One day in 1979, in Mae Sle Village in northern Thailand, King Rama IX of Thailand summoned the former generals of the national army who died here.
In 1979, the sky was shrouded in a faint cloud of melancholy. General Duan Xiwen, who is in his late teens, was once a high-spirited general of the national army, but now he is overwhelmed by the burden of time and fate.
His health deteriorated, his heart problems worsened, but he was even more worried about the future of the remnants. This once-powerful army is now surviving in a foreign land, with no legal identity, no stable livelihood, and no future.
Duan Xiwen often stands alone on the high place of Mesle, looking into the distance, as if looking for a way out. He knew that time was running out, both for himself and for the remnants of the army.
In the dead of night, he would be awakened by the question: How can we find a place for these brothers who have followed him for many years?
Just when Duan Xiwen was worried about this, an unexpected opportunity quietly came. In Phra Mung, a few hundred miles from Mae Sle, Thai troops are engaged in fierce fighting with local guerrillas.
This battle attracted Duan Xiwen's great attention, and he was keenly aware that this might be a turning point.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for an envoy sent by the Thai government to come to Mae Sile and ask to see Duan Xiwen by name.
The envoy brought exciting news: the King of Thailand was going to receive Duan Xiwen and allow him to take a few key officers with him. This news was like a ray of light, illuminating the sky above Mesler.
A few days later, Duan Xiwen took Li Wenhuan and Lei Yutian, two right-hand men, to the Thai palace. The king's personal reception made these three weathered old generals feel extremely honored.
To their surprise, the king expressed his willingness to grant them the status of Thai nationals on the spot. At this moment, it was as if I saw the dawn of hope.
However, it's not that simple. The reason for the sudden change in Thailand's attitude is closely related to the war in Phra Muang Mountain. The Thai army suffered heavy casualties in the engagement with the guerrillas and made slow progress.
Under these circumstances, the top brass of the Thai army thought of the remnants of Mae Slok and proposed to the king to incorporate this experienced team.
After some bargaining, the two sides finally reached an agreement: the remnants of the army were returned to Thailand, reorganized into local armed forces, known as the "Northern Thai Armed Self-Defense Force", and the Thai military provided supplies and equipment.
In exchange, the remnants of the army were to assist the Thai army in exterminating the guerrillas in northern Thailand. Once the mission is completed, the King of Thailand will grant amnesty to all remnants and their dependents, allowing them to become Thai citizens.
This agreement is undoubtedly an opportunity for the remnants, but it also means a huge risk. In order to have a stable living environment in the future, the remnants of the army had to be tied to this chariot. Duan Xiwen knew that this might be their last chance.
After returning to Mesle, Duan Xiwen immediately set about forming a death squad. However, after more than ten years of comfortable life, this once commanding army has lost its former sharpness.
Duan Xiwen struggled to put together a team of five hundred people. When the Thai generals saw this team, they couldn't help frowning.
Judging by the military appearance and age distribution, this team is more like a rabble.
In order to test the combat effectiveness of the remnants, the Thai generals proposed to hold a friendly shooting competition. As a result, it can be imagined that the target rate of Thai soldiers is much higher than that of the remnant army, and many remnant soldiers even miss the target.
Duan Xiwen saw it in his eyes and felt pain in his heart. He knows very well that this is because the veterans are old and the recruits lack experience, so they naturally do not perform well in the competition.
Despite this, the Thai army organized these 500 men into death squads and gave them an almost impossible task: to capture the halfway point of the mountain occupied by the guerrillas in three days. It was undoubtedly a suicidal mission, but for the sake of the future, the remnants had no choice.
After three days of fierce fighting, the remnants of the death squad suffered heavy casualties, and more than 100 people remained on that mountain forever. But they finally completed the task and captured the half slope of the main peak of Pameng Mountain.
But the battle didn't end there. The guerrillas launched a fierce counterattack, and the two sides fell into a brutal tug-of-war.
In this bloody battle, Captain Xu of the death squad unfortunately died. Captain Xu was originally a division commander of the remnant army, but now he fell on the battlefield in a foreign land.
Faced with such a tragic situation, Duan Xiwen said to Lei Yutian: "So far, only the chief of staff has stepped forward in person. "
Lei Yu adopted an ingenious tactic: while attracting the main force of the guerrillas with a frontal onslaught, he sent a surprise attack team of 100 people to climb and raid from the back mountain. The ploy worked, the guerrillas were drawn to the front, and the surprise raiders managed to break through the rear lines.
Under the attack of the frontal death squad and the rear surprise team, the guerrillas were finally routed, and the remnants of the army took control of the entire Phra Muang Mountain.
When the remnants returned to Mesle, no one felt the joy of victory. Half of the 500-strong team remained on Mount Pamon forever, and the remaining half were almost all wounded.
To ensure that the Thai government fulfills its commitments, Duan sent representatives to Bangkok to meet with Thai government and military officials to ask for the fulfillment of previous commitments.
Just as the Thai envoy was about to arrive in Mae Si Le, a sudden fire swept through the village.
Duan Xiwen led everyone to fight the fire, but half of the thatched houses were still burned down. When the Thai envoys arrived, they were shocked by the tragic sight before them.
The special envoy and his entourage visited the families of the remnants of the soldiers, expressed their deep sympathy and blessings to them, and promised that there would be bereavement benefits and subsidies.
Shortly after the return of the Special Envoy, the Government of Thailand fulfilled all its commitments. The remnants of the army were officially given the number and continued to garrison the Mesle area. The Thai government regularly disburses military salaries, provides crop seeds and fertilizer, and sends people to help rebuild Mae Sle.
When everything settled, Duan Xiwen finally relieved the burden in his heart......
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