The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 322: Bobcat Car on Rachadamnoen Boulevard

"Damn it! This Osaka Division is really fast."

Inside a six-wheeled Bobcat vehicle equipped with a radio, Hao Yi covered his helmet with his hands, feeling the breeze blowing across his cheeks.

The Bobcat was speeding along Ratchadamnoen Boulevard, heading straight for the Grand Palace (also known as the Royal Palace of Siam) beside the Chao Phraya River.

Hao Yi looked at both sides of the road and saw several M4 Sherman tanks and M24 Chaffee tanks of the Anmin Army parked on the side of the street with their gun barrels raised high.

The soldiers stood on the engine compartment of the tank, holding the M2HB heavy machine guns mounted on the turret, as if showing off their power.

Hao Yi thought that it was time for them to show off their strength. This was the second time that the Anmin Army had captured the capital of another country after Yangon. Even he, the commander of the battle, couldn't help but feel elated.

The entire city has been placed under military control by the Security Army. Apart from the soldiers on duty, armored vehicles and tanks, the only vehicle speeding on the main roads was the command-type Lynx vehicle under Hao Yi.

In less than 100 hours, the infantry division and armored division led by him had rushed into the Siamese capital and basically controlled the situation.

No matter how you look at it, this is definitely a great achievement.

Of course, objectively speaking, this is also due to the "Death Railway" from Bangkok to Yangon that was built by the Japanese with Allied prisoners of war.

In the car, the staff officer beside him was complimenting Hao Yi:

"General Hao, your psychological warfare offensive is so powerful that it takes almost no effort on our part."

"That's right, don't you see who I am? Old Hao has been with the commander for so long, so any clever trick should be easy for me to come up with."

In order to control this important Thai-Burma railway and prevent it from being destroyed by the Siamese army, Hao Yi ingeniously dispatched armored vehicles with loudspeakers and used airplanes to drop leaflets.

A two-pronged approach was used to launch a psychological warfare offensive.

As long as the remaining Siamese troops ensured the integrity of the railway and laid down their arms and surrendered, Hao Yi promised to treat the prisoners well.

Especially for those senior Siamese military officers, Hao Yi directly offered them generous conditions. After they entered the city, he would never touch their wealth and ensure that they could all become wealthy.

On the contrary, Hao Yi threatened that if any troops destroyed the bridge, all Siamese soldiers who carried out the order would be captured and forced to death to build the railway.

As for the senior military officers who gave the orders, they would all be listed as war criminals and shot if caught. Once the army entered the capital, their homes would be raided and all their property would be confiscated.

Don’t think that from ancient times to the present, even until Zhang Chi traveled through time, the main power struggle among the upper echelons of Siam was between the Prime Minister and the King.

But Hao Yi discovered the key at a glance through his unique intuition and Zhang Chi's hints.

A military aristocracy group that has been passed down for hundreds of years.

These talents are the absolute unstoppable figures in every power struggle.

Therefore, when Hao Yi, who had absolute military advantage, threatened to confiscate their property, they surrendered without any surprise.

As for the soldiers under their command, they surrendered very happily.

On the one hand, civil unrest broke out in the rear, and on the other hand, the planes of the Security Army were bombing every day. These soldiers who only received a small salary every month had long since lost interest in risking their lives.

In addition, the slogan of the Anmin Army was "clear the court, restore order, and protect overseas Chinese", so most Siamese people had no resistance.

In the car, Hao Yi looked at the scenery on both sides of Ratchadamnoen Boulevard with pride, and was not surprised by the closed doors and windows of every household on the street.

"Hasn't that guy Luan Pibun been found yet?" Hao Yi looked at the staff officer and asked casually.

The Royal Palace and the Council of State Building have been controlled by the vanguard troops. The only thing left is to find the former Prime Minister Luang Phibun who is hiding in the countryside. Then Hao Yi's "special operation" will be a complete success.

However, the staff officer shook his head regretfully.

This command-type Lynx vehicle is equipped with a loop antenna and a new radio. If Luang Phibun has been discovered, there will definitely be news reported on the radio.

Hao Yi could only light a cigarette regretfully, when suddenly his eyes were attracted by the bright red light at the intersection on the street.

He pointed over there and asked curiously, "What kind of place is that? Why aren't they afraid of us? Instead, they're beating drums and setting off firecrackers?"

"That's Yaowarat Road, Chinatown." The staff officer had done detailed research before entering the city, so he immediately replied, "It's mainly Chaozhou people. Many local thugs took advantage of the chaos to go in and smash and loot. Now they're celebrating that we're taking charge of them."

"That's good." Hao Yi took a deep puff of his cigarette and narrowed his eyes.

He was previously busy deploying troops and quickly taking control of various important areas, but now he finally has time to study these things.

"Have a company from the Military Police Battalion and a motorcycle company from the 7th Armored Division go help the villagers catch the thugs who participated in the looting and smashing. Once they're caught, lock them up. I'm useful."

Hao Yi originally intended to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, so as to prevent some guys in the city from making any moves.

But he changed his mind again:

"Forget it, we'll still deploy two companies, but we'll report to Director Jin and let him arrange the specific operations."

As he was speaking, the red light on the radio in the car turned green, and the staff officer immediately picked up the headphones and put them on his head: "This is Staff Officer Di, please go ahead."

Hao Yi noticed that Staff Officer Di's expression suddenly changed, and immediately had a bad premonition:

"what's the situation?"

"The reconnaissance company found the place where Luan Phibun had been hiding, but he wasn't there. Locals said he was taken away by a group of fleeing Japanese soldiers."

"Fuck his son of a bitch." Hao Yi immediately realized that something was wrong. "Hurry up and have the rear headquarters inform the commander of this news."

"As for us, our destination remains the same. We'll continue on to the palace. As long as we can control the king, there won't be any chaos!"

-----

On the other side, in Pegu, the secretary brought Zhang Chi two pieces of news, one good and one bad.

Zhang Chi was still very satisfied with Hao Yi's speed.

However, the fact that Luan Phibun fell into the hands of the Japanese was rather embarrassing.

"We want to maintain a legitimate and lasting influence on Siam, maintain the balance of power between the king and the prime minister, and then we can act as the referee."

"Fortunately, it only fell into the hands of the devils. If it fell into the hands of John's people or the White Eagle people, it would be troublesome."

What Zhang Chi feared most was that he would hold the king in his hands, and the John people or the White Eagle people would hold Phibun in their hands, and then the two sides would have a fight.

After figuring this out, he quickly gave the order:

"Drive back to headquarters and notify the Intelligence Department to find a way to contact the Osaka Division!"

In order to prevent John from interfering, he was prepared to bleed a little:

"Tell them, talk, everything is negotiable, the price is negotiable."