And that's not all there is to Stilwell.

"Rank!" When Zheng Dongguo and several other generals sat at Stilwell's headquarters, Stilwell casually handed them a document and said: "We just learned that the British have betrayed us once again for their interests, and our plan to attack Rangoon is no longer a secret!" ”

"Why are they doing this?" Zheng Dongguo was a little strange: "If we attack Rangoon, it will threaten the logistics of the Japanese army in Imphal, right?" It's only good for them, no harm! ”

"Nope! Of course there are downsides! Stilwell wiped his face in distress, supported his chin with one hand and said weakly: "I thought the same as you at the beginning, so I was relieved to tell the British, but it was obvious that I made a mistake." The British thought that they could relieve the siege of Imphal without allowing the Chinese army to achieve a decisive victory south of Burma, which would threaten their colonial position in Burma, and they had been worried about this! ”

Zheng Dongguo nodded, of course, the Chinese are deeply impressed by this, and it can even be said to be a lesson.

However, what Stilwell didn't know was that the reason why the British were so afraid that the Chinese army would win in Burma was that there were many overseas Chinese in Burma, and the British watched how the Chinese overseas Chinese in Burma welcomed the Chinese army into Burma and how they supported the Chinese army to fight, which made the British even more jealous of Chinese.

"But the British miscalculated." Stilwell continued: "The Japanese knew of the plan, but they did not give up the attack on Imphal as the British thought, on the contrary, they also planned to take Imphal and Ledo in one fell swoop before we took Rangoon, so as to achieve the goal of trapping us in northern Burma!" ”

There was silence in the Command Headquarters, and everyone knew that it was almost time for a showdown.

"What do you guys think?" Stilwell asked.

After being silent for a while, Zheng Dongguo replied: "I think it's time to give up going south!" ”

"What?" Stilwell couldn't believe Zheng Dongguo's words.

"Give up?" Stilwell asked, "How do you give up?" The Japanese are determined to win Imphal, judging from the current situation. Even if we reach Rangoon, they will not withdraw their troops, and we have only one way, and that is to capture Rangoon before the Japanese cut us off from India! ”

"We can reinforce Imphal!" Zheng Dongguo replied: "Or reinforce Ledo to protect our supply lines from being cut off!" ”

Stilwell couldn't help but be stunned, then nodded and said, "Oh, I see, this is your headmaster's order again!" ”

Zheng Dongguo was speechless for a while.

Stilwell was right, this was indeed what Principal Chiang meant.

The fundamental contradiction between President Chiang and Stilwell is that the former wants to preserve their strength, both in China and in Burma. Principal Chiang was reluctant to throw them into a big battle to fight the Japanese army.

Therefore, when he learned that the Chinese army was preparing to go south after taking Mandalay, President Chiang believed that this plan would not be beneficial to China at all, because it could not open the China-Burma Highway to bring foreign aid to China, nor could it relieve the pressure of confrontation with the Japanese army at home, but could also cause a large number of casualties to the Chinese expeditionary force. To put it simply, President Chiang believed that the expeditionary force was a tool for the Yankees to relieve the pressure on the Pacific theater, so he insisted that Zheng Dongguo and others follow the original plan, that is, continue to fight eastward to cooperate with domestic troops to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 56th Division stationed on the China-Burma Highway and western Yunnan.

Objectively speaking, President Jiang's consideration is still somewhat reasonable. Especially from the perspective of national interests.

However, this consideration is somewhat short-sighted, as the potential benefits of moving south to defeat the Burmese Japanese army are not comparable to those of continuing eastward...... Although the eastward advance can open up the China-Burma road, it is possible that it will continue to be trapped due to the loss of Imphal, but if it goes south and captures Yangon, the Japanese 56th Division will be besieged and killed in western Yunnan. Regardless of whether Imphal is lost or not, China's contact with the outside world is actually only a matter of time, and this "time problem" only depends on how long the besieged Japanese 56th Division can hold out. Moreover, this "connection" is still a "connection" in the actual sense, unlike the pretense of India, which will continue to be constrained by the British, and not to mention the huge benefits that the Chinese military may achieve in Burma.

Of course, this is not what President Jiang is thinking. At this time, he was already in a hurry in Chongqing, and all he could think about was the army, equipment, army, and equipment......

In fact, Zheng Dongguo and others did not know this, and it was the dream of every expeditionary force soldier to be able to defeat these Japanese troops in Burma, and they were waiting for this day to wash away the shame of the first Burma campaign and avenge their comrades who died on the battlefield in Burma.

But...... They also thought that the Chinese Expeditionary Force was China's army after all, and it would have to return to China one day, so how could President Jiang not listen to what he said?!

After a moment of silence, Stilwell said, "Let me make it clear first, this is Burma, not China. I am your commander-in-chief and not Principal Jiang, so all my decisions do not need to go through your principal, if you do not obey my orders, then you can choose to return to the principal, I will not stop you. Clear? ”

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

……

"Good!" Stilwell replied, "Now, let's discuss a plan to attack Rangoon!" ”

At this time, Stilwell seemed to be nothing on the surface, but in fact, he was already exhausted.

He didn't expect that it would be so difficult to fight a war, the British dragged their feet, and the Chinese side was not willing to ...... Although Stilwell was able to bring the British and Chinese principals to their knees with the American aid in hand, these pressures still existed, especially the principal, who was at odds with Stilwell and was demanding that the United States replace Stilwell.

"Damn peanuts!" Thinking of this, Stilwell couldn't help but curse secretly: "If it's possible, I still want to replace you!" ”

Suddenly, Stilwell felt that he was in danger of losing everything.

Although they now have troops in their hands, these troops only obey their own command for the sake of the face of US aid, and what if there is no US aid? As for the American instructors who are embedded in the Chinese army...... Because of their poor performance and Galahad's performance, the devil knows what else they can do.

Stilwell thought that it seemed necessary to transfer these Chinese officers under Chiang's control or influence out of Burma to promote some new talents. (To be continued.) )