Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

Peng Jiasheng and Wang Yaotang arrived an hour after the battle on the east bank ended and went straight to the ferry.

“This shuttle boat is also…” Wang Yaotang’s lips twitched a few times as he looked at it, “It’s too hasty.”

Unlike the iron-hulled ferry boats in Hong Kong, this ferry boat has a wooden hull, is 12 meters wide and 20 meters long, and is a flat-bottomed sand barge. It has a steel plate laid on the deck and an extended pier on both the bow and stern. Before leaving the shore, it needs to be pulled up by a diesel winch.

"Of course it can't compare to Hong Kong, but it's more than enough. And speaking of cost, it's even more expensive than a steel-hulled shuttle boat." Peng Jiasheng explained with a smile, "The hull is made of teak, which is very sturdy. This boat has been in operation for more than ten years. The engine and propellers have been replaced several times, and the hull is still in perfect condition."

"Wow, that's really good. It's definitely more expensive than an iron-hulled one." Wang Yaotang was stunned for a moment before realizing that an iron-hulled ship might not necessarily be more sturdy than this one.

Those ferry boats in Hong Kong become half-useless after four or five years of operation, while teak hulls, if well-made, can last for decades without any problems.

"It seems I misjudged," Wang Yaotang laughed. "Brother Peng, shall we cross the river now?"

"Cross the river!" Peng Jiasheng waved his hand, full of high spirits.

There are shuttle boats that can carry seven or eight vehicles and a lot of people at a time, and the army can cross the river in about two hours.

Just as they reached the other side, they received a report from the front that the vanguard had advanced another 3 kilometers and reached the front of the Gunlongjiang Bridge. However, the Burmese army had placed a vehicle full of explosives on the bridge, threatening to blow it up immediately if they dared to go up!
Upon hearing the report, Peng Jiasheng's face instantly darkened. "That bastard, that shameless scoundrel! He's using their bridge to threaten me!"

Wang Yaotang found it somewhat amusing. You can't only remember that someone else's bridge belongs to you when they're about to blow it up!

“No, this is our bridge!” Wang Yaotang said in a deep voice.

"Yes, this is our bridge!" Peng Jiasheng realized, his face flushing slightly. "Wang Sheng, this..."

After hearing the other party's description of the bridge, Wang Yaotang breathed a sigh of relief. "It's only a bridge of about 200 meters. If they blow it up, at most they'll only damage one section of the bridge deck. At worst, we can bring in an engineering team to rebuild it. It won't take long. We can just use a pontoon bridge for now."

Upon hearing this, Peng Jiasheng breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't lack money to repair the bridge; he just didn't have the manpower, and it was inconvenient to find someone from the old Chinese community.

Yunnan is not like Guangdong; it's facing difficulties right now too.

At a command, artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns roared once again, bombarding the opposite bank of the bridge. The infantry, under the pressure of death, grabbed their guns and charged forward.

"Damn it, this madman! What's the point of occupying Gunlong without the bridge?!" The Burmese army lieutenant colonel cursed, but he couldn't be intimidated. Impossible!
"What should we do?" the adjutant asked hurriedly.

"What the hell are you asking? Bomb it!" the lieutenant colonel said, somewhat exasperated.

The detonator slammed down, and a loud 'boom' echoed from the bridge in the distance, sending flames soaring into the sky.

Even though Peng Jiasheng was mentally prepared, he still clutched his chest in distress and gasped for breath, "You fucking idiot!"

Just seconds later, instead of the expected mushroom cloud, a huge orange-red fire erupted amidst plumes of black smoke. The flames shot into the sky, reaching a height of about ten meters, engulfing a section of the bridge that was about twenty meters long. The heatwave rippled and distorted the air. Several soldiers who happened to be within the blast radius screamed as they jumped off the bridge.

“I…” Peng Jiasheng stared blankly at the bridge surface engulfed in flames, “This, this is fucking terrible!”

For a moment, I couldn't quite describe my feelings. I felt relieved that the bridge had been saved, but also resentful that I had been tricked.

"You son of a bitch, if I catch you, I'll skin you alive!" Peng Jiasheng cursed.

With the fire raging, an attack is out of the question. It seems the Burmese army is doing this to delay their advance; they'll probably all be gone by the time the fire is extinguished.

Sure enough, an hour later, when the army arrived, the Burmese soldiers had vanished without a trace, and even their original camp had been burned to the ground, leaving Peng Jiasheng with absolutely nothing.

The army continued its advance, taking the small town of Huli, a few kilometers to the west of Rolling, before stopping.

It was getting dark, and the town of Nati was 40 kilometers away.

Soldiers cleared out the abandoned area of ​​the Burmese army camp, and Peng Jiasheng ordered a bonfire party to celebrate the capture of Kunlong. He felt that it was only in the Burmese army's garrison that the feeling would be right.

The military occupation of a city would inevitably lead to chaos for a while, but the situation is different in Myanmar, especially in Shan State. More than a decade ago, Shan State was Yang's territory, and the Myanmar military gradually encroached on it. Their control over the area was already very weak, much like the warlords of the past, who shared power with local wealthy families. Peng Jiasheng has now merely replaced the Myanmar military's niche.

In terms of acceptance, Peng Jiasheng is a local, and his family has been rooted in northeastern Shan State for over 300 years. Their foundation is unmatched by the Burmese military, which is predominantly Burmese. They have closer ties with local families and are even related to many local powerful figures. Their integration and replacement is simply a natural progression.

After a few days of rest, the army set off again, heading straight for Natti. As expected, there was no fighting at all. The town was small and had little strategic depth. In addition, the locals did not support it, and the Burmese army wisely withdrew long ago.

The army rested for one night in Natti, and the next day it rolled over Nanzhala without much resistance, only stopping near Mubang.

Mongpan is the second largest city in northeastern Shan State after Lashio. To the east lies the border city of Kokang, and to the north are Shihuiyao, Guangka, Guigai, Damengyi, and Galian. Finally, the highway leads directly to Ruili.

More than ten kilometers away, after Peng Jiasheng's troops set up camp in the mountains, they immediately split into two groups and moved along the mountainside toward the outposts and camps on the north and south sides of Mubang.

The two outposts were small, each garrisoned by several dozen people, and were very sturdy, built against the mountainside using huge logs, large stones, and concrete.

First, a small group of troops sneaked up to observe for a while. After reporting the coordinates as instructed by Wang Yaotang, the 107th gunner in the camp adjusted the parameters and fired a shot.

"boom!"

An explosion was heard, and a dozen seconds later, the parameters were adjusted and another missile was test-fired.

The landing point was fairly precise; the rocket struck the outpost squarely, exploding into a cloud of debris and dust.

"Whoosh," "whoosh," "whoosh," "whoosh"

"Boom" "Boom" "Boom" "Boom"

The short-duration delivery capability of the six-tube 107mm rocket launcher is too powerful!
The Burmese army outpost was under heavy fire, and Peng Jun's attack squad immediately took the opportunity to set up a 75mm recoilless rifle and began to bombard the outpost!
The 107mm high-explosive fragmentation grenade has a charge of only 1.3 kg, which is extremely lethal to lightly armored vehicles and personnel, but its ability to destroy fortifications is much weaker. In comparison, although the 75mm recoilless rifle has a smaller caliber, its armor-piercing fragmentation projectiles are much more powerful.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Four 75mm recoilless rifles spewed fire, their armor-piercing shells blasting through boulders and creating a breach in the wall of the outpost. Debris rained down inside, leaving a 40° fan-shaped area in ruins. Several Burmese soldiers facing the wall were instantly blown to pieces, their charred flesh and bones sticking to the ground and walls.

Peng Jun is also living lavishly!

There was no need to count the shells; the more than 20 shells that had been carried up were all fired at once. The walls, dormitories, watchtowers, and machine gun bunkers of the outpost were all targeted one by one. At close range, it was hard to miss. The rubble that was blasted up all over the hilltop rose and fell like rice porridge that had been boiled.

Under the cover of artillery fire, two squads of more than 40 men crouched low and charged up from both sides.

"Da da da"

"Da da da"

Suddenly, the machine gun bunker hidden in the weeds outside the outpost opened fire. Machine gun bullets swept back and forth through the woods, and several Peng Juns who rushed in front were knocked to the ground on the spot. The others were also frightened and hurriedly rolled to find cover.

The firing immediately attracted the attention of the artillery team. The two men carried the cannon, circled around halfway, and hid behind a large tree more than 200 meters away, slowly taking aim...

"boom!"

With a flash of fire, the machine gun bunker, which was spitting fire snakes, exploded instantly, sending bricks and mud flying dozens of meters high. Peng Jun, who was dozens of meters away, roared and rushed forward.

He rushed forward, pulled the pin on a grenade, threw it into the huge gap created by the explosion, and then rolled to the side.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Even if someone had just survived the artillery bombardment, they were doomed now! The machine gun bunkers around the outpost were taken down one by one. Before Peng Jun could rush in, a long bamboo pole with a black and white cloth hanging from it stretched out from the ruins and was waved around.

Voted!

With the high ground outposts on both sides of the mountain removed, the gate to Mubang was completely opened. At Peng Jiasheng's command, the army began to advance rapidly along the road, and soon bursts of gunfire and bombings rang out in the city.

On one side were the puppet army's second-line troops, and on the other side were trained bandits and militia; they were evenly matched.

Using the complex terrain and buildings within the city as cover, and relying on modified, abstract-looking fake vehicles, Peng Jun unexpectedly gained the upper hand in the actual firefight.

After all, bunkers can only provide defense, but artillery can really break through a turtle's shell.

The Burmese army was poorly equipped and its morale was low. There was no place in the city for them to dig real fortifications, so the front line was slowly advancing into the city.

Just then, a whooshing sound came, and an airplane swooped down from the clouds, its machine guns aimed at the road and opened fire. The bullets hit the ground, kicking up dust three or four meters high. If they hit a human body, they would be torn to pieces on the spot. The firepower extended to a dummy car, which immediately broke down.

"Oh no, there's an airplane!"

"Hide! Hide!"

One kilometer away from the battlefield, Peng Jiasheng stared intently at a plane that was climbing up in the air again, veins bulging on his forehead. "Damn it, they're here again!"

In the 1960s, Britain purchased 12 Hawker Hunter F.6 fighter planes. Now, due to maintenance difficulties and a shortage of spare parts, they are no longer in good working order. In particular, the fire control system is basically paralyzed, the rockets are completely unusable, and only the four 30mm cannons are still usable.

Although only one aircraft was deployed here, it was enough to bully people like Peng Jiasheng who didn't even have their own planes.

After the interceptor made one dive, it did not come down again, but just circled in the sky. However, two French Alouette III helicopters appeared in the sky in the distance, with their cannons aimed at the dummy vehicles on the ground and opened fire.

"dong dong dong"

The machine gun fire sent bricks and stones flying across the ground. The crew of the self-propelled artillery were terrified and jumped out of the vehicle without saying a word.

Meanwhile, two dummy support vehicles equipped with quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns quickly adjusted their altitude by shaking their elevation gears, changed their ammunition belts with tracer rounds, and then immediately pulled the triggers, unleashing a barrage of metallic fire at the helicopter in the sky!

The helicopter skillfully climbed at an angle in the air to avoid the ammunition belts, while the machine gun was quickly adjusted and fired at the anti-aircraft machine gun as well.

One can move quickly and lightly in all directions in the sky, while the other can only move slowly forward and backward in a straight line on the ground. There is no comparison between the two. Just a few minutes later, the fake car was swept by the helicopter's ammunition belt, and the driver, gunner, and ammunition feeder were blown to pieces on the spot!
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Peng Jiasheng kept muttering to himself from the temporary command post in the distance.

He wasn't completely unprepared for the Burmese army's elite helicopters. Wang Yaotang brought over several sets of Red Parrot 5 helicopters, which were made to counter the SAM-7, specifically to deal with helicopters!

Mong Bang is the eastern gateway to Lashio, and the Burmese army was prepared and will definitely send aircraft to support them.

If it weren't for the planes and the support of the locals, Peng Jiasheng wouldn't have been trapped in Kokang and unable to move!

Previously, Meng Gong's fierce attack on Peng Jun was suppressed by two Skylark helicopters and could not even lift his head. The anti-aircraft machine guns were destroyed. What could the infantry do? They could only find a building to hide in and obediently take cover.

The Burmese army, which had just been suffering repeated defeats, suddenly came back to life and launched a counterattack, pressing Peng's army so hard they couldn't lift their heads.

Unnoticed, several small teams slipped out silently and hid in the corners of buildings, watching the helicopters overhead.

Time passed second by second, and the front line that had just been breached was quickly pushed back by the Burmese army. Peng's army suffered repeated defeats, and seven or eight dummy trucks were paralyzed on the road, emitting blue smoke.

France was the first to use armed helicopters against anti-government forces in the post-World War II Algerian theater, and afterwards, various countries found that this thing was incredibly useful!
Killing infantry is as easy as playing whack-a-mole.

Peng Jun suffered repeated defeats, and the Burmese army's helicopters became increasingly rampant.

This isn't the first time we've fought Peng Jun. Peng Jun's methods are no threat at all, especially since several of his quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns have been rendered useless.

"Wolf Smoke Squad, listen to my command! Three, two, one, charge!"

A man in camouflage, who was crouching in the corner, gave a low shout. One of them, carrying a Red Parrot 5, jumped out, immediately attached the scope to the helicopter, and began locking onto it with infrared. The others lined up around the helicopter, keeping watch on the Burmese infantry.

One second, two seconds... five seconds. I've never felt time go by so slowly. Finally, after about five seconds, the infrared seeker captured the infrared radiation of the target and formed a stable target information signal. The speaker on the left then emitted a beeping sound.

Two seconds earlier, a piercing alarm also sounded on Skylark 3.

The pilot was startled by the alarm and instinctively pulled the control stick, a look of confusion flashing across his face. What did that sound mean?
With this level of training, we can't ask for more.

Before he could even think of it, with a "whoosh," Red Parrot 5 leaped up, leaving an almost straight white trail of air in its wake before slamming into Lark 3.

"boom!"

A huge fireball exploded in the air, and the shockwave carried helicopter debris rapidly in all directions. The helicopter wreckage plummeted from the sky, and the rotor blades were thrown out at high speed, spinning violently and slicing open a nearby wooden building.

The sudden explosion of the helicopter stunned everyone. The other helicopter reacted quickly, and the alarm sounded, indicating that it was being locked by infrared sensors!
"Ah!" With a scream, he pulled the control lever sharply, but it was too late.

Only about 100 meters above the ground, another Red Parrot 5, trailing a plume of white smoke, crashed into it.

"boom!"

While everyone was drawn to the massive fireball exploding in the sky again, no one noticed another plume of white smoke shooting straight into the heavens. The pilot of the Hawk Hunter was frantically pushing the control stick as if his backside was on fire, his face contorted with rage. The plane shot off at an angle like an arrow, the white smoke swirling behind him but ultimately failing to catch up, exploding in mid-air at the limit of its range.

The interceptor was flying at a distance of about 600 meters and was very fast. The infrared lock-on was relatively slow, which gave him enough time to react. But he didn't dare to show off here anymore and turned around and ran away without saying a word!
Damn it, where did these bandits get their hands on man-portable infrared-guided air-to-air missiles?

This is terrible! The Air Force sent out three planes, but only one of them went back. The losses were heavy, extremely heavy!

This damn Hawk Hunter is just for show; in terms of ground attack capability, it's far inferior to those two helicopters.

"It's blown up! The helicopter has blown up!"

Both sides were shouting on the battlefield, but the Burmese army was filled with fear, while Peng's army was filled with fervor.

The offensive and defensive positions were immediately reversed. Even though Peng Jun no longer had any fake vehicles, his high morale still caused the Burmese army to retreat steadily.

"Good! Good! Good!" Peng Jiasheng, from the temporary command post in the distance, jumped around excitedly, waving his hands and shouting. Those two Skylark 3s had really messed him up, and now he could finally get his revenge!
"Charge! Charge! Everyone, charge!" Peng Jiasheng roared. "Get all the cannons up there and bombard them like crazy!"

"Yes!"

His men were flushed with excitement. Seven or eight tractors without welded protective steel plates started up, and 105mm recoilless rifles were mounted directly on them and sped off.

The 105mm caliber gun has a much greater power when opened from the box than the 75mm gun!

Several trucks, carrying more than a dozen 75mm recoilless rifles, handcarts, and supply shells, followed along under the escort of infantry.

The Type 56-2 75mm recoilless rifle weighs only 34 kilograms. It can be pushed around and fired as soon as it is put down. It can be used as a super-large caliber sniper rifle. It is extremely flexible!

In this kind of war where weaklings fight each other, it all comes down to who has the stronger firepower and better equipment. In order to capture Mong Bang, they brought 400 shells this time. It took four sorties of Y-5 transport aircraft from Kengtung to take them down. They bombarded the Mong Bang garrison with them all at once. How could they withstand that?

That's not all; after the frontline completed its observation and guidance, five six-barreled 107mm guns fired two rounds of 60 shells at the defending army camp!
Amidst the relentless bombardment and high morale, Wang Yaotang and Peng Jiasheng drank at the Mubang County Government Building that evening.

“You can get ready now. Those four Y-5s are yours. Let the puppet Burmese army see your courage and sacrifice, Peng Jiasheng!” Wang Yaotang said solemnly, raising his glass.

“Yes, let those puppet Burmese troops see that my soldiers, Peng Jiasheng’s soldiers, are not those cowards. We are willing to sacrifice!” Peng Jiasheng raised his glass.

With a gentle touch, the two drank it all in one gulp!

Peng Jun's suicide squad, charge! (End of Chapter)