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

Chapter 172: Serve as a dish or order it?

On the other hand, with the navy's successive defeats in the Pacific battlefield, the Japanese Army Department gradually realized that the situation of the Southern Army was becoming precarious.

This time, the Showa staff could no longer show off. They quickly submitted a report that clearly outlined an anxious prospect: after the sea transportation was cut off, the Southern Army would be completely isolated overseas and become a rootless duckweed.

A heavy silence enveloped the meeting room of the General Staff Headquarters. Many senior Japanese generals said nothing, and only the ticking sound of the clock on the wall echoed.

The head of Section 2 of the Operations Department picked up his pointer and pointed at the huge world map. "On the surface, it seems that the puppet states in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Java, Lusong, and a few large islands in Borneo, still have land connections with the mainland of Qian."

"But the reality is not optimistic. Although we have occupied half of Qian Country since the war began, our army has not been able to fully control the Pinghan, Yuehan, Xianggui and other railways that run from north to south within Qian Country."

The section chief paused, then continued with a slight complaint:

"Because the navy is so incompetent, the locust nation's transport ship tonnage is declining rapidly. It is expected that maritime transportation will become extremely difficult starting in 44."

"In the foreseeable future, maritime transport will eventually be completely suffocated by enemy air and sea attacks. By then, logistical supplies will have to be landed on the Korean Peninsula and then transported south by rail to places like Indochina."

"But," the section chief's voice suddenly rose, "Generals, please note that key railway nodes such as Hengyang and Xiping are still in the hands of the troops in Shancheng. At the same time, the border between Guangxi and Annan is also under enemy control."

"If this land route hadn't been opened 45 years ago, I suggest that headquarters immediately withdraw the 30 Southern Army troops. Otherwise, if such a large and powerful force were lost, the negative impact would be no less than the complete annihilation of Hans' Sixth Army."

"That's enough, Section Chief Sonoda. We're not here to listen to you exaggerate the crisis!" Tojo, who had condescended to come, slammed the table and demanded angrily, "Time is limited. If you have a solution, please tell us immediately."

"Generals, please allow me to introduce Section 2's meticulously crafted project: the plan to open up the continental transportation lines."

Unlike the "Operational Outline No. 1" that was actually implemented later, the plan that Sonoda came up with to open up the mainland transportation line was really just a rough plan.

But it does have the rudiments of attacking from both the north and the south and opening up the railway line in one fell swoop.

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That’s right, at this point in time, both the South Asian Allied Forces and the Japanese were considering opening up land transportation lines, and this matter was related to Qian Country.

So what is the White Party of Qianguo doing?

Answer: Since Commander Luo invited the Qian Kingdom to dinner, he is carefully preparing for the expeditionary force and the troops stationed in Shendu to enter Pegu for battle.

Although the Cairo Conference was not to be held for another two months, it had already been rumored that the three countries of Qian, White Eagle and John would hold a joint meeting to divide the post-war spheres of influence in Asia.

At the same time, the rumor also included that among the five major countries after the war that Commander Luo was optimistic about, Qian Kingdom also had a place.

This made the White Party overjoyed. After all, they thought they were a dish, but they didn't expect Commander Luo to pull his brother up and say that they could also go to the table and get some food.

Therefore, the generals of the Qianguo White Party have recently seemed to be unusually cooperative, which surprised Stevenson a little.

He had been accustomed to these people secretly disobeying his arrangements, but recently, whether it was strategic planning or logistical scheduling, the White Party's execution suddenly became "smooth", and the small conflicts that often occurred in the past suddenly died down.

"Did they finally get it?" Stevenson stood by the office window, gazing into the distance with a self-deprecating smile. "Or is there something else going on?"

In any case, everything seems promising in the India-Burma theater.

Stevenson suddenly found that as a predecessor of several current European army commanders and commanders such as General Clark, General Smith and other generals, he seemed to have a real chance to be the first to become a five-star general?

However, all the gifts bestowed by fate have already been secretly marked with a price. In international games, there is often only a fine line between "putting on the table" and "serving the dish."

The nature of the White Party determines its own fate.

When the "Operation No. 1" that the Japanese are currently planning is implemented, facing the 500,000 Japanese advancing from the north and south, the defense line will be shattered like paper, and the million-strong national army will be defeated.

As the only time traveler in this parallel world, Zhang Chi knows the future direction better than anyone else: once the National Army collapses in "Operation No. 1", Qian Kingdom's "serving dishes on the table" will instantly become "serving additional dishes on the table."

By then, when Commander Luo discovers that his younger brother is not capable enough, he will change his attitude without hesitation and regard Qian Kingdom as a "dish" that can be manipulated.

This will not only cause the status of the Qian Kingdom to plummet, but all overseas Qian people will also suffer.

Zhang Chi stood in front of the map, looking at the Nanyang area in silence.

His fingers slowly moved across the cities where countless Qian people gathered, and finally stopped in Malacca.

"Want to put Qianren on the menu?" He snorted and sneered, "I absolutely don't want to."

His ambition is not only to fight for the survival rights of the Qian people in Nanyang, but also to gain a voice for the Qian people on the future international stage.

"Even if I have to sit at the end of the table," Zhang Chi muttered to himself, his voice as sharp as a knife, "I will get the menu and order for my compatriots!"

That's his belief.

More than a year after traveling through time, he no longer considered going back, but instead used this belief to support himself in continuing his struggle in Nanyang.

In order to achieve this goal, Zhang Chi had to put in his utmost effort.

All kinds of production lines were revamped at an accelerated pace, and the training intensity of the troops was increased to the limit.

In terms of logistics, he invested a large amount of his stockpiled Silver Lion Coins and gold into the system, trying to exchange and stockpile more ammunition and weapons to prepare for the upcoming battle.

He knew very well that the coming year would determine the future of all the Nanyang Qian people.

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On September 7, after a cordial and friendly exchange of views, Commander Chen resigned from his post as commander-in-chief of the Yunnan Expeditionary Force due to illness.

Wei Junru, a veteran general with good fighting skills, was transferred in advance to serve as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force stationed in Yunnan Province, commanding a total of 5 armies and more than 20 divisions.

Although these troops have undergone White Eagle training and are basically equipped with White Eagle weapons, it seems that their combat effectiveness has improved by leaps and bounds.

(The only troops stationed in Shendu who changed their uniforms to the White Eagle style were the New 1st Army and the later New 6th Army. The Yunnan Province troops were mostly supplemented with Eagle submachine guns, machine guns, artillery, and rocket launchers. Few of them used the Big Eight rifle.)

However, when Wei Junru took a quick look, he found that among these troops, there were central troops from the Chen and He factions, and local troops from the Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan and other factions (which were actually also controlled by the grassroots officers of Huangpu). But there was not a single division that could be considered as his direct subordinate.

As a veteran of the battlefield, Wei Junru couldn't help but worry about this. (Future Acting Director of the Northeast Headquarters: With so many corps, which one can I command? I'd better hold on to Fengtian.)

Of course, Wei Junru is senior enough, and the army commanders and division commanders dare not confront him in person, but what about behind his back?

To this end, as soon as he took office, Wei Junru immediately moved the command center forward and personally took charge of Mawangtun, which was only 70 kilometers away from the Nujiang front line.