Chapter 136: Give Up

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Thinking of this, Zhang Chi motioned to his fellow villagers to take the soldiers to search in other rooms, while he sat down in the office and lit a cigarette...... He needs to think about it.

The detachment of the engineer regiment from the command system of the expeditionary force is exactly what Zhang Chi wants, because only in this way will it not be interfered by Britain and the United States, as well as pig-like teammates such as Luo Zhuoying and Lin Wei.

However, after breaking away from the command system of the expeditionary force, where can the engineer regiment go?

Hold Lashio?!

This may be possible.

Zhang Chi's eyes were fixed on the map hanging on the wall on the right, which clearly marked the offensive route and approximate strength of the Japanese airborne troops...... Its total strength was about 3,000 men, and it was divided into three directions to advance towards Lashio, while the new 22nd Division was blocked on the road hundreds of kilometers away.

At this time, the engineer regiment already had more than 3,000 people, and if some more routs were gathered, the problem of concentrating more than 4,000 men was not very big, and it was not impossible for the engineer regiment to hold it when Lashio had a large amount of supplies and supplies.

Of course, there is still some difficulty in holding Lashio, because the engineer regiment and the more than 4,000 people in the army are not in a system, and it takes some time for the people of each unit to get together, otherwise there will be problems in cooperation and coordination with each other.

But...... What is the result of holding Lashio?!

Holding Lashio certainly had its advantages, one was to keep a large number of supplies, the second was to keep the expeditionary force's road to the country, and the third was to keep the Japanese army out of the country so that the Japanese army could not enter western Yunnan like history.

But the result of holding Lashio was to once again bring the Engineer Regiment into the command structure of the higher echelons of the expeditionary force.

Stilwell was right in his thinking, that is, it was impossible for the Nationalist army to win a battle under such a command system.

Therefore, even if the Engineer Regiment held Lashio today, after being reincorporated into this command system, it was difficult to guarantee that Lashio would not be lost again, so history repeated itself again.

What can be done to bring this chain of command to collapse or even disintegrate?

This was difficult, because the command system was actually built by Chiang Kai-shek...... Chiang Kai-shek was actually taking advantage of the struggle for power and mutual checks and balances to remotely command the entire expeditionary force.

Therefore, to get rid of this command system, in the final analysis, it is necessary to get rid of Chiang Kai-shek's control.

But this was almost impossible, because Chiang Kai-shek would have held the military power in his hands to the death, and in the end would rather let the expeditionary force go into the Savage Mountains to die of exhaustion and starvation than let them go to India to avoid the limelight, because he was afraid that these troops would be controlled by the United States or Britain after they arrived in India.

It should be said that Chiang Kai-shek was right, because in history, Stilwell really wanted to replace all the middle-level and high-level and even grass-roots officers of the Chinese army that had taken refuge in India with Americans, and this practice actually wanted to transform the Chinese troops stationed in India into colonial forces such as the Anglo-Burmese Army and the Anglo-Indian Army completely controlled by the United States. It's just that this practice almost caused a mutiny in the Chinese army stationed in India, so it had to be done.

However, it was not impossible to get the Chinese Expeditionary Force out of this command system or to shake off Chiang Kai-shek's control, at least the new 38th Division, which had historically avoided India...... Instead of obeying Chiang Kai-shek's orders to cross the Savage Mountains, they took refuge in India.

Stilwell, who had no troops in his hands, took a fancy to this force, and forced Chiang Kai-shek to compromise and bring this force under his command with the aid of the newly opened Hump Route, and Chiang Kai-shek not only compromised, but also continued to send troops to India for the common good...... At first, Chiang Kai-shek was also helpless, if there was no American aid from the Hump Route, then China might only be able to hold out for three months under the attack of the Japanese army. Later, Chiang Kai-shek was overjoyed to learn that Stilwell's attempt to convert the new 38th Division into a colonial force almost caused a mutiny, and then he learned that the troops that retreated to India were always Chinese troops, and they would not fall to the United States or Britain because of the retreat to India.

Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek spared no effort to cooperate with Stilwell's plan to reorganize the army, because it was only good for Chiang Kai-shek, and there was no harm in it, which was to use the best equipment and the best training to help Chiang Kai-shek build a force with super combat effectiveness. Chiang Kai-shek even regretted why he had not allowed all the expeditionary forces to retreat to India and had allowed them to cross the Savage Mountains.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chi realized that if he wanted to get the expeditionary force out of this system and change the fate of the defeated Savage Mountain, it was very likely to take advantage of the delicate relationship between Stilwell and Chiang Kai-shek.

And to do this, the first thing is to let Lashio fall and cut off Chiang Kai-shek's remote control of the expeditionary force.

This idea startled even Zhang Chi himself, because it meant that cutting off the supply of the expeditionary force would once again put the expeditionary force in danger, and it also meant that the Japanese army was likely to enter western Yunnan again as it did in history. This made Zhang Chijue feel like a sinner himself.

After thinking about it, Zhang Chi finally decided to do it...... As the saying goes, if you are reluctant to give up on the child, it may lead to greater losses and casualties.

But how do you get the Engineer Corps to abandon Lashio? What should you do after giving up Lashio?

Zhang Chi's eyes were aimed at a telegram on the table, which should have been sent by Chiang Kai-shek to Lin Wei at an urgent moment, which read: "Lashio should be dealt with urgently, in case Lashio is not defended, the 5th Army and the 66th Army should take Myitkyina and Bamo as the rear, and the 6th Army should take Jingdong as the rear!" ”

The meaning of this telegram is obvious, that is, Lashio is to be defended, and if Lashio cannot be defended, then the armies of the expeditionary force should withdraw to Myitkyina, Bhamo and Jingdong respectively.

Of course, this order can no longer be carried out in place, because the 6th Army and the 66th Army have fled and are missing, and only the main force of the Fifth Army is still in the direction of Mandalay, and under the control of Luo Zhuoying, it is still dreaming of fighting the Battle of Mandalay with the British army.

But Myitkyina......

He was all too familiar with Myitkyina, having spent two years in Myitkyina in modern times, and he knew it well.

Moreover, it should be said that it is correct to withdraw to Myitkyina, so that the expeditionary force can take advantage of the complex terrain of northern Burma and the geographical advantages of Myitkyina to block the Japanese attack and hold northern Burma.

Historically, the expeditionary force did not do this, but the British army withdrew too quickly, allowing the Japanese to occupy Myitkyina ahead of the expeditionary force.