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

On July 9, although Yangon and other places were still struggling with heavy rain, the mountainous areas north of the Kingdom of Bago had welcomed clear weather and the rainy days were gradually decreasing.

In the independent regiment's newly established communications center, the radio was making a ticking sound, and the room was busy but orderly.

"Commander, a telegram just sent from home." A telegraph operator walked up to Zhang Chi and handed him a telegram.

Zhang Chi took it casually, took a few glances at it, and then handed it to Major James, the special envoy of the theater command who had just arrived by plane today.

"Look, Major James, people in the country are urging me to go back again." Zhang Chi smiled with a relaxed tone.

In fact, this was the seventh telegram he had received in recent days urging him to lead the independent regiment back to China.

Of course, Zhang Chi had no intention of leading his troops back to China. After all, his plan for the future was to rely on the special terrain of the mountainous area north of Pegu to gradually build his own power.

But James was obviously unaware of this.

After reading the sternly worded telegram, his face became visibly nervous.

James knew very well that if Zhang Chi, the commander of the Fifth Army, obeyed the orders of his White Party superiors in Qianguo, then General Stevenson's plan would probably be ruined.

Especially at this critical moment when the Independent Regiment had just won two victories, annihilated hundreds of Japanese devils and rescued a large number of high-value Allied prisoners of war, if the Independent Regiment withdrew to the country, the honor of these victories would all go to the leader of the White Party of Qianguo.

"Colonel Zhang, with all due respect, the support General Stevenson and our Bald Eagles can provide is beyond your imagination. As long as you are willing to stay here and continue fighting, I will request from the theater command to increase airdrops for your troops. As a soldier, don't you wish to command a well-equipped and powerful force?"

James was not a good negotiator, and he exposed his trump card right from the start - as long as Zhang Chi stayed and continued to fight, Stevenson would let Zhang Chi have whatever he wanted.

Zhang Chi was delighted when he heard this. James' reaction was exactly what he wanted.

He needed these White Eagles to actively "beg" him to stay, rather than him asking for it himself.

In this way, the leaders of the Allied Forces will take the initiative to put pressure on the superiors of Qianguo to withdraw the order urging him to return home.

At that time, Zhang Chi would not have to bear the stigma of disobeying the orders of his superiors. Instead, at the "request" of the Allied leaders, after reluctantly accepting a large amount of bribes, he pretended to be an innocent "little white flower" and continued to fight independently in the mountainous area north of Pegu to improve his record for Stevenson.

After all, our ancestors said it well - only the tools and the reputation can be faked.

Ambition is growing in the heart of Zhang Chi, the time traveler. For the sake of the future, he must of course protect his reputation.

Although he had already made up his mind, Zhang Chi still pretended to be hesitant.

"No, no, no, this is an order from the Supreme Military Command," he said helplessly. "Actually, I've been planning to wait until the rainy season is over and the ground is dry before leading my troops over Gaoligong Mountain and returning home to report."

Zhang Chi paused, glanced at James, and casually said, "Since you're here, I'll leave this newly built military camp to you. You can tell General Stevenson to send someone from Sindhu to take over."

James's face became even more nervous, and he stammered in stiff Chinese, "Wait, wait, Colonel Zhang, this was not in the original plan."

He had never heard of the old Chinese saying "retreat to advance". Facing Zhang Chi's request to return to China, James now felt his head was in a mess.

What does 'send allied forces from Sindhu to take over here' mean?

The colonial troops of the Johns were eager to stay in their trenches until the end of time, while the soldiers of the Bald Eagles were fighting against the Hans Nazis on the battlefields of Afica.

James knew very well that at this moment, except for the several thousand men led by Zhang Chi, Stevenson had no other soldiers who could be sent to fight behind the enemy in Pegu.

'No, I must keep him here.'

Thinking of this, James, the son of a Ford dealer in California, came up with two words - "add money."

"Colonel Zhang, please don't make hasty decisions. Let me send a message to communicate with General Stevenson first." As he said this, James prepared to send a message to contact the headquarters and increase the stakes on Zhang Chi.

"Okay, please as soon as possible." Zhang Chi smiled faintly and nodded, but his heart was full of confidence.

Zhang Chi watched James run to the radio station and suddenly started chatting. "My soldiers are stuck in these deep mountains, eating canned food and constantly on guard against the threat of Japanese air raids. They only have one set of clothes on their backs, and their weapons are just a few old bolt-action rifles left by the Johns. They're all looking forward to returning home."

James hurriedly turned around, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and blurted out: "100 tons! General Stevenson will airlift 100 tons of supplies for you every month. As long as it is what the independent regiment needs, we will fully support it!"

He grew increasingly excited as he spoke, adding: "M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles with an eight-round capacity! Three changes of clothes for each soldier, 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns, 75mm mountain guns, fresh meat, tea... As long as you stay here, all of this is yours!"

At this time, James has become the "Money Adder", frantically offering all kinds of attractive conditions.

After all, only if his old superior Stevenson makes progress can he make progress as well.

Whether Zhang Chi can stay is now the key to their progress.

When Zhang Chi heard the promise of "100 tons", he nodded slightly and felt satisfied.

What does this 100 tons of supplies mean?

During the Korean War, the Bald Eagle's trump card, the 1st Cavalry Division of nearly 2 people, consumed about 50 tons of supplies every day, or 2.5 tons of supplies per thousand people per day.

100 tons of supplies is equivalent to more than 3 tons of supplies per day for his 3000-man independent regiment, which is close to half of the supply level of the wealthy 1st Cavalry Division.

By then, the independent regiment will have a life of plenty: they can drink Coke whenever they want, smoke cigarettes whenever they want, and start fire reconnaissance with hundreds of 75mm artillery shells.

However, Zhang Chi was very skeptical about the reliability of this air transport.

The initial plan for the Hump Route was to transport 5000 tons of supplies per month, but how much supplies were actually transported in the following eight months?

Zhang Chi clearly remembers the answer - more than 300 tons.

Affected by the rainy season north of Bago, storms continued to break out in the high-altitude areas of the Himalayas and Gaoligong Mountains before November. The appearance of thunderstorm clouds was far more dangerous than the Japanese planes occupying the northern airport of Bago.

Countless supplies and pilots were buried on the snow-capped mountain tops, and the stability of air transport was greatly reduced.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chi suddenly realized that if he wanted to ensure the safe arrival of these supplies, he must take action against the Japanese airport.

After all, once the air transport begins, the supplies on the planes will belong to him, Zhang, and he must not let the Japanese planes have the chance to shoot them down.

It just so happens that the rainy season has not yet completely ended, and now is the best time to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese airport.