After the Burmese army withdrew from the Shan region, Zhang Suquan immediately regained the lost territory. Zhang Zhengrong's 1st Division returned to the Laimo Mountains, which had been defended, and the 2nd Division also returned to the base area of Mong County, Myanmar. It was only then that Zhang Suquan took the two hostages back to the dense forest near the headquarters and placed them under his direct supervision.
The kidnapping of Soviet hostages, orchestrated by Zhang Suquan, did not achieve the desired results, but instead provoked a large-scale attack by the military, which puzzled him. In the end, he found the answer to this question: the USSR was not a Western country. In the eyes of those in power in the USSR, the disappearance of the two doctors was not worth making a fuss about. The attitude of the head of the Soviet Union towards his own citizens was absolutely opposite to the attitude of the West towards hostages, so why not use this to make Western public opinion make a fuss and attack the Soviet Union and the socialist camp for their disrespect for people? Such shells were lethal in the "Cold War".
The busiest street in Bangkok is called "China Street". There's a Nierman restaurant on China Street, populated by Western journalists in Bangkok.
On this day, a reporter in a suit and leather shoes came out of Nierman's restaurant, and a shoe-shining child pulled the corner of his clothes: "Sir, are you an American journalist?" The boy often shines his shoes. The reporter was stunned for a moment and asked rhetorically, "What do you say?" ”
"If you're a journalist, would you like to cover a major piece of news?"
"Of course you do, please provide it."
"How much do you want to give me?"
"If it's really significant, give you $10."
The shoe-shining child high-fived him in surprise, then whistled and two young men emerged from the alley behind the child.
The young man nodded politely to him, and one of the leaders asked in English: "Sir, if you are an American journalist, I would be happy to provide you with a piece of breaking news." ”
The reporter immediately pulled out his press card for the Washington Post.
The young man in the lead introduced himself: "I am Ah Cheng, the Shan State Revolutionary Foreign Affairs Commissioner. ”
The reporter's eyebrows went up: "Are you the person of the poison king Kunsha?" ”
Ah Cheng nodded and said, "I don't think it's appropriate to go to your apartment or my residence to talk, can we just talk under the tree on the side of the street?" ”
The journalist agreed.
When they came to a tree on the side of the street, Ah Cheng said: "We, the Shan State Revolutionary Army, are an army that fights for freedom, democracy, and national liberation for all ethnic groups in Shan State, and we have been fighting valiantly for more than 10 years for the liberation of the people of all ethnic groups in Shan State. In 1969, our revolutionary leader Comrade Zhang Qifu was ensnared by the Northeast Military Region of the Burmese Army, and in order to rescue our leader from prison, we had no choice but to kidnap two Soviet hostages on April 14 this year, and asked the Soviet Government and the Burmese Government to agree to exchange Zhang Qifu for hostages. The Soviet government did not care about this, and the Burmese junta immediately sent troops to raid us and forced us to kill the hostages as soon as possible. But we will never take hostages, he is well protected by us. ”
Ah Cheng then took out the identification materials of the two Soviets, various photographs, and letters of help they wrote to the Burmese and Soviet governments from the leather bag in his hand, and handed them to reporters.
American journalists' eyes turned red when they saw these materials, and they couldn't believe their good luck. This scoop is the most lethal material in the East-West propaganda war, and is sure to earn him an American Journalism Award that year. As a journalist, he aspires to the highest honor.
The reporter invited them to the restaurant they thought was suitable for further discussion.
This conversation actually lasted from the morning to the evening, and the reporters returned with a full load. The next day, the journalist did not forget to give a bounty to the shoe-shining child, and he gave not 10 dollars, but 100 dollars.
Just two days later, the Washington Post published the explosive news on the front page. The article was wonderful, the photos were real, and it immediately set off a whirlwind of anti-Soviet sentiment in the Western public opinion circles.
Journalists from all over the world gathered in Bangkok, and Ah Cheng took the opportunity to distribute a large amount of materials to them, in addition to materials attacking the Soviet Union and the Burmese government, as well as new life photos of the hostages and new letters from the hostages. The shrewd Zhang Suquan did not forget to bring his own personal goods, that is, to publicize the difficult life of the people of all ethnic groups in Shan State, as well as various materials and photographs for which the Shan State Revolutionary Army was fighting.
This propaganda war reached the intensity of a Category 12 typhoon.
In their articles, journalists from various countries accused the Soviet Union of not respecting the rights of the people and treating the lives of its own people as child's play. callous and inhumane to the diplomats they send; The two Soviet hostages were Armenians, Russians discriminated against minorities, and so on.
International public opinion seemed to be boiling, and the Soviet government was very passive. They held a press conference to refute Western public opinion, saying that they took their hostages very seriously. However, under the clever questioning of the reporter, they flickered again and could not produce strong evidence to substantiate their assertion. As a result, the press conference was self-defeating, and there were no three hundred taels of silver here.
Annoyed, the Soviet government angrily dismissed the ambassador and chargé d'affaires in Burma and ordered them to retire early. On his first day in office, the new ambassador urgently called on the President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister of Myanmar and strongly demanded that the hostages be rescued immediately. Otherwise, the Soviet government would have stopped economic support.
Under strong pressure from the Soviet Union, the Burmese government also took immediate action and instructed the Northeast Military Region to immediately start negotiations with Zhang Suquan.
The commander of the Northeast Military Region, Maung Sui, is an old friend of Kunsha, who has been helpful to Kunsha a lot, and has accepted gifts from Kunsha. Zhang Suquan was satisfied with such a negotiation opponent.
Negotiations lasted only one day.
Zhang's demands were for the release of Khun Sa and then the release of the hostages, with conditions such as recognizing the status of the Shan Revolutionary Army and allowing Shan State to be an autonomous region.
Colonel Maung Sui did not give a positive reply, but only said that Zhang Suquan's conditions would be decided after reporting to the central government.
Ten days later, the messenger delivered a handwritten letter from Colonel Maung Sui. The letter reads:
Mr. Zhang Bingyu and Mr. Zhang Suquan:
I'm sorry that I have consulted with the government about being a hostage, but the government has taken a tough stance and believes that there is no reason for the country to accept hostages from the rebels. On the issue of Zhang Qifu, our government is looking at the fact that he has made great contributions to the government, and has spared him the death penalty and treated him leniently, but it is by no means an exchange for Soviet hostages. Zhang Qifu's subordinates should unconditionally and automatically return the hostages immediately.
Colonel of the Army
The government's attitude is undoubtedly a blow to Zhang Suquan and others. I thought that the Burmese government would beg them in a low voice and agree to some of their conditions, but I did not expect the government's attitude to be so arrogant.
At the high-level decision-making meeting, Zhang Bingyu advocated adopting a tough attitude, not letting go of the hostages, and waiting for the government to soften. Most people agree with this opinion. Deputy Chief of Staff Thongchai suggested that the hostages be released first. The government is desperate to save face, and if it does not give face, it may kill the commander without doing anything.
Zhang Bingyu said: "They can't stand international public opinion. ”
Zhang Suquan spoke: "Tongchai Chief of Staff is right, we should release the hostages first." As can be seen from Colonel Maung's letter, the government has actually made a lot of concessions. As an authoritarian military junta, their power is unchecked, and they grit their teeth and resist the offensive of public opinion, doing whatever they want. At the same time, we should also see that public opinion is also time-sensitive, and with the passage of time, there are new hot spots, so we should take advantage of the fact that public opinion has not cooled down, and accept it when it is good, but ......"
This "but" tightened people's hearts again, and Zhang Suquan had insights and vision that were higher than others at all times.
"However, is there any guarantee that the Burmese government will guarantee the safety of the commander's life and hint that he can be released? We have dealt with the Burmese government for 20 years, and we know that they often go back on their word and their words don't count, and we need a strong Chinese man to make the government's promises count, and we can only give our hostages to this Chinese man. ”
Zhang Suquan's words received another heartfelt compliment.
"Who are you looking for? I would like to ask the Chief of Staff of the Thai Army, General Jansa, to be our man. ”
Admiral Jansa
Someone asked: "Of course this is good, but who can invite Admiral Jiangsa?" ”
Zhang Suquan smiled inscrutablely: "There is a person who can invite this chief minister." ”
Soon, Zhang Suquan and his group of senior generals appeared in Meisle Village, where the 93rd Division was stationed.
Duan Xiwen, commander of the 3rd Army and commander of the 93rd Division, saw such a group of uninvited guests and thought to himself: "What are they coming from?" ”
Zhang Suquan said straight to the point: "Old army commander, today we have a small gift. After Zhang Suquan finished speaking, he beckoned, and the four soldiers came in carrying two wooden boxes. When the wooden box was opened, there were bundles of 100-dollar bills.
"This box is 200,000 US dollars, which was given to the old army commander for the establishment of a Chinese school; This box was $500,000 and 200 gold bars, and the commander of the army was asked to ask the chief of the general staff of Jiangsa to contact the hostages for exchange. ”
Duan Xiwen didn't say anything polite, and agreed: "Okay, I'll go to Bangkok tomorrow to ask Chief Jiangsa." ”
On February 7, 1974, he personally took a helicopter to Man-Hung Die, picked up two Soviet hostages and sent them to the Soviet Embassy in Thailand, where the two Soviet hostages were immediately returned to the Soviet Union.
The Soviet hostages were sent back, but Kunsha was never heard from. General Jiang Sa frequently sent telegrams to urge, but the Burmese military insisted that the time had not yet come, and dragged it out, which made Zhang Suquan and others not discouraged.
It was not until September 14, 1974, that the Burmese military junta released Khun Sa, exactly five years after Khun Shah's arrest on October 20, 1969.
Khun Sha's five years in prison endured. He was locked up in a black cell with no windows, no vents, no light, no one to talk to him, not a little outside world and no news. Even interrogations were rare, and he didn't even have the flesh and skin to communicate with him.
On one occasion, he deliberately hit the jailer who delivered the meal, expecting him to scold a few words or hit him a few times, but he didn't. The jailer who had been punched twice by him for no reason didn't even snort, just rolled his eyes, picked up the rice basket and left.
In that damp black cell, bed bugs, cockroaches, and ants are his most beloved companions. In the summer, he could not take a bath, and in the winter, he resisted the cold with the dirt like a thick helmet. Half a bowl of brown rice, two meals a day, was the only food that kept him alive. During that long five-year night, he nearly went mad, and he survived by believing that the brothers would come to his rescue. He swore over and over again in prison that when he got out, he would redouble his revenge on the world......
After being released from prison, Kun Sha had yellow muscles and thin muscles, trembling hands and feet, hunched over, gray hair, and he was only 41 years old, he looked like a 60-year-old man, only his eyes still burned with an unyielding flame.
There are conditions for Khun Sha to be released from prison: first, he must write a letter of repentance and recognize and confess these crimes; second, they must take an oath not to engage in drug trafficking activities again; The third is that you must live in one of the two cities, never leave the city, and if you do not comply, you will be executed immediately.
Khun Sha agreed to all the conditions and chose Mandalay as the city where he was placed under house arrest.
Since then, it is common to see a "big brother" with more than a dozen "bodyguards" in the most prosperous area of Mandalay, who goes in and out of various erotic places, song halls and dance floors, indulges in the gentle countryside every day, spends a lot of money, does not spend tens of thousands of dollars a day, and takes two beautiful women back to his mansion on the outskirts of Mandalay City every day for the night.
The mansion, which was specially chosen by the Burmese government for the house arrest of Khun Sa, is located on the left side of the Mandalay Military District barracks and on the right side of a large open field, so that anyone who wants to kidnap Khun Sa will be deterred. There are more than a dozen specially selected police officers guarding Khun Sa, followed by seven or eight people who go out and report to the National Detective Department in Yangon once a month.
After a period of drunkenness, dreams and death, and a prosperous life, Kun Sha changed his pitiful appearance when he was just released from prison, and became red-faced, vibrant, handsome and burly.
He also seems to be infatuated with this kind of flamboyant life, and his interest in women grows day by day, sometimes sleeping with five or six women a day. In front of many "bodyguards", he made all kinds of obscene behaviors with these beauties, and those young and strong "bodyguards" were also enthusiastic.
Kun Sha is also very considerate of his "bodyguard", and when he goes to the song hall and dance hall, there are more than a dozen young ladies, one for each "bodyguard".
At the beginning, the "bodyguard head" also strictly abided by the discipline prescribed by the boss, and after a long time, he couldn't resist the temptation. Kun Sha brought the woman back, and he did the same. Of course, all the expenses are Kunsha's, and Kunsha treats his "bodyguards" generously, each person has considerable extra income every day, and being a "bodyguard" for him is also a way to make money.
Having a "head bodyguard" accompany him to Yangon for a monthly lecture is the only way for the Burmese authorities to supervise the "head bodyguard." Every time after the director of the detective bureau finished speaking, he always asked the "head of the bodyguard" about the situation, and explained that he should be vigilant, closely monitor, and not make mistakes, but Yue Yue was like this, and what he said and listened to was not taken seriously.
In 1974, Kunsha spent time in the company of beautiful wine and beautiful women, and 1975 also passed in the dark. As for Khun Sa's fall, both the Burmese authorities and the "bodyguards" who monitored him were reassured. Kunsha, who was indulging in wine, had no fighting spirit and was no longer a threat, and his surveillance vigilance was visibly relaxed. The "bodyguard head" and the "bodyguards" also assimilated with Kunsha, some drank and got drunk, some women slept together, so unhappy, and the days passed like this.
Until one day, at noon on February 2, 1976, to be exact, the "bodyguard head" did not get up until noon to routinely go upstairs to check on it. The sight was so startled that his pants fell to the ground: Kunsha's room was empty, and a woman accompanying Kunsha slept like a dead pig. The "bodyguard head" hurriedly went downstairs to look around, where was the shadow of Kunsha.
A long cloth rope was found by the window of Kunsha's room, torn from a sheet. All this told him unmistakably: "Kun Sha has escaped! ”
The frightened "bodyguard head" woke up one by one with a lot of anger and a lot of "bodyguards" who were sleeping like a mess of mud, and no one could remember which shift they were. I only remember that Kun Sha brought a few prostitutes who could drink to drink, the wine was good, the food was good, and the amount of alcohol of several prostitutes was better, and everyone was drunk with three and two drinks......
The "bodyguard" was awakened by the wine, and did not dare to reproach the "bodyguards" too much, so he ran upstairs and ordered the three prostitutes to leave the country immediately, and not to tell what happened yesterday, otherwise they would be punished for robbing Kunsha.
The "head of the bodyguard" ordered everyone to clean the house immediately to eliminate the traces of their spending on drinking, and then they discussed together to make up nonsense to deceive their boss......
This is another miracle created by Zhang Suquan, who successfully rescued the world's most terrible drug lord under strict security in the heart of the heavily guarded government.
The news that the big drug lord had broken free from his chains and fled back to his base area shocked the world, and the headlines of various newspapers reported the sensational news of Khunsha's escape from Mandalay under the headline "The Caged Tiger Returns to the Mountains." The Burmese government has lost face in front of the whole world, and the highest authorities have mobilized all available field troops to surround and intercept the fleeing Khun Sa.
After a hard battle and twists and turns, Khun Sa and the 1st Division that met him finally made a detour to the Thai-Burmese border to join Zhang Suquan.
Seeing his nephew return from the dead, his uncle Zhang Bingyu took Kun Sha's hand and cried like a tearful man. He excitedly told Kun Sha over and over again: "Doll, if it weren't for Chief of Staff Zhang leading us in the past few years, our Zhang Jiajun would have been finished long ago, and you wouldn't have been able to get out, I just obeyed this old master from the bottom of my heart!" If you want to thank him, thank him! ”
Kun Sha held Zhang Suquan's hand, smiled and smiled, tears gushing like a spring......
The return of Kunsha greatly boosted the morale of Zhang Jiajun, and even the mountain people in the area controlled by Kunsha felt that Kunsha really had the help of the gods.
Zhang Suquan immediately held a grand welcome ceremony and handover ceremony in the playground of the Manxingdi base area.
A grand rostrum was erected on the playground, and huge couplets were hung on both sides of the platform, with the left wing "welcoming the return of Comrade Zhang Qifu," the right wing "respectfully asking the revolutionary leader to take his seat," and the banner read: "Shan State is blessed, and the nation is fortunate." Several large banners with the words "Shan State Revolutionary Army" were erected in front of the stage, fluttering in the wind in the spring breeze.
All officers and soldiers were present at the conference. At the meeting, Zhang Suquan talked about Kun Sha's "moving deeds" during his five-year career behind bars, his heroic and unyielding torture under severe torture and torture by the enemy, his deep attachment and love for the Shan nation, and the blueprint for the bright future of all ethnic groups in Shan State always in his chest. In the end, Zhang Suquan said contagiously:
"Comrades, what is the blueprint for our Shan Republic envisioned by Comrade Zhang Qifu? That is, every village in our Shan State must be electrified, all our lives must be electrified, every village must be built with modern houses, every family will have its own new house, our children will have books, we will become the next literate generation of the Shan Republic, we will have more factories, new schools, and in the future our towns will be more beautiful than the cities of Taunggyi and Lashio. Our future will be extremely happy and wonderful! Comrades, with the leadership of Comrade Zhang Qifu, we will have all this, following Comrade Zhang Qifu is victory, it is happiness, let us shout, long live Comrade Zhang Qifu! Long live the Shan State Revolutionary Army! ”
Thousands of people on and off the stage stood up and chanted in unison:
"Long live Comrade Zhang Qifu! Long live the Shan State Revolutionary Army! ”
"Hooray! Hooray! ”
In the earth-shattering gongs, drums and cannons, Zhang Suquan hung a big red ribbon obliquely on Kun Sha's body, and then held the military and political seal high above his head and presented it to Kun Sha, who also took the big seal with a serious face. The applause on and off the stage, and the sound of military bugles was jubilant.
After the applause, Zhang Suquan announced: "From now on, the supreme command of the Shan State Revolutionary Army will be taken over by Zhang Qifu, and I will obey Comrade Zhang Qifu's military orders on behalf of the whole army. ”
Kun Sha was also so excited that he burst into tears, and he was indeed sincerely admired and grateful to Zhang Suquan. The first thing he said when he came to the stage was: "In the name of the Supreme Commander, I declare that Chief of Staff Zhang is also the supreme leader of our army, and his orders are equally valid as mine. ”
As soon as Kun Sha's words fell, the audience spontaneously burst into long-lasting applause, which lasted for three minutes, and the applause expressed the love and trust of all officers and men for Zhang Suquan.
Kun Sha took the opportunity to talk about Zhang Suquan's clever calculations, loyalty and righteousness are unparalleled, not Zhuge Liang is better than Zhuge Liang. The upper-level officers of Zhang Jiajun all know that Kun Sha's favorite book to read, read and take as a guideline in his life is "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and he has two versions of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in Burmese and Chinese. Among the characters of the Three Kingdoms, he admires Zhuge Liang the most. Now he has repeatedly compared Zhang Suquan to Zhuge Liang, which also shows that he relies heavily on Zhang Suquan. With tears in his eyes, he said:
"Chief of Staff Zhang is not a native of our Shan State, but he has sacrificed everything for our Shan people, especially during my imprisonment, he led the whole army to overcome all hardships and hardships, so that our army was not only not defeated, but also stronger, Chief of Staff Zhang saved our army, saved our Shan nation, he is our savior, I pay tribute to him on behalf of the whole army and the Shan nation."
Kun Sha turned around and gave Zhang Suquan a military salute.
The meeting ended with the two giants saluting each other.
In the evening, Khun Sha convened his first high-level military meeting after his return.
At the meeting, Khun Sha praised Zhang Suquan's move to rename the "Bright People's Self-Defense Force" from the "Shan State Revolutionary Army," which had been awarded by the government in the past. With this golden signboard, you can do anything from now on.
Zhang Bingyu said: "We make revolutions every day, and this is no different from the Communist Party. ”
Zhang Suquan said: "There are some things that can be said but not done, and some things that can be done but cannot be said, for example, drug trafficking can only be done but not said, and revolution can be shouted every day but not necessarily done." What we really want to do is to make money from drug trafficking and consolidate our bases. ”
Kun Sha said: "How can we consolidate the law in this base area, should we kill and return to our hometown or settle down in this northern Thai region? ”
Zhang Zhengrong said: "Northern Thailand is the land of Thailand, and it is not a long-term solution to always be on other people's land. ”
Tong guessed and said: "What's wrong here, no one rushes, no one fights, you can attack if you advance, and you can defend when you retreat." ”
Zhang Bingyu said: "After all, this is the territory of Thailand, will people let you stay for a long time?" ”
Zhang Suquan held his chin in his hand, pondering for a while, everyone waited for him to say a good move, he was always unhurried. Zhang Suquan said:
"This place is a good place. We can stay here for a long time. As long as the Thai side sends him a good medicine, they will welcome us to stay for a long time. What diseases are there in Thailand now? This is the phobia of comorbidity. The current situation is that the power of the Communist Party is spreading in the countries of Southeast Asia. South Vietnam fought for so long, the Viet Cong, with the support of China and the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, occupied the entire territory of the south, and then Cambodia was occupied by the Cambodian Communist Party, Laos is a communist country, Thailand has a long border with Laos and Cambodia, and it is not fun for these two communist countries to infiltrate into Thailand. Therefore, Thailand's military strength is deployed on the border between Cambodia and Laos, and the Thai Communist Party has been operating in some mountainous areas of Thailand's interior for more than 20 years. The Thai Government is very anxious about this, and if we undertake the task of preventing and suppressing the Communists in northern Thailand, I think the Thai Government will be happy to let us stay.
"Our stationing here does not mean that the old territory in northern Myanmar is gone, and now because the Burmese army is attacking us again, we have to give up temporarily, as long as the Burmese army retreats, we still swagger back, and when we are stronger, the Burmese army will not leave if they come to fight us again, but that is a matter of the future, and now we still manage the area around the stars."
Kun Sha high-fived with a fist: "Okay, that's it!" ”
The Thai Government was very interested in the anti-communist proposal of the Khun Sa Army, and specially sent a senior staff member of the General Staff to Manxingdi by helicopter to negotiate an anti-communist agreement with Khun Sa, and the condition of Khun Sa was to allow his troops to be stationed in the northern border area of Thailand.
After Zhang Jiajun determined the general policy of military secession based in northern Thailand, he began to vigorously build a full range of stars.
All of a sudden, this small valley town was full of construction, all kinds of buildings sprung up, and the population soared from 1,500 to 7,800. Almost all of the 3,000 elites of Zhang's army were deployed in the dense forests around the starry stacks to defend their temporary "national capital". The power of more than a dozen villages around Manxingdi was taken over by the Zhang Jiajun, who taxed the mountain people, but the taxes were very low and completely symbolic, to show that they were the masters of the regime.
During this period, the international situation was very favorable to Zhang Jiajun's development. At that time, the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia, and the main force of the Khmer Rouge retreated to the Cambodian-Thai border. The whole of Thailand is watching the Thai-Cambodian border, and northern Thailand has almost become a vacuum, thanks to the remnants of the Kuomintang and the Khun Sha army, the Thai Communist Party will not take advantage of the opportunity to develop, so the Kingdom of Thailand will return the favor to the Khun Sha army and let its development be unrestricted.
In recent years, the production of opium in northern Thailand has surged, the production of heroin has doubled, and the stars have gathered for a while, and drug dealers from Southeast Asia and even Europe and the United States have rushed here to do business. Of course, the biggest profiteer was still the Kunsha Group, during which his military and financial power increased exponentially.