In 1983, Taiwan singer Luo Dayou released his second album "Future Master", the second song of this album "The Orphan of Asia", caused quite a stir in the Chinese music scene at that time . The tune of the song
is low, with suona and snare drum to create a sad atmosphere, the lyrics can see the taste of political satire at a glance, and it was almost banned back then.
Luo Dayou claimed that "this song was made to commemorate the lonely army" in order to release the song. In the early 1980s, the whole island of Taiwan was highly concerned about the "loneliness problem". The government was embarrassed to block it, and finally let the song "Orphans of Asia" meet the audience.
Later, this "Orphan of Asia" was widely sung and regarded as a classic song as a representative song of "The Age of Martial Law". But the lone army that was associated with the song was left behind by the Taiwan authorities after the 1990s.
And this army, which once affected Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, is called "Northern Thailand Lone Army".
The Solitary Army in Northern Thailand is also called "Mesile Solitary Army". Since the end of the Liberation War, they have been living in northern Myanmar and northern Thailand for three generations.
During the Cold War, northern Thailand traveled alone to Burma, Thailand, and fought against the government forces of various countries in order to survive. In the end, he had no choice but to accept Thailand's "recruitment" to help the King of Thailand eliminate the guerrillas in exchange for legal status.
In the 1980s, the tragic situation of the "lone army" was reported to Taiwan by reporters, and a campaign of "supporting the lone army" started throughout Taiwan.
Then, more than half a century ago, why did this Chiang army alone enter Burma? What have they been through in Southeast Asia? What is the current situation of the lone descendants?
1. The remnants of Chiang's army fled into Burma and beat the Burmese army. In April 1949, one million troops of the People's Liberation Army crossed the river, and Nanjing was liberated. In the next six months, the Jiang government was defeated like a mountain, and the elite troops were all wiped out in the three major battles, and the remaining troops were chased by the four wilds.
In October of the same year, New China was proclaimed in Beijing, but the war in the south was not over yet. The People's Liberation Army liberated almost the entire mainland at the end of the year. At this time, only remote Yunnan and Tibetan areas had not been liberated.
Especially in Yunnan Province, there are more than 100,000 troops of Chiang's army.
Yunnan's then "chairman" Lu Han knew that Jiang's situation was over, and he was determined not to resist, but to declare an uprising. This move made Jiang furious, but he himself had fled from Sichuan to Taiwan, and there were not many Jiang troops on the mainland, so Jiang had nothing to do.
Lu Han's uprising was also echoed by the People's Liberation Army, and he was soon appointed as Yunnan's top executive.
But under Jiang's order, the 8th Army and 26th Army of the National Revolutionary Army stationed in Yunnan did not surrender with the old government, but continued to resist in Yunnan, and were basically eliminated by the People's Liberation Army that entered Yunnan.
After the battle, the 8th Army Commander Li Mi fled to Taiwan, the 26th Army Commander Yu Chengwan fled to Vietnam, and finally to Hong Kong.
The remnants of these two units retreated beyond the Chinese border. The first to operate on the China-Myanmar border was the 709th Regiment of the 23rd Division of the Eighth Army.
After settling in northern Myanmar, more than 600 people under Li Guohui's team met Tan Zhong, deputy head of the 278th Regiment of the 93rd Division of the 26th Army of the friendly army. He was also running around in northern Myanmar with 800 people. The two troops later joined forces. In one place, there is mutual care.
This unit has about 1,500 people. After joining forces, it will be called "93 Division" , because this unit is Expeditionary Force old troops, influential in Myanmar.
At that time, Myanmar had already established itself as an independent state. The Myanmar government was very dissatisfied with the Chinese troops fleeing to northern Myanmar, and repeatedly asked Li Guohui's troops to surrender their weapons and surrender to the Myanmar government.
But the Chinese soldiers didn't take the Burmese government seriously at all. Many of them were veterans of the expeditionary forces during the World War II period. Established for a few years, they have not yet accepted it in their hearts.
The Burmese government was helpless, and finally ordered the Burmese army to attack the "93 Division" in the summer of 1950. Although the Burmese army is a regular army and has aircraft and artillery, it was defeated by the veterans of the National Army of the "93 Division".
During the war, Li Guohui continued to gather Chinese remnants from Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, as well as the national army and reactionaries who escaped from the country, and expanded the "93 Division" to more than 3,000 people, gradually becoming the most important armed force in northern Myanmar. one of the group.
2. Abandoned alone and become an "orphan of Asia"
Li Guohui has made such a fuss, the whole Indochina Peninsula has an influence, and the French in Vietnam also dislike the "93 Division", but the Burmese government did not invite them to cross the border Conquering, the French have no choice.
The Thai government is also very resistant to the "93 Division". The Thai army and the Burmese army are on the same page. If these remnants of the national army go south to Thailand, Thailand will also suffer.
The only person who was happy was Mr. Jiang. He heard that Li Guohui not only established a firm foothold in Myanmar, but also opened up a base, and immediately rewarded Li Guohui and his subordinates.
Then, the Jiang family sent Li Guohui's immediate boss, General Li Mi, who had abandoned the army and fled, to northern Myanmar to reorganize the team in an attempt to use it as a "counterattack on the mainland".
Li Mi fled to Taiwan with hundreds of cronies at first, but now he went back to visit the troops that he abandoned, and his face must not be pulled down. Therefore, he applied for a large number of weapons from Jiang's family and the current ocean, and flew to the Golden Triangle area where the "93 Division" was located at that time in the name of "Banjun". The more than 3,000 troops were worried about military pay at the time, and Li Mi came with the military pay and was immediately welcomed by the soldiers.
Li Mi reorganized this team, collectively known as the "Yunnan National Salvation Army". He changed the original 709 regiment to the 193 division and the 278 regiment to the 93 division.
In addition, Li Mi also brought Peng Cheng, Lu Guoling, and Ye Zhinan from Taiwan to hold high-level positions, and Li Guohui and Tan Zhong were instantly suspended.
After that, the more than 3,000 soldiers continued to expand their territory in the Golden Triangle, so that the Burmese army did not dare to visit. In order to survive, the "93 Division" also reclaimed wasteland locally, built villages, and married and had children there, hoping to take root here.
However, it is not easy to grow land in the Golden Triangle, but it is very convenient to grow poppies. Burmese people already have a poppy industry, which is used by the "Yunnan National Salvation Army". The army is responsible for protecting the opium trade and earning military expenses from it. .
In addition to their own opium business, the Americans are also supporting the "National Salvation Army", and every month they call from the embassy in Thailand to pay 70,000 US dollars for the daily expenses.
At the beginning of 1951, while the Korean War was in full swing, under Jiang's order, the "Yunnan National Salvation Army" went north to "counterattack the mainland".
The army of more than 3,000 people crossed the border of Yunnan and attacked Cangyuan, Lancang and other places in Yunnan, and colluded with a few reactionary groups in China to overthrow the local government of the Republic at the local level, massacre local cadres and the People's Liberation Army.
because the early battle went well, "Yunnan National Salvation Army" good news frequently, the "Jiang Army Group" on Taiwan Island VIPs celebrate with each other, thinking that the tide of counter-offensive is just around the corner.
They didn't expect that the People's Liberation Army was deliberately waterproofing this time, and they wanted to "close the door and fight dogs", put it in first, and then surround and destroy it.
It didn't take long for the PLA soldiers in Yunnan to overwhelm the entire army in June 1951. They wiped out more than 1,400 enemies within a month and drove the "National Salvation Army" out of the country again. In the end, the People's Liberation Army even chased into Myanmar, leaving the "National Salvation Army" exhausted.
After being taught by the People's Liberation Army, Li Mi was disappointed. He felt that the so-called "counter-offensive" was a fool's dream. After all, the People's Liberation Army Frontier Guards could chase after them. If the elite troops came, they would probably be driven to the Indian Ocean.
So, starting from reality, Li Mi first sought to expand his own territory, establish a country within a country in northern Myanmar, then make money, raise and train troops, and then wait for Jiang's instructions in the future.
In fact, Li Mi's move is not only for "counter-attack", but also for his career.
Taiwan Island is a small place. There are so many important military and political officials in the Nationalist government, and it is difficult for high-ranking officials to get half-official positions. If you go to Taiwan by yourself, you may not even be able to drink soup.
But in northern Myanmar, he can call the wind and call the rain, and he is highly valued by the Jiang clan. The bigger the trouble in northern Myanmar, the higher his status.
In 1953, the Burmese government couldn't bear the harassment of the "National Salvation Army", so it found the United Kingdom and hired a force to clean up the "National Salvation Army" in the country. Many of these foreigners are World War II veterans, but they were swept away again in the battle with the "National Salvation Army", with tens of thousands of casualties.
's failure made Li Mi's arrogance even more arrogant. He once said to reporters: "I want to think, I can be the king of Myanmar at any time!"
's remarks made the Burmese government lose face, after all, as the official United Nations Member States, Myanmar has been bullied so badly that the UN cannot sit idly by.
The Burmese government sued the United Nations, saying that the Chiang Tai regime invaded Myanmar, and the Security Council also put pressure on Jiang, who had no choice but to order Li Mi to "return to China".
However, Chiang also ordered that only some 3,000 wounded, sick and veterans are allowed to return to Taiwan, and other troops will continue to operate in the Golden Triangle in case of emergencies.
Third, the older generation is Chinese, the next generation is Thai who can speak Chinese
In fact, most of the people left behind are local soldiers in Yunnan, who have no relatives or relationships in Taiwan. Can't get on the plane to Taiwan Island. These soldiers can only remain in Burma, facing an elusive future.
And the more than 2,000 lone soldiers left behind, with General Duan Xiwen as the commander, continue to operate in Myanmar.
This unit is also very capable of fighting.
In the early 1960s, the People's Liberation Army entered northern Myanmar twice to attack Duan Xiwen. Duan Xiwen suffered consecutive military failures and finally fled to Chiang Rai, Thailand.
But the Thais are also unwilling to accept these soldiers. They have no identity in Thailand and are active in the mountains like guerrillas. The ethnic minorities around them are hostile to them, and the Thai government army is not very friendly to them.
and the place where the lone army was stationed was originally called "Misuolong", a Lisu tribe, and later renamed " Meisile " according to the Chinese pronunciation, which is the origin of Duan Xiwen's title of "Mesile Lonely Army". After
fled to Thailand, Mesler gave up the so-called "counterattack on the mainland" and began to concentrate on "survival".
Because northern Thailand also belongs to the Golden Triangle area, Lone Army initially participated in the local drug trade for military pay, but then the Thai government found them and gave them a proposal to exchange legal status.
At that time, there were many left-wing guerrillas and tribal armed forces in northern Thailand. The combat effectiveness of the Thai government army was worrying. If they could not defeat these troops, northern Thailand was in danger of splitting. And the Chinese fight very hard. These lonely troops have fought hard in Myanmar for many years, and they have all experienced hundreds of battles.
Therefore, the Thai government invites the lone army to participate in the Thai bandit suppression, and in return, Thailand will recognize their legal status, and the "lone army" will become Thai.
Duan Xiwen and his subordinates thought about it. At this time, looking at the world, the Jiangtai regime had already abandoned them, and the mainland could not go back. It is very rare that the King of Thailand is willing to take them in.
alone agreed to the request of the king of Thailand. Since 1970, the lone soldier has gone on 6 expeditions to clear the independent armed forces in northern Thailand, which makes the king of Thailand Bhumibol very pleased.
In 1981, the lone army helped the King of Thailand fight for the last time and cleared away the last separatist forces in Thailand. With a big wave of his hand, Bhumibol gave the lonely army a Thai "citizenship card". These people who have no identity for decades have since officially become Thai nationals.
After that, the lonely army lived with Mesler as the center. They handed over their weapons and became ordinary citizens.
set up a lot of Chinese schools in Meisle alone, and always insisted on Chinese education, but later the Thai government required that Meisle must be included in the Thai language education, so the second generation of Meisle began to learn Thai .
These second-generation descendants live a life of studying in government schools during the day and learning Chinese at a local Chinese school at night.
In the 1980s, when little Jiang was alive, in order to promote the spirit of "patriotism", the Jiangtai regime still supported the lone army and encouraged the descendants of the lone army to study in Taiwan, and all expenses were reimbursed. After
and other Xiao Jiang died, the Taiwan authorities immediately gave up their support for the lone army, and the connection between the locals and Chinese culture was cut off again.
The first generation of Mesile alone thought they were Chinese until their death, but the second and third generations have become Thai, they can speak Chinese and Thai, but psychologically identify themselves as "Thailand who can speak Chinese" people".
At present, Mesler relies on tourism to develop locally, and tourists from all over China often come to visit here, looking for the stories of being alone in the past.
Text/Business School Ye
References:
1, "Searching for the "Lone Army of China" in the Golden Triangle", Sun Guangyong
2, "The Chinese Culture Left in Northern Thailand", Zuo Si
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