Kimura took out the map updated an hour ago in the car, the enemy is attacking south-central Thailand on both sides, one is the 200th Division, the other is the 201st Division, that is, the one that is following him, it seems that the enemy will converge at the node of the Kwai River Bridge, but I don't know why, they all slowed down, as if they wanted to let themselves go, so that they could grab a time window and escape across the river with their whole body. But he was still worried that the general of the temple would blow up the bridge ahead of schedule out of the overall consideration. Then the 4th Division would be finished.

Imperial Palace Observatory, Tokyo.

Emperor Hirohito summoned Makino and Onishi Takijiro alone, and the Emperor had just received the news of the arrival of two front and back feet a day earlier, one good and one bad, and the good news was that Makino's new style* seemed to have succeeded (Makino's report, which used the more ambiguous word almost successful). The second is the bad news, the situation in Burma is out of control, the Allies have cut off the Japanese army's retreat from land into Thailand at once, and about 70,000 imperial troops may be finished. Yamamoto's rescue fleet of Mikawa Gunichi was on its way and would soon join up with the army merchant fleet in Malacca to try to save the Japanese troops from the sea who were about to retreat to Rangoon. However, when they left Malacca, they had to face the British Eastern Fleet, and the fleet of the Misagawa Gunichi was only composed of cruisers and destroyers, and there was not a single aircraft carrier participating. All air cover can only be done by army aviation taking off from airfields in the Andaman Islands.

Hirohito had two concerns, one was the issue of cooperation between the navy and the army, which was the reason why he sought Onishi, and the second was the question of whether Makino's new weapons could be put into use, and he now regarded Makino as a lifesaver.

The emaciated emperor shook hands with the two and beckoned them to sit down.

"You all know the situation there. Makino-kun might as well talk about whether he can use a new weapon to save the emergency. The Ministry of War told me that it would not be a problem for Sakagaki's troops to last for a month, but I did not want our soldiers to be exhausted there. Finally save them back. ”

"Your Majesty, although the experiment has been successful, the small batch of pre-produced guided weapons is only for further testing, and now it is a bit hasty to put those weapons into combat." Makino replied frankly.

"Then let's go to the battlefield and practice, I am anxious now, since the Meiji Emperor, the army has not faced such a grim moment. I heard that the invincible German Army also began to retreat after its defeat in the First Battle of the Volga last year. ”

"In that case, let's give it a try," Makino said helplessly, "The current airdrop type* can be put into use in advance, but the fuse must be adjusted." ”

"Hopefully it can play a positive role." The emperor turned to Onishi, "How did Commander Yamamoto do it, the scale of the rescue fleet sent is such that the prejudice between the army and the navy can't be put aside for the time being?" ”

"Your Majesty, Commander, he is really helpless, last week, in the Solomon Islands, two large enemy aircraft carriers sailing in formation were discovered."

"Didn't the enemy's last Yorktown-class aircraft carrier go back to Hawaii for repairs?"

"Not Yorktown, according to German intelligence, Essex."

"So fast? Doesn't it mean that the launch of the US Navy's newly built aircraft carrier will have to wait until the second half of the year? Will it be at least next year to complete the training? ”

"According to Canaris's intelligence, since December last year, three ships have been commissioned one after another, and they may all be deployed in the Pacific Ocean, so Commander Yamamoto really can't spare enough troops to go to the Bay of Bengal."

"Hey, I really hate Matsuoka and Tojo, who are misleading the country, if I had known about it...... That's not all. ”

"Your Majesty, Wechen feels that Commander Yamamoto's dispatch is still reasonable." Onishi hurriedly excused the chief.

"Can these cruisers of the Southern Fleet stand up to the British fleet?"

"It's feasible, Commander Mikawa is a tactical genius, and the British may not really help the Chinese army, in a way, the longer General Sakagaki holds out, the better it will be for the British, and what they want now should be the Andaman, and then Burma, so even if their fleet appears, it is likely that it is just pretending."

"I hope so?" Hirohito turned to Makino again, "Makino-kun, how many new weapons can be mobilized?" ”

"The first batch of 15 was produced, but in any case five had to be left for testing, and only ten could be used for the time being*. Can only be launched by naval aircraft. ”

"It's not difficult for the Navy to send elite pilots there, and they can be deployed to Andaman Island, but these * numbers are too small." Onishi complained, "Our standard operation to intercept the enemy's fleet, a salvo is out, and it is more than that." ”

"No, this is a weapon of the future, and the cost-effectiveness ratio is different from traditional weapons, and if used correctly, it can play a very critical role."

"Ten 450 mm *, what can it do?"

"Dazuo, please believe my words."

The emperor shrugged his shoulders noncommittally, and everything that followed was left to fate.

On the east bank of the Kwai River Bridge, Xu Chong joined Lin Xiuxuan lurking here, Lin Xiuxuan did not bring communication equipment, but he had an IR identification strip, and the drone could clearly see him lying in the grass, so he guided Xu Chong to find him. The two briefly summed up the plan, and it was expected that the 4th Division would be able to withdraw at noon tomorrow, although there were some other Japanese troops who might cross the bridge later, but the bridge would be blown up in advance in the temple. This was a serious problem, as it was impossible for divers to sneak into the vicinity of the enemy's headquarters from the water during the day, so they had to adjust their plans and have to have the trucks carrying the equipment arrive tonight, which meant that Ma Qiang's trucks had to overtake Tao Mingzhang's vanguard, which would most likely be ambushed by the enemy's rearguard troops. So you have to rely on drones, try to guide them the way, and get there in advance.

Ma Qiang and Qin Xiaosu informed Tao Mingzhang about forcibly checking the equipment, if Tao Mingzhang was not too stupid, he should have guessed that Chu Tingchang's series of victories were not obtained by looking at the stars or rolling dice, but this matter could only be delayed for a while, so that Deputy Captain Chu could find an opportunity to solve it. In addition, Chu Tingchang had to contact the US military to carry out an air raid on the bridge to cover Ma Qiang's diving across the river. Chu Tingchang and Stilwell are almost brothers, and these requirements are not difficult to achieve.

Qin Xiaosu received the drone message behind the truck, he had just been given a new mission, he had to rush to the target area tonight, and swim to the opposite shore to disrupt communications. With such a tight schedule, of course, it was a bit difficult, because trucks could only be driven on the road, and the enemy, as an experienced force, would inevitably set up layers of deployment on the main road.

He used the drone's field of vision to study the road, and Ma Qiang in front of him turned according to his instructions.

Soon he spotted a field kitchen waiting to smoke from a deserted passageway. About 200 Japanese soldiers were eating near the kitchen. The retreat of the 4th Division was really good, and it was so meticulous that it arranged hot meals for each unit. The field kitchen was towed by a Toyota truck. Qin Xiaosu immediately came up with a good solution. He told Ma to drive over there and see if there was a chance to seize the truck. If you have that car, you can blend in with the Japanese army and get to the bridge in advance.

After the Japanese infantry finished eating, the whole team left, and the remaining few cooks began to pack up their things and prepare for the evacuation. According to the command order, there are no more people of their own behind. Because they have cars, they are not in a hurry. Ma Qiang kicked the accelerator and walked through the woods in order to catch up with them.

After the field kitchen was cleaned up, it was also hung up on the truck, and Ma Qiang's truck finally caught up with him. Three unarmed North Korean cooks, thinking that there were people behind them, stood beside the car with their aprons rubbed in their hands. In a blink of an eye, the truck arrived, and it was clearly an American-style ten* truck.

Ma braked sharply and got out of the cab with Thompson in his hand*. The cook hurriedly raised his hand in surrender, but Ma Qiang couldn't keep these few alive, so he showed the three of them to stand on the side of the road and killed them with a shuttle. Qin Xiaosu hurriedly came down, trying to find a few Japanese uniforms that could be used, but unfortunately Ma Qiang was too ruthless, and the Americans were all shot seven times, and they were like a sieve. I had no choice but to wear the uniform of the 5th Army and move on.

They each put on a Japanese combat cap, put on an apron, and then loaded the contents of the trunk of the American-made truck onto the Toyota truck and continued to drive forward. After walking a few kilometers, he ran into a Japanese soldier who had fallen behind. The Japanese soldiers saw the truck and began to wave and tried to hitchhike. Ma Qiang drove over at an even speed, and when he arrived, he slammed the gas pedal and knocked down the Japanese soldier, only to get a military uniform that didn't have much blood. The military uniform was put on by Ma Qiang in the cab, and this dress was more than two sizes smaller than the clothes he fit, but it couldn't be controlled. He was naturally bold, so he drove all the way to the bridge, and along the way he kept encountering Japanese soldiers marching on foot, and some wanted to hitchhike, he honked all the way, drove them away, and occupied the middle of the road and left. Qin Xiaosu, who was hiding behind, had never experienced such a scene, and his heart almost jumped out of his throat.

On the retreat of the 4th Division, a large number of gendarmes had already set up cards to check on lone soldiers, but this truck, which was honking all the way, was smooth all the way.

After nightfall, the truck finally arrived at the river, and instead of going directly to the bridge, it left the bridge far away and drove to the drone village on the side. Qin Xiaosu and Lin Xiuxuan completed a communication and began to implement the plan. He watched the opposite shore from behind the canopy with night vision devices. Ma Qiang stepped out of the truck and walked towards the river with a large bag of wetsuits. The Japanese patrol led the wolf dog and haunted the shore, but with the guidance of drones, it was not difficult to avoid it.

He just walked straight to the river, and if he ran into a Japanese patrol, he would be able to identify him without questioning, because his clothes were so ill-fitting.

Ma Qiang took advantage of the night to quickly change his diving suit by the river, then dived into the water and swam to the opposite shore. On the bridge on the side, the last of the Japanese forces are rapidly withdrawing, and may not be able to do so by noon tomorrow.

It took Ma Qiang 20 minutes to reach the opposite bank, when all the lights at the bridgehead were suddenly turned off, and it was clear that Allied planes were approaching.