The People's Army's delay in Shannan was only noticed by the British and Indian authorities in May. In addition to the Nanjin Group's previous hidden work, there are three other reasons: First, Ma Bufang and others made a lot of noise in northwest of British India, which attracted the attention of the British and Indian authorities; Second, Assam and Bangladesh are still in the epidemic area, and the British and Indian authorities do not believe that anyone would dare to break in before the epidemic was eliminated; Third, Victor Hope, the governor of British India, took a boat back to the UK to attend the coronation ceremony of King George VI of the British King, in mid-April. Some suspicious situations were reported but were not dealt with in time, and the backlog was accumulated.

After Ma Bufang led his troops into Shannan, he did not directly contact the local Muslims in the northwest province of British India or Pangpuzha Province as Zhao Zhenzhong suggested, but instead launched a territorial operation in the Turkish state of Kashmir.

Ma Bufang certainly agrees with what Zhao Zhenzhong said, but he also has his own calculations. Although he is now commanding more than 70,000 troops and is not weak in strength, Ma Bufang knows that these people are rootless duckweeds and trees without roots. After the food they carry is used up in more than two months, no matter how many troops there are, they will probably be controlled by local political forces. In order to gain an advantage in dialogue with Muslim political forces in the future, Ma Bufang decided to take control of the Kashmir country first. By then, with more than 70,000 troops and territory, this will not be at a disadvantage in the future process of joining Jinnah and others, and can we achieve greater benefits.

Moreover, Kashmir's territory is located in a remote area and is one of the few areas with inconvenient transportation in British India. It is not directly under the jurisdiction of the British and Indian authorities. In addition, there was an epidemic last year, which is not the focus of the British. Ma Bufang is confident that when the British really pay attention to this, he and others must have made a name for themselves.

After comprehensive consideration, Ma Bufang began to command his troops to conquer the city and territory in Kashmir.

The full name of Kashmir is "Jammm and Kashmir", including the Kashmir Valley and the Jammu Plain. In 1846, the indigenous leaders of the Jammu region bought the occupied Kashmir region from the British, and the entire Kashmir region became a national state of British India. Although the original Hindus in the Jammu region only accounted for about 15% of the total population of the entire Kashmir region, they also became the ruling class of the region.

When Ma Bufang and others launched their operations, the total population of Kashmir was about 3.2 million, of which nearly 500,000 Hindus were; Muslims accounted for 2.3 million; the other 400,000 were Sikhs and Buddhists, and there were many Tibetans from Tibet.

The princes of the Tumen were the natural local emperors in their territory, and basically did whatever they wanted. This deepened the contradiction between Hindus, who accounted for the minority of the local population and Muslims, who accounted for the majority of the population.

The strength shown by Ma Bufang's army and the slogan of "rescuing Muslim brothers" promoted by this team have won the Ministry's wide support from Muslims.

In just over a month, Ma Bufang and others occupied the vast area northwest of the Bernhar Pass, the Nengong Mountain Line, and regarded Srinagar as the capital of Kashmir, and actually became king!

Then, while Ma Bufang informed Shule's Ninth Column about the situation, in order to obtain some supplies from the northwest; while selecting personnel from local Muslims in Kashmir to contact the local Muslims in Pangpuzha Province in the south.

With more than 70,000 troops and millions of people, and occupying more than 100,000 square kilometers of territory that can be attacked and retreated and defended, Ma Bufang has made up the idea of ​​"relying on the northwest, sitting on the local area, and spy on the south."

Zhao Zhenzhong only smiled when he knew about Ma Bufang's move and did not care. As long as Ma Bufang made a fuss in Shannan, Zhao Zhenzhong didn't ask about the process. Of course, he also instructed the Southern Xinjiang Military Station of the Logistics Department to supplement the food and some ammunition for Ma Bufang's troops for one month.

The news that Ma Bufang and others made in Kashmir reached the ears of the British Indian authorities in early April. At first, the British and Indian authorities thought it was a dispute between Muslims and Hindus, but they did not care too much. After all, since the election results of the Legislative Council of British Indian provinces came out on April 1, the quarrel between the Muslim Alliance and the Congress Party has not stopped, and conflicts between Muslims and Hindus have occurred from time to time.

Although Kashmir is under the rule of the British and Indian authorities, it is not directly under the authorities, but is managed by the Tumen princes themselves. As long as there is no excessive trouble, the British and Indian governors are now unwilling to participate. Moreover, since early April, British Indian governor Victor Hope has been busy preparing gifts for the British crown ceremony held in May and preparing to attend the crown ceremony, and the governor has no intention of taking anything else.

The election of the British Indian Provincial Legislative Council on April 1 was a ease-based measure introduced by the British and Indian authorities to calm the voices of people seeking autonomy and independence in the region. However, the result of the implementation of this ease-based measure triggered a confrontation between Muslims and Hindus.

After the election results came out, the Congress party won 714 seats in a total of 1,585 seats in 11 provinces and organized a Congress government in 7 provinces. However, the Muslim alliance won 108 seats, which is inconsistent with the Muslim population accounting for one-quarter of the total population of British India. Of course, this may be related to the elections in Assam and Bangladesh only among the upper class people in the two provinces wandering around Delhi.

Faced with this result, Muslim League Chairman Jinnah hoped that the Congress could give Muslim League some ministerial positions in provincial governments where Muslims had more seats, but this wish was rejected by the Congress. The absolute advantage shown in the election results made the Congress completely ignore the request of the Muslim League. Nehru of the Congress party openly declared: "At the end of the day, India only has two forces today, namely the government and the Congress party. Other forces must be ranked among these two forces respectively."

Such election results and the high-profile faces of the Congress leaders are absolutely unacceptable to the Muslim League. This also prompted Jinnah and other leaders of the Muslim League to reconsider their political attitudes. After careful discussion, Jinnah and others believed that in order to compete with the Congress party in the future political struggle, they must win the unanimous support of all Indian Muslims. To do this, they must seek more help in sectarianism. Only the banner of sectarianism can make all Indian Muslims identify with the Muslim League.

As a result, supporters of the Muslim Alliance also had a series of conflicts of big and small with the Hindus who supported the Congress Party. The emergence of the Muslim army in the Turkish state of Kashmir attracted the widespread attention of Jinnah and others and the vast number of Muslims in Northwest Province and Ponpucha Province. Jinnah also sent people to negotiate with this team that "saves the Muslim brothers in the name of Allah", hoping to achieve a joint effort between the two sides.

With Jinnah leading the main leaders of the Muslim Alliance to reach an agreement with Ma Bufang on joint matters in Srinagar, the Muslim young and strong in Northwest Province and Ponpucha Province also began to receive training from Ma Bufang's troops. British Indian Muslims organized armed resistance to the British and Indian authorities in order to seek regional autonomy and even independence began! This was at least 7 or 8 years ahead of the Muslims' actions to seek autonomy and independence in the late World War II in history!

At the end of April, when the ships commuted between Yangon and Mumbai passed through the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, they accidentally discovered that a large cargo ship of more than 10,000 tons was sailing out of Chittagong. Although Chen Zhiyuan, Fang Haitao and others were careful and carefully arranged the time for the ship to enter and exit Chittagong, the accident caused by external factors could not be completely avoided.

"The Chittagong epidemic was eliminated?" The ships who discovered this situation asked British and Indian authorities for confirmation after arriving at the port of Mumbai. After all, due to the impact of the epidemic, Chittagong has been suspended for more than a year, and tea from the Assam area has been interrupted for more than a year. If the news can be confirmed earlier, then can we still take the lead in the tea trade after Chittagong opened the port, right?

The answer given by British and Indian officials is of course no, but those who see it believe in their eyes more. With the discoverers' swearing, British and Indian officials at Mumbai Port also reported the situation skeptically.

At this time, Governor Victor Hope and several British and Indian authorities were already on their way to the UK, and the situation was shelved after reporting it. However, the ship owners who found the clues did not give up and even sent people to Chittagong to verify it privately, but most of them were detained by the People's Army. Of course, the news that Chittagong was occupied by unknown forces spread.

Governor Victor Hope and his party arrived in the UK in early May and received a series of bad news from the British and Indian authorities, including the fall of Kashmir, the Muslim armed riots, and the occupation of Chittagong. This mood was naturally not much better. Moreover, it was the eve of the British King's crown. Isn't this British India causing such a big mess to attack the British Empire?

"The government must take decisive measures on the situation in India to stop the situation from further deteriorating! Any hesitation and delay will cause great harm to our impact in India, affect the overall interests of the British Empire in Asia, and even threaten the security of the entire Commonwealth! For the interests of the empire, the government must send a strong army to India! In order to ensure the interests of the empire, the government must build a strong navy, air force, and army!" Churchill, who has left the government for 29 years and has always served as the "backbencher", jumped out and issued a public statement without fail. While criticizing the Ballwin government, Churchill also "clearly stands" and "foresighted" to point out the direction of action for the British government.

Churchill had been resentful with Baldwin for a long time and sat on the bench in the House of Commons for 8 years. Seeing that Germany's threat in Europe was getting bigger and bigger, Churchill repeatedly called for strengthening his military equipment, but no one was willing to pay attention to him. There was a problem in India now, so Churchill naturally would not miss the opportunity to attack Baldwin's government and take the opportunity to sell his views.

In original history, the grudge between Churchill and Baldwin continued until they went to see God. In 1947, on Baldwin's 80th birthday, Churchill refused to send greeting cards and said, "I hope he will recover soon, but it would be better if he has not existed in the world." What is speechless is that Baldwin passed away in the fourth month after his 80th birthday.

"The annoying Churchill always talks about the concept of war." In the face of the deteriorating situation in Britain and India, Prime Minister Baldwin was also helpless. "What's abominable is that this time we have to take tough measures against the situation in India."

Baldwin is 70 years old and is already unable to do anything about Commonwealth affairs. He is preparing to find an opportunity to retreat after the British King is crowned. However, this series of vicious incidents in British India and Churchill's public conversation made him feel like he was swallowing a handful of flies alive!

The British Indian region has always been hailed as the most brilliant gem in the crown of the British king. A series of problems arise in such a place that is crucial to the local interests of Britain. The British government must take measures to restore its influence. Of course, all decisive actions will only be done after the crown of King George VI of the British King. At present, the British government can only make some necessary preparations in advance.

Since the last war, Britain's military power has been in a state of decline overall. Except for the Air Force, under the clamor of Churchill, which has strengthened over 35 years and will have new hurricane fighters in service in the fall, the Navy and the Army have hardly purchased new equipment until the summer of 37.

The navy, which once won great honor for Britain, are mostly old equipment before and after World War I. Although some of them have been modified, they are already behind this era as a whole. Of course, in order to face possible threats in the future, the British government has approved the construction of new naval equipment. However, the new naval equipment has either just begun or has not yet begun construction.

Although the British army is currently in a state of disagreement, the lean camel is bigger than a horse. With the background of the old empire, it is still no problem for the Baldwin government to send a powerful armed force to British India.

After consultation, the Baldwin administration made the following decision:

Shortly after being promoted to Lieutenant General, James Somerville was dispatched to serve as commander-in-chief of the British Indian Armed Forces and commander of the Royal Navy's Special Mixed Fleet. He led a special Mixed Fleet consisting of two aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 1 battlecruiser, 4 heavy cruisers, and 28 light cruisers and destroyers to the Indian waters to carry out attacks on the other side, transport and escort 20,000 British Army landings, and block the maritime transportation lines of hostile armed forces.

Claude John Okinlek, deputy chief of staff of the British and Indian Army, appointed as the acting chief of staff of British India, and assisted Somerville in command of the land war.

During the Spanish Civil War, James Somerville led the fleet to perform well in the war to defend Mallorca. He had just been promoted to lieutenant general to go to British India. Although some people complained, if they thought about the unabolitioned epidemic in Assam and Bangladesh, they swallowed their dissatisfaction back into their stomachs.

Claude John O'Kinlek was originally the deputy chief of staff of the British and Indian Army. He was only because after the outbreak of the epidemic last year, the commander and the chief of staff either caught illness or made excuses to resign. Now the chief of staff of the British and Indian Army is O'Kinlek, the deputy chief of staff.

The British government's fleet lineup is very powerful, and even Churchill admitted: "I am full of expectations for victory."

In fact, Baldwin agreed to send such a lineup with his last resort.

Although he has been against Churchill, Baldwin has to admit that the situation facing the British Empire is indeed very complicated and has many threats. There are both from Germany and from Asia and Japan, and even now even British India is unstable. In order to avoid triggering chain adverse reactions between the Commonwealth, especially the British colonies, the British authorities do need to take strong measures to deter all parties by pacifying British India. As for sending a powerful special mixed fleet to India, it is just an opportunity to show the military power of the British Empire to the outside world.

Such a move is very different from the "moderate" impression that Baldwin has always given people, but Baldwin also has his own plans. He is about to step down from his position as prime minister, and Baldwin always has to explain the adverse events that occurred in British India before leaving office. Otherwise, even if he voluntarily leaves office, he will be criticized. If he sends powerful force to India and wins, it is naturally Baldwin's effective measures; if there is any dissonance, the outside world cannot blame the former prime minister who has been dedicated and has left office.

Zhao Zhenzhong was somewhat surprised when he learned about the powerful attack of the British fleet after the British King was crowned. He had thought about what lineup the British would send, but he did not expect that such a big disturbance would cause. Now, the special mixed fleet sent by the British, measured by the main warships alone, is almost one-quarter of the existing naval force of the UK.

There are now 6 light and heavy aircraft carriers in the UK, but two of them are involved; 12 battleships have dispatched 3; 3 battleships have dispatched 1, 18 heavy cruisers have dispatched 4, and 28 light cruisers and destroyers, this strength is indeed enough.

Ma Bufang, who was doing well in the northwest of British India, obviously heard the news that the British had launched a large-scale move, and thought that such powerful forces were all directed at him. Worried, Ma Bufang sent a telegram to the northwest to seek solutions.

After receiving a call from Ma Bufang for advice from Xijin Group, Zhao Zhenzhong only replied: "Although the fleet is strong, how can it be in the southern highland of Mount Nai? But relax!"

After receiving Zhao Zhenzhong's concise reply, Ma Bufang thought about it carefully and couldn't help but sigh: "Shame! But the authorities are confused and have lost their complicity!"

Although British India is near the sea and has many ports, Kashmir, northwestern provinces and Pangpuzhe provinces are typical inland areas. No matter how many British people have fleets, they are not dry boats used for traditional Chinese entertainment. How can they sail on land?

Just as the outside world was speculating about what forces occupying Chittagong, the British Indian state, the New York Herald Tribune began to publish reports from Elthop on the epidemic areas in Tibet and Shannan since early May.

Could it be that the unknown armed forces in Chittagong are the People's Army? Just as the outside world is seeking confirmation of this, with a documentary titled "Doomsday Disaster" released in the United States since mid-to-late May, all questions have been answered. That's right! The people who occupy Chittagong are the People's Army that rose in northwest China!

At the beginning of the film, a pale American boy faced the camera and said in a somewhat weak but excited tone: "I am a columnist for the New York Herald Tribune. My name is Joseph Althorp.

Perhaps everyone knows me through my previous reports on the dark serfdom in Tibet. In Tibet, I have seen the extreme despicability and cruelty of human nature under the dark system. But on the border of Assam in the south of Shan and East Bengal, I have seen what the doomsday disaster is. To be honest, these experiences and experiences made me often see creepy scenes in my dreams, and I even dreamed that my body became the food in the mouths of the wild rats, and every time I would wake up in fear!

Here, I swear in my surname and God's name. What is recorded in this film is everything that actually happens in Assam and eastern Bangladesh! The truth is even more cruel and even worse than what we record in our cameras! In the closed and isolated epidemic area of ​​British India, there is about 100 million people. How many of them died in this epidemic that has not yet subsided? There is no accurate statistics yet, but I can say responsibly that the death toll is absolutely more than 10 million! Most of the Assam and Bangladesh regions I have seen have become a terrible area!

May those who have passed away in this disaster be at rest, and may such miserable things never happen in the world in the future!”

Four American journalists who went to Tibet, Aban and Powell, are famous for reporting on current affairs. They are on the upper-level route of interacting with people and are not very good at reporting events from the perspective of social change. The bright and beautiful life in Shanghai has made the two famous reporters unable to withstand the altitude sickness in Tibet, and they had to withdraw back to Shanghai at the end of February.

Snow has repeatedly reported on the impact of the disaster on Chinese society, has a deep understanding of the issue of social change, and is rigorous, so he has been staying in Tibet to record and study related issues. Althorp also persisted with the full physical strength of young people and enthusiasm for the profession of journalists.

In March, Althorp found that the plane taking off from Lhasa was flying south, and was curious about the People's Army's actions in the south, so he turned to Zhao Zhenzhong through the local military station and asked for an interview in southern Tibet. After careful consideration, Zhao Zhenzhong agreed to Althorp and Snow's request to go to Shannan for interview, but at the same time required that all reports of the two must not be made public without the permission of the People's Army. The time limit will start in March and end before the end of June.

Although they complained about Zhao Zhenzhong's rough interference in "news freedom", in order to find out what happened to Shannan, Althorp and Snow agreed to Zhao Zhenzhong's conditions.

After accepting epidemic prevention measures, Elthop and Snow, who had just arrived in Shannan, were faced with piles of corpses and dead rats, and were again mentally shocked.

At first, the two thought that the People's Army was killing innocent people, but looking at the highly corrupt corpses and the bones, it was definitely not possible in a short period of time. Althop and Snow dispelled their doubts. Moreover, the epidemic began to spread in British India in the spring of 1936, and the People's Army had not yet advanced to Lhasa and did not have the conditions to attack evil forces in Assam and Bangladesh.

Later, when the two saw Li Wenyong and others filming a documentary, out of a sense of responsibility to witness history, Althorp and Snow also participated and provided a lot of help from the professional perspective of journalists.

This documentary, jointly produced by Li Wenyong, Althorp, Snow and others, truly shows the audience in front of the screen what a disaster is: the corpses everywhere, the dead or about to die, the rats gnawing everything like a tide...

At the end of the documentary, there are two subtitles and narrations in China and Britain: "Sikkim, Bhutan, and Shannan Tibetan areas have been Chinese territory since ancient times. The People's Army's actions were originally intended to regain the territory occupied by Britain. But here, we have seen a tragic scene of doomsday.

When the British and Indian authorities regard the epidemic area as abandoned land and ignore the tens of millions of people in the area, we have to take decisive action in order to eliminate the epidemic in the relevant areas and provide humanitarian relief to local residents!

Here, we solemnly announce: As long as the People's Army is still there, we will never let this scene happen again! nor will the local people be invaded and enslaved by British imperialism again!"

"God!" After receiving the letters and films from Althorp, US President Roosevelt was shocked after watching them, "Poor child, how could Althorp run there?!"

Roosevelt was shocked not only by the fact that Althorp was in the British Indian epidemic area, but by his thoughts on how to show the United States' position in this incident to the British. Althorp and Roosevelt were related, which is something that many people know. He appeared in British India with the People's Army, which was profound enough.

Although Roosevelt and the US authorities did not have any connection with the People's Army, with the release of this film, especially Althorp's opening remarks with accusing tone to the British and Indian authorities, and the People's Army's final statement, Roosevelt publicly stated that the US authorities are innocent, but who can believe it?

After summoning Secretary of State Hull and President's Military Assistant General Watson, Roosevelt first said to Hull: "Something happened in British India, and the film "Doomsday Disaster" will make people think that the United States is involved. There were news that a 10,000-ton cargo ship entered and left Chittagong. You can check if there are any American ships involved and deal with them as soon as possible. In addition, you can inform British friends of the relevant situation and handling results, and the US government strictly abides by the Neutrality Act."

After the United States passed the Neutral Act in 35 years, a Military Industry Supervision Committee was established. Among them, Secretary of State Hull was the chairman of the committee, and ministers of finance, business, navy, army and other ministers were members to ensure the implementation of the bill.

After Hull nodded and agreed, Roosevelt said to Watson again: "Dad, according to you, what will happen to the British's actions?"

"Dad" is Watson's nickname and has nothing to do with Roosevelt's father.

"British maritime power will not meet opponents, but it is hard to say about the situation on land." Watson said carefully, "We don't know how powerful the People's Army is, but the Soviet Union had fallen in front of them before. Judging from the performance of the Spanish Civil War, the Soviets' combat effectiveness is not weak. Judging from this, the British may suffer losses in front of the People's Army. Especially the areas of Assam and Chittagong are still in epidemic areas. If there is not enough preparations for epidemic prevention, it is probably difficult for the British to go ashore."

Watson's judgment according to common sense was not wrong, but the result of the collision between the British army and the People's Army still surprised the world.

"I understand." Roosevelt nodded. After Hull and Watson left, Roosevelt seemed to be admiring and chuckled alone, "I didn't expect that the children of that year would have achieved such achievements. Maybe... might be the future."

The Americans were preparing to prove their innocence here, but the British began to worry about fighting in the epidemic areas. The video released in the United States was soon obtained by the British and sent back to London by plane.

After confirming that the venue background in the video was indeed along the railway along the Assam and Eastern Bangladesh, all the British politicians who had watched the video turned pale. Of course, many were busy performing stomach exercises and dumping the inventory.

But neither Chamberlain, his cabinet members, or opposition parties and political leaders, even Churchill, who has always criticized the government, has criticized the Indian Governor Victor Hope. The big names know that if Victor Hope had not closed and isolated the epidemic area, the entire British India might have become the ultimate domain in the film!

"It seems that we shouldn't have sent so many ground troops." Some people even had such thoughts in their minds. The army has been setting off for more than half a month and it is impossible to recall it, but it is always possible to allow them to land in other places in British India and avoid epidemic areas. As for fighting in epidemic areas, it is better to solve the problem with the British and Indian troops.

At this time, the People's Army in Chittagong was ready to fight the British special fleet.

By late May, all merchant ships had been unloaded. However, the last 11 large and small cargo ships did not leave, but instead stationed in Chittagong and waited to be converted into the first batch of sea forces of the People's Army. Among them, there were one 50,000-ton container ship and two 30,000-ton container ships, which were waiting to be converted into aircraft carriers; the other eight fast merchant ships ranging from 5,000-ton to 20,000-ton fast merchant ships were waiting to be converted into destroyers, cruisers, and supply ships.

The modified surface force will act as the People's Army Navy training ship and combat supplementary ship for the future period. The People's Army's future water strike forces will be rebooted and rebuilt.

However, that will happen a few years later. At present, in addition to preparing for the war, Chen Zhiyuan and others must also prepare for the rainy storm.

From the end of May, the rainy season has entered the Bangladesh area, and storms from the Bay of Bengal may sweep the shore at any time. Although Chittagong is still 16 kilometers away from the sea, if there are really huge waves surging along the waterway, this distance is not enough.

Under the dispatch of Chen Zhiyuan, Fang Haitao and others, the People's Army is using the original and 11 locomotives in this area to speed up the transportation of containers piled up near the port to the mainland. More than 1,000 heavy-duty trucks transported from overseas have also joined the transportation ranks.

Kuang Haicheng and others who came from the Dazhushan submarine base with seven ocean-going submarines were leading Lin Yuntao and others, who were left by 11 merchant ships from big and small, to practice submarines and surface speedboats in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, so that they could better give the British special-mix fleet a "surprise".

Kuang Haicheng has been dealing with submarines since 2011, while Lin Yuntao went to the United States to learn sailing in 2017. The two were also familiar with each other back then.

Lin Yuntao was suffering from cholera back then, but Zhou Tian tried to save his life. Because he was a child, he was influenced by his father Lin and liked his life on board. Zhao Zhenzhong forced him to study English and other basic knowledge, and finally sent him to the United States to study in 27 years. After graduation, Lin Yuntao brought a group of people into the fleet of Huamei Company, traveling around the world.

As time passed, Lin Yuntao, Kuang Haicheng and others were also familiar with the situation in the Bay of Bengal, and worked with Chen Zhiyuan, Hong Fei and others to formulate a strike plan against the joint fleet.
Chapter completed!