The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Now that it was clear that China was now in a hostile relationship with the British, Zhang Yinghao recalled the counterattack against Vietnam in his previous life. China fought back against Vietnam but failed to occupy any of Vietnam's cities or territories. After defeating Vietnam, China quickly retreated to the border and engaged in an armed confrontation with Vietnam.

Zhang Yinghao's idea was to advance quickly using a blitzkrieg, and after capturing Myitkyina, he would wreak havoc on the local infrastructure. This would not only buy the PLA a significant amount of time, consume a large amount of the British invaders' supplies, but also significantly delay the British advance. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao simply chose Myitkyina as the breakthrough point. By capturing this place and then retreating directly, he could seize the initiative for a long time, giving the British a considerable amount of time to regroup. With this time, the PLA would be able to gain a firm foothold in the entire Jiangxinpo and Hugang Valley areas.

Whether the British conceded defeat or not was irrelevant. A few years earlier, the Dao'an people, with only four or five hundred Tusi soldiers, had been able to hold off the British army for eight years at Tiebiguan Pass in Yingjiang. Zhang Yinghao absolutely refused to believe that the People's Liberation Army would be outmatched by the Tusi soldiers. Furthermore, once the PLA had captured Myitkyina, the British would have to consider the PLA's repeated tactics if they ever sent troops north. With this lesson learned, the British would inevitably restrain their positions on the Yunnan-Burma border and build fortifications along the border. Building fortifications was a good thing; while they would protect the British troops, they would also directly restrict their northward expansion. Just like the Great Wall, while it protected the Central Plains, it also effectively limited the Central Plains' ability to expand northward.

After receiving Zhang Yinghao's complete battle plan, Zhang Jianping immediately understood that the key to this battle was speed. After the army's lightning-fast capture of Myitkyina, before the British could react, they would withdraw directly into the country, thus achieving a longer period of peace.

On both sides of the Yunnan-Myanmar border, the PLA and the British Army were on the verge of a war.

A war was inevitable. Chen Songlin was leading a regiment of troops on a rapid march. At this moment, his heart was filled with pride. China has always been committed to the southwest.

The border areas lacked effective control, and could even be said to be borderless and defenseless. Almost all the border areas were given to the chieftains to govern, and the rulers of all dynasties simply gave these chieftains

The chieftains were treated as tools, and the areas managed by the chieftains in the frontier regions were treated as buffer zones. For the rulers, it didn't matter whether these areas were their own land or not. As long as these areas maintained stability and could resist invasion, they basically did not regard these areas as their own territory.

But Chen Songlin knew that everything had changed. The Progressive Party was now building a modern nationalist state. This state must first determine its own territory and its own people. Only by determining these could we know who our friends were, who our enemies were, and who our own people were, and only then could we determine the justice of war. There were no righteous wars in the Spring and Autumn Period, but the People's Liberation Army must firmly grasp the word "righteousness" and let people know that this is a war to defend the country.

At this time, the Yunnan-Myanmar border existed in name only, and such a large area was temporarily considered unowned land. According to the principle of picking up whatever is in the basket, now is the time to pick up the land as much as possible, and the cost is not low. Although the Sino-British conflict will inevitably require war, at this time, whichever side picks up the land will own it. Once picked up, the land becomes the land of the people of the country, and the people of the country will naturally support the PLA to firmly defend their own land.

He still remembered Li Lao Hu's speech at the mobilization meeting: "Comrades, we have always said that we want to liberate all of China. Now the people on the border want sovereignty and freedom. The local people must not allow them to become slaves of British imperialism. These lands have been ours since ancient times, and we will never lose them in our hands and become colonies of British imperialism. If our generation of soldiers cannot defend our homeland, then we are unworthy of wearing this military uniform. The Qing Dynasty was incompetent and signed a treaty that humiliated our country, resulting in the loss of cities and territories. Now only we can guard the legacy left by our ancestors. We must firmly hold on to our homeland..."

Chen Songlin thought the phrase "local people" was well-used. It's hard to say whether the people in these places are willing to acknowledge themselves as Chinese, but there's absolutely no problem standing with them to resist the invasion. After interacting with them, becoming Chinese is no longer a problem.

From the very first lesson in the PLA barracks, they constantly instill in their comrades the concepts of nation and homeland, and the defense of the homeland. The concept of the sanctity and inviolability of territory is deeply ingrained, and everyone understands what Li Lao Hu meant. Faced with the formidable organizational power of the Progressive Party and the PLA, PLA soldiers can shed blood and die, but they cannot lose an inch of territory. This must become a creed ingrained in the PLA.

Thinking of Li Lao Hu's mobilization speech, Chen Songlin recalled the difficult process of patrolling the border in the past, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips. He was one of the first troops to lead the army to officially shoulder the border defense mission. They had just been patrolling for a few days when the bad weather made them suffer a lot. The border area was humid and hot.

To provide fresh water for direct consumption requires comrades to drink plenty of water.

Although the area experienced frequent rainfall and the forests were not short of water, the water, though seemingly clean and clear, was absolutely not to be drunk raw. These streams harbored numerous bacteria, viruses, and even parasites, which could cause diarrhea at best and even death at worst. All drinking water had to be boiled or resupplied from the rear. Without sufficient clean water, and given the humid and hot weather of the tropical rainforest, many comrades contracted skin diseases, leaving them with severe itching.

Besides the water, the rainforest presents countless dangers. Mosquitoes and leeches cling to humans, eager to suck them dry. Venomous snakes are also numerous, well-camouflaged and constantly threatening the lives of the comrades. Initially, the comrades were oblivious to these dangers, and many fell victim to them. During the time Chen Songlin led his comrades on patrol, his regiment alone suffered over thirty casualties, including eight fatalities. The losses suffered by the entire unit were even more staggering.

However, these difficulties did not intimidate the PLA. As long as they maintained a scientific attitude, diligently learned from the locals' experiences and lessons, and with the help of local leaders like the Dao'an people, the PLA quickly mastered basic survival and production techniques in the rainforest. Furthermore, these areas enjoyed abundant rainfall and heat, abundant resources, and fertile soil, the PLA quickly adapted to life there and easily became self-sufficient in food.

The British, on the other hand, were in a much worse situation. Their focus was on plundering the resources of their colonies rather than diligently managing and developing them. They also lacked the habit of cultivating their own land and relied on the colonists for support wherever they went, significantly increasing the burden on the local population. Of course, the British didn't care at all. The contrast between the two clearly reveals the logistical pressures and challenges faced by both sides.

Colonialists colonized the world to make money, to obtain cheap raw materials, and to expand markets. The British army didn't come to Burma to fight, nor did they know for whom they were fighting. Furthermore, most of the British troops were young soldiers, suffering from the symptoms of being a master, and they came to the colonies simply to enjoy themselves. To them, all the natives were their slaves, and they came to the remote Far East simply to serve, eat food, and gain experience. The soldiers had no real motivation to actively expand the territory.

Burma was so vast, with only a small army stationed there. Wouldn't it be great to have so many slaves to serve them? Why bother expanding into useless territory? Furthermore, those chieftains were not pushovers. For example, a single chieftain, Dao'an, held them back for eight years, ultimately relying on diplomatic means to resolve the issue and complete the annexation of the land. Naturally, these young British soldiers were reluctant to endure hardships in those barbarian tribes. This, in fact, was one of the reasons for the slow pace of British expansion northward in Burma.

So now, the British army was completely at a loss when it encountered the People's Liberation Army led by the Progressive Party. For the Progressive Party, the liberated land became their own land, and the local people became their own citizens after being liberated. Their power would only grow stronger. But for the British colonists, especially the soldiers, even if they captured more land, how much benefit could they gain? Why is imperialism a paper tiger? It is because the imperialist army does not know who to fight for. When a bourgeois country occupies a place or intends to invade a region, it first needs to consider the input and output issues. When the people of a place resist too strongly and the cost of occupation is too high, the colonists will naturally give up. This is one of the reasons why, after the Boxer Rebellion, the great powers directly abandoned their plans to annex China and returned to supporting the Qing Dynasty.

This is also the secret to how small nations triumph over larger ones, and how weak nations triumph over powerful ones. Not to mention the Korean War and the Vietnam War, both of which ultimately resulted in victory, even the US invasion of Afghanistan in the 21st century, which was a resounding victory, ultimately failed to withstand the security struggle and was forced to withdraw. Therefore, in jungle-clad countries or regions like Vietnam and Myanmar, with a little spread of nationalism, strong local resistance, and the dense jungles and rivers that provide easy hiding places, these regions can easily achieve independence with proper organization.

It wasn't that revolutionaries from Vietnam, Burma, and other regions had come to Zhang Yinghao, hoping to get help from the liberated areas. However, Zhang Yinghao had no intention of exporting the revolution abroad. China had suffered a lot in this regard in its previous life. Not to mention the traitorous Vietnam, which sent officers such as Chen Kui to teach them how to fight and drive out the invaders, and even sold their livers and kidneys to help them, but in the end, it turned around and bit China several times.

During the Korean War, hundreds of thousands of outstanding Chinese people shed their blood. Even before the Chinese volunteer army withdrew from North Korea, Kim Jong-un had already begun to purge pro-China factions within the country. However, for the sake of strategic security, China still had no choice but to indulge them and even continue to support them.

Far away in Europe, in Albania, a beacon of socialism, the Sino-Albanian friendship at that time was even stronger than the Pakistani friendship before my previous time travel. Despite extreme economic hardship at home, the Chinese people, scrimping and tightening their belts, traveled thousands of miles, sparing no expense, providing financial and military assistance, from resources to foreign exchange, for 24 years, totaling over 10 billion RMB. However, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, Albania labeled China its primary enemy and launched a full-scale anti-China campaign. Albanian history textbooks don't even mention Chinese aid, another example of a wolf that can never be tamed or satisfied.

For China, it is a world unto itself. If China manages its own affairs well, it will naturally find a place in the world. Furthermore, Zhang Yinghao knew that selfless aid to other countries was absolutely unacceptable. If a country or region suffers a natural disaster like an earthquake or flood, providing humanitarian assistance is perfectly acceptable. There are no truly impoverished countries in the world that can't afford to eat; the poor are simply those whose people are unwilling to work. If China, with its limited resources, can still meet its food needs, then surely other countries and peoples can too. Therefore, assistance to other countries should be based on fair trade and mutual benefit. While exchanging minerals or any other product is fine, a purely giving and receiving relationship is unsustainable and goes against the laws of material exchange.

Chapter 372:

Zhang Yinghao's current stance is simple: China doesn't need selfless help from other countries. Fair trade and mutual benefit are key. China needs to work hard and earn its keep. Self-reliance and hard work are key. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao believes that the only thing he needs to do now is to acquire more land. As long as China has enough land, its potential for future development will be enormous, and China will no longer need to be at the mercy of the imperialist powers. China could even dominate the world. If China were to support regions like Vietnam and Burma and allow them to establish independent states sooner rather than later, Zhang Yinghao's China would lose further opportunities to expand its territory. Ultimately, China would be the one to suffer, and would simply be courting trouble.

Moreover, revolution, revolution. First and foremost, one must put their heads on the line, risking their lives and giving everything for the revolution. If, because they are afraid of hardship or unwilling to sacrifice their lives, they are unwilling to go through the arduous struggle of revolution, but instead hope for the support of the liberated areas to help them achieve victory, then such people are inherently profit-driven revolutionaries, and may even become dependent on the liberated areas. Such revolutionaries will inevitably gather for profit, and will eventually disperse for profit. Once the liberated areas fail to satisfy their appetites, they will inevitably turn against each other and even go to war. Just like the people in "The Faraway Savior," Ding Yuanying helped them climb out of the well and opened it to take a look. If they did not work hard to climb out of the well themselves, but only hoped that others would come to help them, the end result would inevitably be a matter of gratitude and resentment.

In Zhang Yinghao's opinion, China is nothing more than an oversized otaku. China itself is a world, having been playing games with itself for millennia, with no need for interaction with other countries or regions. Therefore, this otaku is always self-sufficient, only considering going abroad to trade something when it's absolutely necessary. Otherwise, this otaku only cares about taking care of his own affairs and building his own home and country.

China's history has been relatively uneven for thousands of years, leading this nerd to suffer heavy losses during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. He learned the essence of the principles of "weak nations have no diplomacy," "the strong prey on the weak," and "first make yourself invincible, then wait for the enemy to be defeated." He found the key to avoiding bullying. This was the proactive pursuit of productivity, which truly led to development. The saying "development is the only way forward" is truly true.

Aside from a period during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China when China desperately sought to expand its horizons and fully learn from foreign countries, after completing the Sinicization of Marxism, China once again embarked on a path of partial closure. One of the fundamental tenets of Marxism is that history is created by the people, and labor creates value. Therefore, given the large population of China, as long as China diligently promotes universal education and construction, and completes industrialization, it will inevitably once again become a global power. It's not that China begs the rest of the world for support, but rather that the rest of the world naturally needs China.

Of course, this otaku has a very beautiful wish, that is, all countries will not bully him, and he will not bully other countries, and all countries can live in harmony. This is also the principle that China has been adhering to for thousands of years. Now China knows how to actively pursue the development of productivity, so this principle will continue.

As Chen Songlin was commanding his troops to advance rapidly, a scout who had been exploring the route ahead suddenly came back and reported to him, "Commander, a company of British troops is coming up ahead, with ten of them among them."

Upon hearing this, Chen Songlin immediately ordered his soldiers to take cover along the roadside. In this densely forested area, a large number of soldiers could instantly disappear from sight by simply ducking to the side of the road, making any area a prime location for an ambush. Within moments, a group of British colonial troops appeared. Chen Songlin took a quick look and saw that the British were leading the army, but behind them were locals conscripted into the colony by the British. They were approaching, a company of soldiers in total.

The PLA soldiers led by Chen Songlin had a lot of experience fighting these British troops. After seeing the British troops' position clearly, Chen Songlin said directly: "Sniper kill all the British troops."

Chen Songlin's order was simple, and the comrades all understood its meaning. The snipers from each squad also took aim at the British soldiers in the formation.

At this moment, the British soldiers who were on the march were unaware that they were being pointed at gunpoint. They continued to curse the damned weather and the PLA while advancing slowly and with difficulty. At this moment, the leading British officer seemed a little tired and was about to stop to drink some water.

"shooting."

Chen Songlin's order was given, and gunfire rang out. A bloody hole gushed out from the British officer's forehead; he had been shot in the head, instantly and fatally. The other British soldiers were no better off; six or seven were shot dead in the chest.

In fact, if a regiment of PLA soldiers rushed out with guns in hand, they would be able to force the British colonial army company in front of them to surrender, and these British soldiers would also choose to surrender. However, in order to intimidate the Burmese inside and make them honestly do labor reform in the liberated areas and create value for the liberated areas, Chen Songlin directly shot and killed the British in the team.

As expected, upon seeing their officers dead, the colonial army froze in place. They chose neither hiding, fighting back, nor fleeing. Had a British officer commanded them, they would have dared to charge and fire. But now, without their master's command, the colonial army instantly became lost, completely bewildered.

The PLA comrades were not at all surprised by this situation; they looked completely accustomed to it. It can be imagined that they had seen this kind of situation many times. This is also why Chen Songlin's order was to only shoot the British officers, because everyone knew that as long as the British officers were shot, the next battle would not be important.

Sure enough, after the People's Liberation Army rushed out from their hiding place, the remaining soldiers immediately raised their guns and chose to surrender. The battle was extremely easy.

The PLA soldiers disarmed the remaining hundred or so prisoners, and Chen Songlin left two PLA soldiers to escort them to the prisoner camp. Even under the guard of the two PLA soldiers, the prisoners showed no sign of escape. Instead, they obediently followed their guides into the camp, awaiting assignment to various labor camps. Burma is a Buddhist nation, and its people are exceptionally obedient and docile, a characteristic of thoroughly tamed colonial subjects.

For the Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army, which have awakened their national and ethnic consciousness, such a situation is truly unimaginable.

Watching how two soldiers could easily capture over a hundred prisoners, and seeing the dejected captives before him, Chen Songlin recalled a report he had written earlier: ...To fight the British colonial army, we must first find a way to deal with the British commanders within the army. Because once the British colonial army in Burma loses the command of British officers, they will immediately be like lambs to the slaughter, bewildered and at the mercy of others, unaware of resistance, and our People's Liberation Army will easily achieve victory... A country that is colonized and whose people do not know how to resist, or rather, do not know how to resist, is the greatest tragedy of a nation. We are the fish on the chopping board, like livestock, at the mercy of others, like cattle and horses...

Since the PLA arrived at the Yunnan-Myanmar border, Sino-British clashes have never truly ceased, with clashes occurring every now and then. Furthermore, the British could clearly sense the PLA's growing strength. Clashes along the border became increasingly frequent. However, the PLA typically resorted to total annihilation or capture of all British troops, so they were well aware of the British's strength. However, when the British gained the upper hand, the PLA would either retreat or fight to the death. Therefore, the British's perception of the PLA was limited to their bravery and tenacity.

The British took advantage of the incompetence of the Qing court to continuously expand their power and extended their hands to places such as Xz and Yunnan. Now these places are controlled by the Qing rebels, and the rebels are getting stronger and stronger. However, the British do not want to spit out the fat meat in their mouths, and they have no choice but to go to war.

The British now have a precise preconception of the Progressive Party: it is a nationalist party. This is evident from its desperate efforts to invade Tibet and defend its territory before even overthrowing the Qing dynasty. Furthermore, the Progressive Party, without rushing to overthrow the Qing dynasty, directly confronted the British; a move that no non-nationalist would do.

To the British Empire, the Progress Party was a political party that emerged from the countryside. But the British were no fools; they knew that nationalism was the nemesis of colonialism. As soon as nationalism awakened in a region, the people would inevitably begin to resist. The question for these awakened people wasn't whether they could accept colonization or whether they were willing to be colonized, but rather whether they could resist. As long as the nationalists had enough force to resist, they would inevitably resist the colonialists. Therefore, the colonizers had to subject the local indigenous people to enslavement education and religious control.

Therefore, the colonialists' greatest fear was armed resistance. Once such a situation arose, the cost of colonization would increase, ultimately rendering the gains worth the losses. Whenever armed resistance was encountered, the colonists had to exert all their might to suppress the rebellion and uprising. Why did the Qing Dynasty and imperialism fear the Boxer Rebellion? Why were the British so helpless against the Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army? They desperately sought the Progressive Party's demise. This is also one of the reasons why the foreign powers' arms embargo on the Qing Dynasty was ineffective, allowing them to purchase a large number of machine guns and artillery. Arming the Qing army and then collaborating with the Qing court to eliminate these rebels was one of the most pressing goals for Britain and the other major powers, leaving the outcome uncertain.

The British now had virtually no other options for the liberated areas, aside from resorting to military force themselves, collaborating with the foreign powers through diplomatic channels, and arming the Qing. However, after so many conflicts, the British did not believe the PLA would actively attack Burma, and would only engage in minor skirmishes along the border. This was a principle understood by every politician. For an organization like the Progressive Party, which had yet to unify the country, it would be unwise to establish a foreign power as its enemy.

Perhaps the British were right, but Zhang Yinghao possessed a vision that transcended a century. The Qing dynasty, in Zhang Yinghao's view, was nothing more than a pile of dead bones in a tomb. Overthrowing the Qing dynasty was a piece of cake for Zhang Yinghao, and his own corpse could be easily exhumed and whipped at any moment. Overthrowing the Qing dynasty was now politically correct, and for Zhang Yinghao, it would rally the people. The Chinese revolution was not merely a military struggle, but more importantly a political one, a battle for public opinion.

Therefore, for Zhang Yinghao, opposing Qing rule was opposing feudalism, and opposing Britain was opposing imperialism. Moreover, Zhang Yinghao knew that imperialism would be China's primary enemy for a long time to come. A fierce conflict with Britain now was perfectly acceptable, as the center of the world was Europe. In the eyes of the West, even if the backward and ignorant East engaged in a bloodbath with Britain, it would not attract the West's attention. Just like the Russo-Japanese War, though it was called World War Zero, how many people today knew about the brutal conflict that took place in such a remote corner of the Northeast? Furthermore, the current Sino-British confrontation would not affect the course of a future world war. If they confronted Britain directly now, the British would naturally need their help during World War I, and by then, reconciliation between the two countries would have been inevitable.

The old saying goes, "Those who love war will perish, those who forget war will be in danger." But in this cruel era, in this era of rapid development of productivity, in this era of overcapacity among the great powers, it has become that those who forget war will perish, while those who love war will prosper.

If Zhang Yinghao wanted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty according to his plan, he had to eliminate interference from some major powers. And giving the British a good beating so that they could not interfere with his battles for a short period of time was what he had to do. In this era when China's national strength was at its weakest, boosting people's morale, gathering their strength, and rallying their hearts were what he should truly do. As long as he took the initiative and defeated the British once again with honor, allowing the Chinese people to see real hope and win true dignity, more people in the country would support him, and he would be invincible. Hope is the greatest power in the world. When the people of the country saw the hope they wanted to see in the Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army, they would naturally support the Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army with all their strength. With the people's support, he would eventually defeat the enemy without fighting.

This was also the main motivation for Zhang Yinghao to launch this self-defense counterattack against Britain. The Russo-Japanese War was in full swing. Until the Russo-Japanese War was stopped and the issue of the division of interests in Northeast China was resolved, the Qing Dynasty must have sufficient troops to defend the capital. It would be impossible for it to have excessive resources to interfere in the liberated areas. If the People's Liberation Army could defeat the British in the southwest, or even expand its territory, then it would be clear who would lead the country. At that time, the Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army, with strong public support, would be able to directly overwhelm the Qing court, minimize civil war, and minimize the number of warlord separatist regimes.

To resist foreign aggression, one must first stabilize the country. However, for Zhang Yinghao now, resisting foreign aggression is equivalent to stabilizing the country; there is no order of priority between the two. Only when he is weak does he need to use stabilizing the country before resisting foreign aggression as an excuse to achieve unification. When he is the strongest, why would he need to stabilize the country? It is precisely based on this consideration that Zhang Yinghao will transfer the army to the Yunnan-Myanmar border to directly attack the British.

The strategic misjudgment of the Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army inevitably put Britain in a very passive position. Due to the constant fighting on the border, more and more British soldiers were unwilling to serve in the Yunnan-Burma border area. Britain simply did not have enough troops on the Yunnan-Burma border to fight a long-term war with the People's Liberation Army. Although the reports from the generals on the front gave Kinningmond confidence, at this time, almost all British troops had chosen to retreat to the towns and would not choose to patrol unless it was absolutely necessary.

Chapter 373:

Because of the influence of the books and film and television dramas he had read in his previous life, Zhang Yinghao was relatively familiar with the name Myitkyina. Therefore, at this time, Zhang Yinghao did not know that the entire Myitkyina area had historically belonged to China.

During the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty sent General Mu Ying to eliminate the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty in Yunnan. He then established six Xuanweisi in western and southern Yunnan, namely Mengyang Xuanweisi (now Bhamo, Myanmar, west of the Irrawaddy River and east of the Naga Mountains), Mubang Xuanweisi (now northeastern Daubang, Myanmar), and Myanmar Xuanweisi (now

The Dian Ava Dynasty, whose territory was located west of Mubang and south of Mengyang, in the middle reaches of the Irrawaddy River centered on Mandalay, Myanmar), the Babai Xuanwei Si (now in the eastern part of Dambang, Myanmar and Chiang Mai, Thailand), the Cheli Xuanwei Si (now in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan), and the Lao Xuanwei Si (now in Laos).

In the feudal era, this place was completely a frontier area, and it was naturally impossible for the emperor to govern these places personally. Therefore, under the feudal system, the Ming Dynasty

The court granted these local rulers the title of Xuanweishi, known as Tusi, and they were governed by Yunnan. However, these Tusi had considerable independence, and some of them were Xuanweishi.

The envoys (such as Burma, Babai, Laos, etc.) were actually independent regimes.

Later, during the Wanli period, the Toungoo Dynasty of Myanmar became powerful and conquered many places.

After the Sino-Myanmar War, the Manchus annexed most of present-day Myanmar. Zhang Juzheng argued that the land was indeed suitable for cultivation, and that the people were not suitable for use, ultimately leading to the loss of the land. After the Sino-Myanmar War, the Qing court did not reclaim these lands, leaving Zhang Yinghao completely unaware that Myitkyina had historically belonged to China.

British Major General Anderson was ordered not to retake Bhamo if he discovered it was already occupied by Chinese troops. Therefore, if the Qing had been strong enough and dared to mobilize troops, they could have easily preserved a significant amount of territory. Zhang Yinghao himself was completely unaware of this information.

Of course, even if Zhang Yinghao knew these lands originally belonged to China, he wouldn't immediately liberate them. No one in the world today understood better than Zhang Yinghao the inevitable decline of the British. However, this was still a period of rising capitalism, and the British were still a powerful world hegemon. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao wasn't prepared for a full-scale war with Britain at this point. His priority was to delay the issue and slowly redraw the boundaries with the British. Zhang Yinghao's appetite was voracious, and demarcating the borders with the British now wouldn't satisfy him. However, this was just Zhang Yinghao's wishful thinking; how things would unfold in the future depended on future circumstances.

Myitkyina thrived because it was the terminus of a British-built railway and a key river port. British occupation of northern Burma lasted less than two decades, but Burma was incorporated into British India, governed by a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the Governor-General of India. The British rulers implemented a colonial policy of "ruling Burma from India," subjecting Burma to political oppression and economic plunder. The old administrative structures and officials of the Ayum Dynasty were abolished and dismissed, replaced by an administrative and legal system adapted from British India under the supervision of European officials. Economically, the Burmese people were exploited by both British colonists and Indian loan sharks.

Burma's defeat and fall brought heavy suffering to the Burmese people. Their national spirit disintegrated, their will weakened, and Burma was enslaved and exploited by colonialists. The dual exploitation of colonial rule and British and Indian capitalists saw the wealth created by the Burmese people fall into foreign hands, and the people's living standards remained low for a long time.

After Zhang Yinghao led the Progressive Party to a successful revolution in Sichuan, and especially after the People's Liberation Army liberated Yunnan, nationalism began to rise in Myanmar. In many places, people even chose to revolt because they could no longer tolerate the cruel oppression and exploitation of the British.

Although Burma had 80,000 troops at that time, it was still relatively small compared to the entire Burmese colony. The limited force had to maintain stability in the colony and suppress the Burmese people's uprising. Therefore, only one Indian brigade of colonial troops was stationed in Myitkyina, and the only officers in this brigade were British.

It was absolutely impossible not to fight a battle on the Yunnan-Myanmar border at this time. Zhang Yinghao knew that once the British had suppressed the uprising and made war preparations, they would definitely seek out the People's Liberation Army for a decisive battle. Rather than waiting for the British to prepare and take the initiative to attack, while Zhang Yinghao was on the defensive, it would be better for the People's Liberation Army to adopt a defensive approach and draw the war beyond the borders.

Because the PLA continued to advance into the Jiangxinpo area and engaged in battles with British patrols in the border area, the PLA now completely defeated the British colonial army, causing the British troops to retreat into the town.

If the British troops did not leave Myitkyina or Bhamo, the PLA would ignore them. However, if they did, they would be met with relentless barrages of cold guns and artillery fire. The British also led their troops into the Namkham area several times and even attempted to break into Tengchong and other places, but were always driven back to Myitkyina by the PLA.

The British were annoyed by the PLA's harassment tactics, and many PLA soldiers even went deep into Lashio to investigate the situation. The British repeatedly tried to engage in decisive battles with the PLA, but the PLA simply dispersed the masses and ignored the British provocations. The British did not dare to take their troops too far from Myitkyina, so they just fought the PLA.

However, Myitkyina's transportation problems had been resolved by then, and logistical pressure was minimal. After the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the British annexed all of Burma and incorporated it into British India. Thereafter, Britain began actively planning modern transportation in northern Burma, bordering Yunnan. From 1886 to 1889, the Yangon-Mandalay railway was built in just three years. In 1899, the railway was extended from Mandalay to Myitkyina, forming a major transportation artery connecting northern and southern Myanmar. The Mandalay-Lashio railway was completed and opened to traffic in 1902.

Moreover, as early as 1863, Britain established the Irrawaddy Company.

The company has built docks in Yangon, Dala, Mandalay, Bhamo and other places. Myitkyina can also rely on the Irrawaddy River for shipping, which runs through Myanmar from north to south.

The following routes are navigable all year round, and Bhamo to Myitkyina is navigable for seven months.

The British planned their transportation routes in northern Burma, all targeting Yunnan. After liberating Yunnan, the PLA worked tirelessly to build roads, but they hadn't yet completed a road to the Yunnan-Myanmar border. They were also working furiously to build internal roads and connect them with roads in Sichuan to facilitate the transportation of supplies. Therefore, if a large-scale war broke out on the Yunnan-Myanmar border, the PLA's logistical pressure would likely be significantly greater than that of the British.

After understanding this, Zhang Yinghao became anxious. It was as if I had predicted your prediction. In Zhang Yinghao's view, there was no need to station a brigade of troops in Myitkyina. It would be strange if this force was not used to attack Yunnan. If the British were allowed to complete their preparations and actively attack Yunnan, the People's Liberation Army would be attacked at every turn by the British, and it would be impossible to defend against them. The advantages they had gained might be completely lost. This was why Zhang Yinghao took the initiative to launch this self-defense counterattack against the British.

After Chen Songlin led the vanguard to Myitkyina, he quickly hid and waited for the main force behind him, and also awaited a telegram from Yu Haibo on the other side. Meanwhile, Yu Haibo had already set out from the Hukawng Valley with the main force of a regiment, traversing the cliffs and dense forests of the Kumang Mountains. He forged a path deep into the British-Burmese colonial rear, traversing over 100 kilometers of primeval forest, and secretly attacked Myitkyina from another direction, completing the encirclement of Myitkyina. Yu Haibo quickly contacted Chen Songsen, awaiting orders and ready to attack Myitkyina at any time.

By the time Chen Songlin arrived in Myitkyina, Cao Qiang had also reached Bhamo with a reinforced division. Bhamo was a city even more important than Myitkyina. Although Bhamo lacked access to railways, the Irrawaddy River route north to Bhamo was navigable year-round, making water transportation far superior to Myitkyina.

Bhamo lies close to the former Yunnan border and is a natural stop on the best trade routes with Yunnan. Simao and Tengyue, bordering Myanmar, were forced to close in 1896 and 1901, respectively. Simao and Tengyue were under the main customs posts of Simao and Tengyue, with numerous checkpoints and sub-checkpoints serving as endpoints for numerous minor routes into Myanmar. These routes, once outside, connect to the main transportation routes within Myanmar. This formed a modern "tree-like" layout of Yunnan-Myanmar transportation routes, with the main transportation routes within Myanmar serving as the "trunk" and the horse caravan post roads departing from the various Yunnan border checkpoints serving as the "branches."

As Yunnan-Myanmar transportation began to take shape, cross-border trade between China and Myanmar expanded dramatically. While Myanmar enjoyed convenient and efficient new transportation, Yunnan remained largely dependent on primitive human and animal transport. To meet the massive demand for freight, horses and mules traveled year-round along the Yunnan-Myanmar route, carrying goods from Long to Mang and Zhayi to Mubang and Xinjie in Myanmar. This route catapulted horse caravan transport to prosperity, and Bhamo, thanks to its well-developed transportation network, became a key hub for land transportation and trade between China and Myanmar.

Another force attacking Bhamo adopted a unilateral encirclement tactic. Under the guidance of intelligence personnel, they headed towards the rear of Bhamo, cutting off Bhamo's connection with the rear. After arriving at the designated location, they quickly rested and waited for the order to attack.

If the self-defense counterattack against the British had only resulted in the capture of Myitkyina, it would have been an extremely imperfect war, and the victory would have been only 40%, or even 30%. Only by simultaneously capturing Bhamo and Myitkyina could the British advance northward be significantly slowed, buying enough time for the Forward Party and the People's Liberation Army to consolidate the liberated areas.

Time slipped by quietly. Inside the headquarters responsible for this self-defense counterattack, Li Laohu finally received a telegram announcing the arrival of all frontline troops. He took out his pocket watch, then looked at the huge map on the table. He narrowed his eyes and said, "According to the plan! Attack!"

After receiving the order to attack, Cao Qiang said to the officers present: "Comrades, for us, British Burma and the Qing Dynasty signed an unequal treaty, constantly encroaching on the Sino-Myanmar border, constantly carrying out armed provocations and armed intimidation, and eventually lost large areas such as Jiangxinpo, Yeren Mountain, and Hugang Valley to the Qing Dynasty. After we liberated Yunnan, although we tore up the treaty signed between Britain and the Qing Dynasty and re-liberated Jiangxinpo and part of the Hugang Valley, the British did not agree. They still want to encroach on our territory and weaken our strength.

Since our People's Liberation Army defeated British imperialism in Tibet, they have mobilized troops and stockpiled them on the Yunnan-Myanmar border, attempting to seize Chinese territory from Yunnan and constantly creating bloody conflicts. According to rough statistics, from the beginning of the British invasion of Tibet to the present, British colonists have repeatedly sent armed personnel to invade my country, with a total of 598 incidents of British armed personnel invading Chinese territory and causing bloody conflicts. This does not include incidents where border residents did not report minor losses.

In the recent Namkham incident, nine Chinese border residents were killed, more than twenty were shot, and dozens suffered blunt force injuries. Without the timely support of the People's Liberation Army, the losses would have been even more severe.

Upon hearing the news of the British invasion and the heavy casualties inflicted, Chairman Zhang Yinghao, driven to the limit of his patience, decided to launch a self-defense counterattack against the British, annihilating the enemy forces north of Bhamo, including Myitkyina. This operation will be a surprise attack, using superior numbers against fewer, using a sledgehammer to defeat a chicken. We must decisively defeat the British. We must firmly tell them that if they can invade our country, we can also attack them. To paraphrase Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che: "If the enemy can invade, so can I! Let the British pay the price for their actions. Now I command: All troops, attack according to plan!"

"Yes."

All the officers answered excitedly.

Now they were right under the noses of the British army, and military merit was within their grasp. The officers present knew that after every war, a large number of officers would be promoted. After the liberation of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, Li Lao Hu, Chen Songlin, Yu Haibo, Cao Qiang, and others were all directly promoted one level or more. As long as this battle was victorious, the military merit accumulated in the foreign war would be greater than that of the Liberation War, and the chance of promotion would be even greater. For those in the main attacking force, promotion was almost a sure thing. Furthermore, the PLA was still expanding, so there was no need to worry about insufficient space for officers to advance.

As soon as the order to attack was given, the PLA troops immediately rushed towards their respective predetermined attack targets like tigers out of a cage.

The British colonists never imagined that the PLA would be so audacious as to send a large force to attack British Burma. Caught off guard, they were completely bewildered by the ubiquitous PLA. The PLA soldiers didn't give the British much time to react, and before they could even distribute ammunition, the PLA overran the entire barracks. Even though some British troops were able to distribute ammunition, the PLA didn't give them the opportunity to engage in street fighting, instead trapping them inside the barracks. Ultimately, these British soldiers had no choice but to surrender. As for the scattered British troops, upon encountering the PLA attack, they immediately fell into chaos and fled in a complete state of disarray.

The entire city fell into the hands of the People's Liberation Army so quickly.

"Report, our army has captured the temple embankment." "Report, our army has entered the city of Bhamo." "Report, our army has captured Chabad." "Report, our army has captured Sitapur."

"Report, part of our army has captured Wanmao and crossed the Irrawaddy River." "Report, our army has entered the city of Myitkyina."

Carrying forward the revolutionary spirit of fearlessness, fearlessness of both hardship and death, the PLA soldiers attacked valiantly, advancing courageously, overcoming fatigue and fighting continuously. The PLA soldiers fought their way through obstacles like tigers, climbing over hills and ridges with unwavering courage. They slew the enemy with their bravery and fearlessness, their reputation spread far and wide. This battle showcased the PLA soldiers' majesty and dominance, achieving a perfect, unrepeatable victory.

Chapter 374:

Li Lao Hu came to the huge sand table, listening to the victory reports from the front line, and watching the staff comrades put red flags on the corresponding places on the sand table where the comrades on the front line had conquered. Soon, Li Lao Hu smiled.

The PLA's rapid and smooth attack was indeed beyond his expectations. However, this also shows that the PLA's attack was unexpected.

The intention is to catch the enemy off guard, and since the attack was so successful, the spoils will definitely be considerable.

"Report, our army has captured the octagonal pavilion."

"Report, our troops have captured the train repair shop and the train station."

Li Lao Hu looked at the sand table for a while longer, realizing that the outcome of this battle was no longer in doubt. He pursed his lips and immediately shouted, "Orders, after capturing the two cities, rapidly expand this victory according to the plan."

After the British occupied Myitkyina and Bhamo, they controlled a large area in northern Myanmar. There were British and Indians in various towns. What Li Laohu said about expanding the victory was to quickly capture these areas. Myitkyina was only 100 kilometers away from the original border, and nearly 500 kilometers away from Mandalay. The current train speed was not fast. This distance made it impossible for the British to mobilize enough reinforcements.

How can we quickly mobilize troops to aid Myitkyina? As long as the PLA acts quickly, it will be able to capture a large area of ​​land before the British can react.

area and seized more supplies.

"Yes."