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

February 1, 1945, Crimea, Yalta, near Livadia Palace.

The Black Sea wind, with its salty, damp air and a hint of spring chill, blows across this former summer resort of the Tsar.

Zhang Chi wrapped his coat tightly and sat in the car. The convoy drove on the heavily guarded road and finally stopped in front of a stone villa with a low-key appearance but relatively complete internal facilities.

Around the villa, Russian Internal Affairs Ministry officers and soldiers wearing blue peaked caps (pictured) stood like nails, scanning every corner vigilantly.

A lean and thin NKVD colonel came forward to greet them.

"Your Excellency, Commander Zhang Chi, welcome to Yalta." The colonel's voice was as hard as his person. "I am Colonel Kozlov, responsible for your security during your stay. Please follow me."

"This is your temporary residence..." Colonel Kozlov raised his arm and gestured "please." "During the meeting, please try not to go out casually. If you need to move around, please let me know in advance and we will arrange the route and escort.

Additionally, please avoid speaking to anyone not accredited by us, including civilians, soldiers, journalists, service personnel, or even members of other delegations."

Zhang Chi looked around and felt a sense of tension in the air.

He nodded in understanding. "I understand, Mr. Major. Thank you for your arrangement and reminder. Please rest assured that I will strictly abide by the regulations."

Kozlov seemed a little surprised by Zhang Chi's cooperation, and his granite face relaxed slightly:

"This is for your absolute safety, and for the sake of harmony among the Allies. Please understand that Yalta is now gathering too much attention and too many nerves. We don't want any...accidents to happen."

"Accident?" Zhang Chi smiled slightly. "Colonel, are you referring to...an 'accident' like the one in Sarajevo?"

Zhang Chi's words had hidden meaning. He actually understood the nervousness of these blue-hat people.

After all, although everyone is now in the anti-fascist united alliance, there is no guarantee that some of the Russians do not think so. In some propaganda, he and upcoming politicians such as Luo and Qiu are all unforgivable "big demons".

If Crimea was like Sarajevo, and some Russian suddenly lost his mind and started a gunshot, World War III would have started before World War II was over.

The translator faithfully conveyed Zhang Chi's words. Kozlov's pupils shrank slightly. He didn't answer directly, but straightened his back even more:

"History is always full of lessons. Please take a good rest. The meeting will officially begin the day after tomorrow (February 4th)."

He nodded slightly, turned and left, leaving several soldiers and two female officers wearing boat hats guarding the door of the villa.

Zhang Chi brought only a few guards and entourage, barely enough to fill two C-54 Skymasters.

He waved to Director Liu of the Security Department, who was leading the team, to signal that he could start working, and then he walked into the slightly empty living room. The huge windows overlooked the sparkling waves of the Black Sea in the distance.

He walked to the window, but his thoughts had already flown across thousands of mountains and rivers to the tropical island near the equator.

At this moment, the war machine in Southeast Asia has started at full speed.

Palembang, the oil-rich city on the island of Sumatra, is about to face a moment that will determine its fate.

The unexpected "absence" of Tanabe Moritake paved the most critical road for this "Thunder Operation".

Countless warships, troop transports full of soldiers, transport boats for beaching, and cargo ships full of supplies and ammunition had already set out from ports such as Yangon, Bangkok, and Singapore, heading straight for Palembang City.

-----

On February 2, 1946, at 3:18 a.m. local time, over the island of Sumatra, the roar of engines was like rolling thunder, rapidly covering the Japanese strongholds in Palembang and its surrounding areas from far away.

More than 400 bombers of the Nanyang Air Force - the huge B-29 "Super Fortress", the flexible B-25 "Mitchell", and the sturdy B-17 "Flying Fortress" - covered the sky and flew over the target area under the cover of the inky night.

No temptation, no hesitation.

"The bomb bay is open."

"Target confirmed, drop bomb."

Following the instructions on the radio, countless bombs poured down from the open bomb bay like black raindrops.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Rumble! Rumble!

The deafening explosions suddenly merged into one, tearing the silent night sky apart.

Inside and outside the city of Palembang, all the important strongholds, barracks, transportation hubs, warehouses, and beach defense positions of the Japanese were simultaneously engulfed by blazing fireballs and billowing smoke.

The earth trembled violently under the violent shock wave. Countless local natives were awakened from their sleep. Looking up, they saw the flames illuminating half of the sky red, briefly dispelling the darkness.

This time it was no longer a precision strike, but a devastating carpet bombing.

At this moment, the whistling sounds of bombs, the collapsing sounds of buildings, and the exclamations and screams of the devils intertwined together, playing a symphony of death.

Many Japanese soldiers were blown to pieces before they could hide in the bunkers. Those who managed to escape the first round of bombing fell into extreme chaos and panic.

The special fighter jets of the Nanyang Air Force carried out large-scale radio interference over the battlefield, causing communication failure. The command system, which had already been paralyzed by Tanabe's death, was now completely disabled.

The huge fleet of aircraft that completed the bombing mission did not linger. They turned gracefully in the night sky and returned towards the Malay Peninsula, ready to wait until dawn when the sky brightened and then land safely.

The darkness at this moment is their best cover.

The destruction is not over.

On the outskirts of the Palembang oil field, two Japanese fortresses, built on solid mountains, with tricky locations and powerful firepower, managed to escape the first round of carpet bombing.

This is the nail carefully arranged by Moritake Tanabe to guard the gateway to the oil field, equipped with heavy artillery and machine guns.

But at this moment, in a hidden valley several kilometers away from the fortress group, Lin Laisheng and his team had set up the laser pointer again.

"Target, the east side A fortress group, the core firepower point." Lin Laisheng calmly locked onto the target through the night vision goggles.

"Laser irradiation."

The near-infrared beam that was invisible to the naked eye shot out again, accurately landing on the strongest artillery bunker in the fortress group.

"Falcon 2 calling Gopher, signal stable, requesting bomb drop."

"Gopher received, target lit, drop bombs!"

High in the sky, two B-29s specially equipped with the "Swallow-1" laser-guided glide bomb broke away from the formation and dropped the deadly Swift bombs according to ground instructions.

This time, the glide bomb also streaked across the night sky and headed straight for the target locked by the laser.

Boom—!!! Boom—!!!

Two loud noises, duller and more concentrated than before, exploded at the core of the fortress complex.

The concrete grade used by the Japanese was obviously of poor quality. Lacking steel, they used bamboo bars instead of steel bars. As a result, the heavy bomb easily collapsed a corner of the fortress, and the artillery, ammunition, and personnel inside were instantly engulfed in flames.

A huge column of smoke mixed with rubble and debris rose into the sky!

Another fortress complex suffered the same fate.

Two other Feiyan-1 laser-guided glide bombs hit the vital points almost at the same time, blowing up this stubborn stronghold and clearing the obstacles for subsequent attacks.

-----

At 4:30 in the morning, 6 kilometers southeast of Palembang, there was a Japanese airport code-named "Palm Garden".

The first wave of deafening explosions had just passed, and the remaining Japanese garrison squadron at the airport was still in shock and was trying in chaos to take off fighter planes and repair the interfered communication facilities.

Only a few sporadic bombs were dropped here. The airport runway and hangar were still relatively intact. A broken Zero fighter plane lay on one side and burned.

At this moment, another sound came from the sky - a transport plane full of Nanyang paratroopers was coming!