the rest." ”

After finishing the call with Huang Ke, Sun Liren returned to the conference room, and he first passed on the original words to General Stilwell. He told Stilwell: "Chairman Huang agreed to the British request out of the perspective of consolidating the trilateral alliance between China, the United States, and the United Kingdom. However, I myself have also taken into account some practical problems, and at the moment our army is about to start a battle, and there is a shortage of supplies and supplies from all directions. The British had left us a part of their heavy armament, weapons and provisions, and they lacked nothing when they arrived in India anyway. ”

After speaking, Sun Liren added: "We have this one condition, if Britain can't agree, we can't guarantee the next battle." You also know the reality of the expeditionary force, we are facing more than two divisions of Japanese troops, and if we can get more artillery and other equipment, the chances of victory will be much greater. ”

Stilwell thought that although the supplies of the expeditionary force were sufficient, after all, the more wars the better, not to mention that if this battle was successful, it would also be in line with the interests of Stilwell himself and the United States in the Far East, as for the British, their poor performance Stilwell had already seen it, and instead of letting them give all the weapons to the Japanese, it was better to let them hand over the weapons to the expeditionary force.

Stilwell pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and said, "That's not too much, I think they'll accept it." Also, please convey to me my thanks to the Chairman. ”

With that, Stilwell went to Alexander's side. At first, Alexander did not agree to this request, saying that the British army also lacked a lot of equipment, how could they give these heavy weapons and ammunition to the Chinese?

Stilwell listened, "Why are you so persistent? You must know that it is also a problem for you to carry these heavy equipment, I think it is better to give it to the Chinese, after all, they are helping you drive away the Japanese devils. As for the equipment, you can report it to London and say that it was robbed by the Japanese, and they made you retreat anyway. ”

Alexander pinched his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "Okay, but I'll ask London first, you know, I don't want to fall into the trap for this." ”

"Please!" Stilwell Road.

As Alexander passed these demands on to London, Churchill, with a cane in one hand and a cigar in the other, paced back and forth at the Prime Minister's House at 10 Downing Street.

This is a cigarette he waved after waving the cigar in his hand and smiled: "The Chinese want some of our tattered equipment, so give them well, let them drive away the Japanese monkeys for us." Send a telegram to Alexander and ask him to withdraw to India with his children in Burma, and then turn back when the time comes. ”

Staff member Brell frowned, "Mr. Prime Minister, I'm afraid this question is a bit risky, what if the Chinese insist on not withdrawing their troops at that time?" ”

Churchill waved his fat big hand and smiled: "Then it depends on timing and strength." ”

……

The units of the 1st Army of the Expeditionary Force marched towards Tonggu according to the original plan, and tens of thousands of troops began to gather in Tonggu and began to deploy with Tonggu as the center. At the same time, the 18th Division, 33rd Division, 22nd Brigade, 55th and 56th Wings of the Japanese Burma Front also began to gather on the Tonggu front.

At the headquarters of the Japanese army in Yangon, several British-made ceiling fans rotated tirelessly, stirring the scorching air and bringing bursts of hot blows.

The commander of the Burmese Army, Kawabe Shozo, kept thinking about the map in front of him, because the weather was too hot, and his overturned military uniform was already sweaty, at this time, he only kept wiping the sweat on his forehead with the handkerchief in his hand, and like most Japanese soldiers at that time, after Hebian arrived in Burma, he shaved his hair bare, and it was round like a meat ball.

Looking at Jiaozuo's enemy-friend situation, Hebian Zhengzo's mind drifted past 1937, when he had just been promoted to major general, commanding a well-trained brigade under his command, and the ambitious Hebian led his troops to land from the Shandong Peninsula and start the offensive all the way west.

At that time, the Chinese army had just been reorganized, and although the equipment was much better than before, it was still defeated by the Japanese Imperial Army after all.

"Your Excellency Commander, there is a battle report from the front!" A young man on duty enters.

"Read!" The river said without looking back.

"Reconnaissance by all sides shows that the British army has begun to retreat on all fronts, and judging from the intercepted cables, it seems that the British army is about to withdraw from the defense of Burma." After Shao Zuo finished reading, he stepped forward and handed the telegram to the chief of staff Tu Meihao beside the river.

After reading the contents of the telegram, a smile appeared on his face, "Your Excellency Commander, it seems that we have one less opponent, so it seems that the elimination of the Chinese Expeditionary Force is just around the corner." ”

After speaking, Tomi Hiroshi handed the message to Shozo Kawabe. Unlike the expression he was expecting, Kawabe Shozo's face was not half joyful, but a frown was furrowed and a sad expression was revealed.

"Tu Meijun, this is not good news!" The commander of the 15th Army, Iida Shojiro, who was standing on the side, walked over and said a little depressed.

Shojiro Iida is a lieutenant general in the army, and although he is not good-looking and not tall, he is quite a scheming person. When the Japanese invaded Thailand, he coerced and induced an independent Thai government and helped it train its army, and took Thailand at a small cost, for which he was also awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by Tokyo.

Naturally, there is some truth in his words.

"Oh? Why did the general say this? Tu Meihao was puzzled.

Shojiro Iida continued: "Without the drag of the British army, I am afraid that the Shina expeditionary force will be more handy in the war against the empire. Judging from the current troop movements of the Chinese army, the retreat of the British army was agreed with them. ”

Kawabe Shozo turned his head from the map, and he glanced at Shojiro Iida, "Iida-kun is right, the British army has no intention of continuing to fight in Burma, and only China cares about Burma, because this is where their important transportation routes are located. It seems that this decisive battle is inevitable. ”

"Roar!" Iida Shojiro didn't have any fear on his face, "It's a good way to attract the main force of the Chinese expeditionary force to the Tonggu front line and gather and annihilate it." After eating this main force, there will be no large-scale troops to mobilize in China, and then the army will go north, take Yunnan directly, and go deep into the hinterland of China! ”

Kawabe Shozo nodded, not having much of a plan. He was not completely sure of this battle, and the strong combat effectiveness of the 1st Division of Tonggu made people have to reconsider the army on the other side.

"Your Excellency, Commander, I have a plan." Shojiro Iida said modestly.

Hebian Zhengsan looked him up and down, "Yexi, please speak!" ”

"The Chinese army gathered in the same ancient period, presumably it must have been fully prepared." As he spoke, he walked quickly to the large-scale map, stretched out his index and middle fingers and pointed to the Tonggu line and said: "This area, the key areas where the Chinese army deploys troops, they are all troops who have just been transferred from the rear, and these troops have been in a state of repair since entering Burma, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. Facing it head-on, even if our army wins, it may be a crushing victory! ”

These words said that the heart of the river side Zhengsan was painful, and he fought with the ancients, thinking that he would take it within three days, but he fought for more than 30 days, and what was even more odious was that he never won it.

The strength of a division of the 18th Division was not able to break through the defense line of a division of the enemy. He visited the front line several times to observe this battle, and the enemy's large-caliber artillery carried out the whole process of fire suppression, and the Japanese artillery was difficult to parry; When the Japanese officers and soldiers attacked, they were often countered by the enemy, and the enemy used armored vehicles and tank infantry to cooperate with each other, and the large-caliber heavy machine guns swept through the attack, and the Japanese machine gun nests and infantry trenches in the rear responsible for fire cover were like chickens and dogs. Countless imperial elites could only rely on flesh and blood and tenacious will to contend with these steel fortresses, and the tragedy was unforgettable for him.

This can be said to be unimaginable in the previous Sino-Japanese war, but now, in just a few years, the enemy has mobilized the nation's war mobilization capacity and has armed such a powerful army.

Thinking of this, Kawabe Shozo pursed his lips, his eyes staring directly at the map, and before Iida Shojiro finished speaking, he couldn't wait to say, "Please tell me your plan!" ”