Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty

1 Statistics show that in 1949 before the Kuomintang entered Myanmar, the opium output in the Golden Triangle was only 37 tons, which was insignificant compared with the opium output of Southeast Asian countries at that time.Taking Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand as examples, the opium production in these countries exceeded 100 tons, which shows that the Golden Triangle was considered a pure land at that time. Before the 1960s, that is, the "Mengsa era" and the Liu Yuanlin era when the remnants of the Kuomintang counterattacked the mainland, the opium production in the Golden Triangle did not change significantly. In 1959, the World Health Organization estimated that the opium production in the Golden Triangle was about 60 tons, which was still insufficient. to pose a threat to human life.

During this period, a major event occurred in the neighboring People's Republic of China. This event seems to have nothing to do with the Golden Triangle, but history shows that it will have a decisive and far-reaching impact on the Golden Triangle and even the entire world's anti-drug movement.In just three or four years, the Beijing government has completed a historic anti-drug feat in the most populous country in the world, and there is no longer a scene of opium poppies everywhere in mainland China.The Chinese government sets an example for the whole world.The success of China's drug control means the disappearance of the world's largest opium producing area and market, but this does not mean that drug dealers sit and wait to die. The market supply and demand lever is to rely on profits to stimulate production, and drug profits have brought huge wealth to illegal businessmen.That is to say, the market can be cultivated and opened up. As long as people take drugs, drugs will be continuously produced.

We have seen that in the 1960s, especially after the collapse of the Kuomintang empire, the military bridgehead as a counterattack to the mainland no longer existed, and political awareness was weakened. Instead, the Golden Triangle opium planting industry began to prosper, growing rapidly with a rapid momentum, and the output also snowballed. multiplied.In the mid-1960s, it exceeded 100 tons, and in 1970, it exceeded 1,000 tons, and the output doubled tenfold in ten years.In the 1980s, it became even more unstoppable, setting a world record of 2,000 tons at that time, which shocked the whole world.Later, this record was repeatedly broken. In the 1990s, the Golden Triangle opium finally broke through the 2,500-ton mark and became the largest drug kingdom in the world.

Corresponding to this group of figures is that the number of drug addicts in the world has risen in a straight line. In the 1990s, the International Narcotics Control Commission announced that the global drug addict population is about 300 million, which means that one out of every 20 people takes drugs on average. Sixty-six percent of them were teenagers. In 1994, the total revenue of global drug smuggling accounted for about 8% of the total revenue of global commercial trade, reaching 400 billion US dollars! To me, the above numbers provide a historical coordinate line of change to refer to.My question is, why exactly is the 1960s a dividing line?During the prosperity of the Kuomintang in the 1950s, drugs in the Golden Triangle were dormant. Does politics have an inhibitory effect on drug production?In other words, sowing in the 1950s, flowering in the 1960s, and fruiting in the 1970s and 1980s, is this a cyclical law of historical development? In 1961, the downfall of the remnants of the Kuomintang led directly to the prosperity of the Golden Triangle drug kingdom. Is this a coincidence, or a causal relationship?I set my sights on the cloud-covered Golden Triangle in southern Asia. In that magical and ancient land, countless huge question marks are like floating icebergs. They hide their true colors under the water and in the depths of the dark river of history. , only revealing one-eighth of the peak looming towards me.

2 My other Thai friend, Liu Zhou, is a poet. He said that "Thai friend" is not very accurate, mainly because he is not kind enough, because many years ago, like me, he was an educated youth in Yunnan, and he also jumped in the frontier. Later, he went to the Golden Triangle and worked as a The Communist Party of Burma has fought wars and suffered a lot.Later, he moved to Tangwo and married a local Han girl.The girl's father is the brother-in-law of the famous General Li Wenhuan, the former chief of staff of the Kuomintang Third Army, General Gu Shaoqing. Liu Zhou is a persistent Chinese poet with a bold and unrestrained personality. He still cannot speak Thai well, but he writes Chinese poems with passion.He sent me many poems, some of which were published in domestic journals.He sang like this: The long river of history whimpers, the dark years will never return to the world, Yanhuang Huaxuan takes our forest-like giant hands to recast the yellow soul and nine tripods.

He said to me: "Do you know why I love poetry? Why don't I change my infatuation and stay in love?" I said, "Idealism? Love first? Or life is superior, crooning?" He laughed and said, "What is this and that. Tell you, have you ever been tortured? Or shot and there is no anesthesia, so you have to scream like hell to get those terrible pains out of your throat." This metaphor makes my hair stand on end.Did I say this is poetry?It is terrorism. He said that when you were wandering in northern Myanmar, I was fighting fiercely, fighting for survival.If a person, a group of people, or a society is just fighting for survival, you will have no personality, confidence, self-esteem, and ideals at all.You become a wild beast, and your enemies are also wild beasts. The strong prey on the weak and drink blood, and your nerves are oppressed and deformed. At this time, I thought of writing poetry.

I retorted: "Your father-in-law, Duan Xiwen and Li Wenhuan have fought all their lives and never had peace. Do they write poetry?" He sighed and said, "Actually, they all write poems, but their methods are different. If you look at the tombstones behind those generals, which one doesn't leave an infinite exclamation? If it's not poetry, what is it?" I immediately expressed my conviction and admitted that what he said made sense.For soldiers who have been in the army for a lifetime, don't they write poems with guns in their hands?I said why did your father-in-law and the others fight in the Golden Triangle?For belief, ideal, or power, money?

The poet fell into deep thought, and finally shook his head pessimistically and said: "I think there is only one purpose, and that is to 'live'." Coincidentally, I had the honor of interviewing and getting to know many old soldiers: Lei Yutian, Yang Shaojia, Li Chongwen, Feng Shunxi, Liang Zhongying, Huang Ke, Malutang, and old men in the suburbs of Mengsa. They all used the term "alive" with solemn expressions ".In fact, living is a victory. Whoever lives at the end can see or approach hope, although he may not live the best life. Lei Yutian recalled that difficult time and said: "There was no way to go, it seemed to be a dead world. At that time, we only had one thought, which was to survive."

I said, how do you choose Mesla?Is it accidental or inevitable? The old man thought about it and replied, it all counts. I asked General Yang Shaojia the same question, why did you choose Tangwo instead of other places as your base?He said with a wry smile, because he couldn't walk anymore. Another general, Liang Zhongying, pointed to the scar on his leg, and said bluntly: "It's fate, death is fate, and life is fate. Whoever you meet, whoever you go with, that's fate!" 3 In 1961, the rainy season came as soon as it was said. As if the dry season was still in full swing, the ferocious sun scorched the ground to form a thick layer of dust. There was no wind, and the fine dust rose with the thermal air flow, and the clear air trembled like melted glass.People hid under the eaves, the buffalo soaked its huge body in the river ditch, and the dogs stretched their tongues under the trees.In the afternoon, the air became sluggish, the sun suddenly lost its mind like a cramp, and became lifeless. The hard light flew up like a kite, and the air clearly added a lot of water, becoming thick and viscous, Then man and beast alike opened their mouths wide, opening and closing their mouths in vain like fish thrown on the beach, as if they breathed through gills instead of lungs.

At this time, the rainy season pounces like a sinister crocodile. The cumulonimbus clouds that had accumulated for a whole dry season were like floods breaking through the gates, rushing violently into the sky over the Indochina Peninsula. Long lightning strikes the ground fiercely like whips. As a result, there was a pungent sulfur smell in the humid air.The typhoon rampages, squeezing and deforming the sea level, just like a 10,000-ton hydraulic press squeezes a thin iron sheet, turning them into crests and valleys tens of meters high, and then driving them to the land in a mighty way.Cities and villages were washed away, trees, pedestrians and houses were swept away, and the typhoon was like an ambitious feudal tyrant, attacking cities everywhere, driving water-filled cumulonimbus clouds to the depths of the mainland, covering the mountains and forests , the river ditch filled, flooded the lowlands, washed away the hillsides, caused floods and mudslides, and turned the mountains and rivers into a vast ocean.

This year the whole world is shrouded in the terrible shadow of "El Nino" phenomenon.China later announced that a disaster that had not happened in a century had occurred. Famine spread throughout the country and lasted for three years. The death toll has not been announced.It is called "three-year natural disaster" in history. Duan Xiwen rode on a horse and walked hard along the muddy mountain path. The heavy rain was pouring overhead, and the valley seemed to be a dark prison cell. The low clouds squeezed the treetops, and the tired team moved slowly like snails on the rugged mountain road. Everyone had blank and questioning expressions on their faces.Duan Xiwen looked at the sky melancholy, and sighed heavily in his heart. The Fifth Army retreated urgently from the Maoerhe battlefield, and then carried out a major strategic shift. First, it crossed the Mekong River according to Taiwan's order, trying to rebuild its base in northern Laos like it occupied the Golden Triangle.Unexpectedly, it was the Americans who stood up to oppose this time, because they did not want to see a new unstable factor accelerate the civil strife in Laos. The White House directly put pressure on Taiwan. Taiwan had no choice but to order Liu Yuanlin to withdraw its troops.The first, second, and fourth armies obeyed the order and withdrawn from Taiwan via airlift from Thailand. The third and fifth armies once again jointly disobeyed and declared independence on the spot. There is a price to be paid for independence. If Taiwan does not recognize it and cancel the serial number, you will be dishonored, and this team of Han people who do not even have a nationality will have to become bandits. The Lao government declared the Han troops who entered the country illegally as persona non grata. The government troops dispatched planes and ground forces to intercept them. The third and fifth armies had to flee under the attack of the Lao army.Of course, the well-prepared Burmese army refused to let go of this great opportunity to avenge and beat the dog in the water. They rushed forward like hounds, chasing and intercepting them all the way.As time goes by, this remnant army is not that remnant army. The Fifth Army lost its base, became displaced, experienced internal divisions, failed intelligence, was passively beaten everywhere, and became a bereaved dog.Just like the majestic king of beasts in the past, once injured and destitute, its enemies, including the most timid jackals, would pounce on it and tear it apart.In order not to be wiped out by the enemy, they had no choice but to keep marching and moving, braving the heavy rain and wandering around in the mountains of the Golden Triangle.This is a tragic moment, the rainy season comes ahead of time, the traffic is interrupted, floods break out everywhere, the morale of officers and soldiers is low, the number of wounded and sick increases sharply, desertion and even mass escapes happen every day, it seems that the whole world has become a part of this unfortunate team enemy. Duan Xiwen silently watched the team pass by him.These are some gray faces that he is familiar with. They are all from Yunnan, soldiers from their hometown. After years of evolution, these people are no longer the army in the strict sense.A woman passed in front of him. She was a member of the military family. The baby in her arms was crying loudly, but the mother had no milk.The mother beat the child and beat herself, and the adults and children cried together.The general was so sad that he almost shed tears. He gave up his mount to the child and walked with the team. Since the thirty-ninth year of the Republic of China (1950), this former Kuomintang army has quietly changed: young people grow beards, middle-aged people enter old age, and bachelors become husbands and fathers with children.The laws of nature are irresistible. Nearly half of the marching troops are women and children.The political purpose of counterattacking the mainland has disappeared, and Taiwan is no longer their backer. They have no legal citizenship, no goals, no spiritual aspirations and pursuits, and even no official numbers. They have become a wandering tribe, a group similar to ancient migratory nations. Han team.They bear all the hope of life, just like snails, looking for a place to live everywhere.The only identifiable mark on them is that they are a group of Han people, rooted in China, and share a blood-linked Yanhuang ancestor with the great nation adjacent to the Golden Triangle. Chief of Staff Lei Yutian and Qian Yunzhou waited anxiously for him.Qian Yunzhou was unwilling to follow Liu Yuanlin to withdraw from Taiwan, so he defected to Duan Xiwen. Because of his meritorious service in tipping off the Maoer River Valley, he was appointed as the intelligence director of the Fifth Army.They announced in a low voice that General Zeng, the deputy army commander and avant-garde division commander, was critically ill. General Zeng had injured his leg during the battle. Normally, this injury was not fatal. Unexpectedly, the troops marched every day, and it rained heavily. In a makeshift tent, General Zeng was lying unconscious on a stretcher, and the military doctor was feeding him diluted opium water.The mountain wind roared and poured in through the hole, the canvas was torn, and the rainwater dripped down.The family members of General Zeng stayed in the mainland, separated by Guanshan, and there was no news. This lonely and helpless old soldier was left struggling painfully on the death line in a foreign country. Duan Xiwen asked the military doctor, "...do you still have injections?" The military doctor shook his head in horror.This is of course not to blame the military doctors, the army has long since run out of medicines.Originally, there were two channels for the source of medicines, one was air transportation from Taiwan, and the other was smuggling by caravans.Both channels are now cut off, the stockpiles of medicine are depleted, and many of the sick and wounded have died for lack of medicine.In the past, the army had strict disciplines that forbid opium smoking, but at this point, the only way is to learn from the locals and use opium instead of medicine to treat diseases. As if there was some kind of induction, General Zeng suddenly woke up from his coma, and a blush appeared on his pale face, which was the last lingering glow of sunset in his life.He said to the army commander standing in front of him: "It seems... I am useless, everyone has his own life! Xi Gong, I am worried that it is not me, but... the team!" General Zeng's eyes overflowed with tears. He knew that the sepsis virus was invading his brain and heart. The wailing of military horses came from outside the mountain forest. It meant that the food was running out, and the soldiers had to slaughter the loyal military horses to survive.The howling and protesting of the fighting horses cut through the dull air squeezed in the tent like blades, making the hearts of the living tremble. General Zeng said hastily: "Gong Xi, don't go around in circles in the Golden Triangle. You can't go back to the former base area... Go to another place, go to the south, and let Thailand take in the team... Otherwise, it will be like the 31st year of the Republic of China. (1942), like Du Yuming's expeditionary army, was eaten alive by the Savage Mountain." Duan Xiwen mourned greatly.General Zeng has experienced two India-Myanmar wars and walked through Savage Mountain twice. He is a famous general of the Anti-Japanese War, but this time he will never go out again.He clings to the hand of the dying person, puts his ears close together, and listens to the footsteps of the god of death.The old soldier's voice became thinner and farther away, and was finally carried away by the wind. "...Facing south, the team...rush out...come back again...otherwise...it's over..." The patient's hand gradually cooled down, and all the people present looked sad. They knew that the old soldier was by no means the first, nor the last one who paid the price of his life for survival. Duan Xiwen convened an emergency meeting that night, and all the officers agreed to abandon the plan to recapture the original base area, turn south, throw the enemy away, and open up a way out.Puzzled by the sudden turn of the Han army, the Burmese army later realized that they were indeed leaving Burmese territory, and immediately showed a gesture of generosity and tolerance.The Fifth Army basically did not encounter major battles, and successfully entered the Long Pha Mountains in northern Thailand, which is also covered with virgin forests. One evening before the end of the rainy season, the Vanguard Battalion stopped in an unnamed valley.It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with dense forests, standing on the top of the mountain overlooking the great plains shining like lakes on the horizon.According to the local mountain people, it only takes one day for the caravan to go to Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand, but it takes two days to go to Mae Chai (also known as Ye Shi), an important town on the Thai border across the river from Tachilek, Myanmar. Duan Xiwen reined in his horse, and under the afterglow of the setting sun, he saw the plains and rivers in the distance shining brightly in a layer of faint twilight.That is to say, they have come to the edge of the Golden Triangle, and the flat land is like a devil to tempt this Chinese team that has gone through all kinds of hardships, and some people can't help crying.Lei Yutian later told me that as soon as he saw the peaceful and fertile plain outside the mountain, his legs immediately softened, and he could no longer climb the mountain.He heard Duan Xiwen's voice coming from the night-shrouded mountain: "It's here, we won't leave, and we won't leave after the war!...We want to take root here!" Duan Xiwen gave this valley a pleasant name that combines Chinese and Thai, called Mesle. "Mei" means village in Thai, and "Sile" means peace in Chinese, which means peace village. 4 Liu Zhou told me that in the 1960s, Li Wenhuan's third army withdrew from Laos and dealt with the Burmese army in the deep mountains and old forests of the Golden Triangle.At that time, his wife, Gu Yueqi, was just born, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and held in the arms of her mother, his future mother-in-law, Li Wenhuan's younger sister. Heavy rain and endless marches and wars almost killed the baby. Liu Zhou said that family affection plays a decisive role in this team.Unlike the Fifth Army, the main generals and backbone of the Third Army are basically Li Wenhuan's relatives and township party members.The ancient blood ties and family rule have miraculously united this Han army, maintaining a strong fighting spirit even in the most difficult times. I thought there was some truth to Liu Zhou's words, because I saw in later interviews that Li Wenhuan's prestige in the Third Army was indeed deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.Many people do not directly call Li Wenhuan the commander or general, but call him "Old Cousin" or "Grandpa" according to the custom in western Yunnan. Compared with the strength of the Fifth Army, the Third Army is basically unable to hold a candle to it.At its peak, the Five Armies numbered 7,000 people, but Li Wenhuan only had more than 2,000 people at best. After some setbacks, there were less than 1,000 people left, including more than 100 women and children.At this turbulent moment, the locals quietly left the team and went their separate ways. Kun Sha, the future world drug lord who has become an independent team leader, was no exception. He quietly pulled the team back to Dangyang’s hometown of Mount Laimo to stand on the top of the mountain and set up Chieftain. Armed "Brightened Self-Defense Forces".This is in line with the old saying that "trees fall and monkeys scatter, and birds fly to the forest".Li Wenhuan refused to merge with the Fifth Army, which would be tantamount to handing over the team, but he must not leave the Fifth Army to act alone. If the sky falls, there will be a tall man to support it, and everyone knows this simple truth.Therefore, the third army followed the fifth army not too far or near, keeping a distance of a day or two, in a nonchalant manner, like a poor little bear abandoned by a big bear.This situation also caused another embarrassment. All the food in the villages that the Fifth Army passed through earlier was like locusts sweeping away, and those who came later had to starve.But Li Wenhuan has his own way.He sent mules and horses to distant villages to buy grain. His team was small, but his funds were sufficient, so he never cut off his supplies. After all, war is not a game, and accidents can happen at any time.The Wangsuo Highway Bridge is a strategically important place. After the Fifth Army passed through, it blew up the bridge in order to get rid of the pursuers. As a result, the Third Army and the Burmese Army that followed were separated on the east bank.This is equivalent to kicking the struggling partner in the head by the person who was saved first.This does not mean that the Fifth Army must kill people with a knife. The law of war is to preserve itself as the first priority. Li Wenhuan and Chief of Staff Gu Shaoqing rushed to the river, only to see that the valley was flooded, and the broken steel cable bridge had been swept away by the flood, leaving a few steel cables hanging alone in the air.Li Wenhuan's face was livid. He felt that he had been betrayed. Duan Xiwen made snacks with him and the third army to express condolences to the hungry Burmese government troops who were chasing after them.It was obviously too late to re-build the bridge, and it was too late to choose another route. The Burmese soldiers might arrive at any time.Combat should be avoided unless it is absolutely necessary, otherwise it would be tantamount to suicide.My friend Liu Zhou's future father-in-law, General Gu Shaoqing, is a true professional soldier who graduated from the 16th class of Whampoa. Although Li Wenhuan was not a regular soldier, most of the officers he relied on were from the Whampoa family.After all, Li Wenhuan is not someone to wait for. He became the king of Zhenkang at the age of 20, and he has been in the Golden Triangle for more than 20 years. What turmoil has not been seen in the world?So when it comes to the way of survival in the Burma jungle, he is probably better than Duan Xiwen Lei Yutian. Li Wenhuan twirled the rat whiskers on his chin, and watched the turbulent river silently. Gu Shaoqing and Yang Shaojia, the commander of the 14th Division who served as the avant-garde, were extremely anxious.At this time, the sky was gloomy, the river was roaring like thunder, and thousands of officers, soldiers, women and children were crowded on the bank of the river. Everyone realized that the situation was not good. Lock, lock off their hope of reaching the other shore. Despair strangles people by the throat like a demon.I seem to see the future wife of the poet Liu Zhou squeezing her head into her mother's arms in fear, and the mother is trembling and holding the young baby tightly.In the face of bad luck, the air was frozen, no one spoke, and the world was surprisingly quiet.A group of crows hovered in the valley, like an ominous omen hanging over people's heads. Some people said that Li Wenhuan was furious at that time, grabbed the machine gun and fired a burst of bullets. The shot crows fell into the river like a stone and disappeared in an instant. The crow immediately wailed and flew away.Li Wenhuan threw down his gun angrily. He saw the few lonely steel cables swaying in the canyon wind, and suddenly inspired, he turned around and asked Mr. Yang: "You are from Tengchong, and Chairman Li is from the same village, right?" Teacher Yang replied inexplicably: "Yes, I heard that Lianghe Township is now changed to a county, and it used to be under the jurisdiction of Tengchong Prefecture." Li Wenhuan laughed hootingly, and said to everyone: "Have any of you seen the zip line? I remember there was one in the Tengchong area before." The zip line is an ancient means of transportation in the Hengduan Mountain Canyon in Northwest Yunnan: a thick rattan or steel cable, with a bamboo basket tied underneath, carries people or goods and slides quickly to the opposite bank.This means of transportation has existed for at least hundreds of years.Yang Shaojia slapped his head and said loudly: "That's right! There is no unparalleled road, isn't there a few ready-made steel cables here?" I think Farmer Lee Moon Hwan has some sort of leadership qualities.It is not easy for one person to gain a foothold in the Golden Triangle, to gain a foothold in the harsh battlefields and internal struggles of the Kuomintang, and to firmly control the team.Fifty years of vicissitudes, Li Wenhuan is still one of the leaders of the Golden Triangle.When I interviewed in the Golden Triangle, many members of the Fifth Army did not think highly of Li Wenhuan. They publicly accused the Third Army and ridiculed Li Wenhuan as an idiot, a bully, a bandit, and a profiteer. prejudice. People cut rattan and bamboo from the forest, and it took only one day to turn the steel cable into a large zipline that can carry people or horses, and the emergency crossing of the river started.People, mules and horses were all suspended in mid-air, flying back and forth in a dizzying manner. Since there were several steel cables, the team crossed the river very quickly. By the fourth day, the Burmese soldiers had rushed to the river, and the third army had already left. , only a small amount of luggage was discarded on the river bank.Still twirling his whiskers, Li Wenhuan said to Commander Yang: "Thank you Brothers of the Fifth Army, they didn't blow up all the cables, otherwise you and I should have reported to Premier Sun!" The Third Army did the rest more thoroughly, attaching dynamite to both ends of the cable to blow up any hope of crossing the river. This tenacious small force, like a shadow that cannot be shaken off, has always followed the Fifth Army and turned to the south of the Golden Triangle. When the Fifth Army finally stopped its months-long march and settled down in Mesle and established a base, Li Wenhuan also chose the friendly army to set up camp in Xi'an.The valley where they are stationed is even more dangerous. It is a depression on the mountainside, which is called "Tangwo" in the local dialect. "Pond" means stone cave, and "nest" means monkey, which is a place where there are many monkeys and stone caves. 5 Once the big tree fell, the hozen's banquet had to be dismissed, and the remnants of the Kuomintang, which once dominated the Golden Triangle for more than ten years, finally withdrew from the Shan State Plateau like a shadow.Most of the officers and soldiers who do not want to withdraw from Taiwan are from Yunnan. Except for the two larger groups of the Third and Fifth Armies, the rest of the scattered personnel go their separate ways, or disarm and return to the fields, and become local overseas Chinese; Take advantage of the coolness; or pull up a team to stand on your own and occupy the mountain as the king. Anyway, Jackie Chan goes to the sky, and adults burrow into the ground.In short, in the vast and ancient land of the Golden Triangle, the exiled Han people from mainland China are like the migrating peoples in ancient times, destined to stage countless tragedies and comedies in the world where dragons and snakes fight for hegemony and the weak eat the strong. Another important figure worth mentioning is Lu Weiying, former deputy commander-in-chief of the remnant army of the Kuomintang and commander of the First Army. This down-and-out general, who had lost his backing in Taiwan, accidentally fell into Liu Yuanlin's countermeasures. Although he still held the title of deputy commander-in-chief, he couldn't even move a single soldier under his command.A general has no team, not even grass bandits.Liu Yuanlin's withdrawal undoubtedly gave him a chance to come out again. General Lu immediately lobbied among his old subordinates, recruited troops, and re-launched the team. His efforts were not in vain. After a few months, he finally recruited a team of about 300 people.It should be said that this is a very good result. When Li Guohui and Tan Zhong conquered the world, wasn't it just more than a thousand remnants who were still in shock and defeated?What's more, these 300 people are all elite soldiers, well-equipped weapons, and all of them have experienced many battles. Among them are a group of ambitious and outstanding officers, including the future soul of the Golden Triangle, Zhang Suquan, the head of the Kuomintang, and Liang Zhongying, the chief of staff. The original base has been lost. After some foresight, General Lu decided to develop to Luang Namtha Province in northern Laos.At that time, the political situation in Laos was turbulent, and the left wing of the revolutionary party launched a military coup in the capital, Vientiane. However, this red regime only existed for four months before being defeated by the Fumi government army, which made a comeback, and the revolutionary party withdrew to the mountains to fight guerrillas.At the same time, many major powers stepped up their involvement in Laos affairs. They each sent military advisers and military aid to Laos to support pro-Western or pro-communist forces.Various factions in Laos have expanded their armed forces in order to gain more ground in the future civil war.What needs to be explained is that Lu Weiying came from the CIA of the Kuomintang and has close ties with the U.S. Intelligence Agency. Against such a complicated political background, he played the banner of the "Southeast Asia International Support Column" and was led by the U.S. Intelligence Agency to join Fumi Noshawan General, be a real international mercenary.In the past, when the Indian International Corps fought bloody battles on Niushan Mountain, Li Guohui once lamented that the fate of the soldiers was like duckweed. He may have had an ominous premonition about the fate of the remnants of the Kuomintang army. Later, a large number of Kuomintang soldiers became international mercenaries. This may be an inevitable outcome.General Lu organized 300 people into three companies, called the "110 Special Operations Force". He personally served as the commander-in-chief, and Zhang Suquan was the chief of staff. More than ten years later, Zhang Suquan, who has firmly secured the second position in the Kunsha drug cartel, talked eloquently in front of the cameras of American reporters.He said that he fought in the "110 Special Forces" in 1961. The situation was good, but he was tricked by the Lao people and had to return to the Golden Triangle.The meaning of this sentence can be interpreted as, originally they were determined to be good mercenaries, but had to turn to drug trafficking.I think Zhang Suquan is telling the truth. This is an important turning point in the history of drug development in the Golden Triangle. War is the stage for soldiers. Civil wars and external turmoil have found a place for this army that has lost its purpose. Liang Zhongying said that the "110 Special Forces" were indeed brave and good at fighting. In the battle of Shangliao, the Lao rebels fled after hearing the news.Lu Weiying is ambitious, and wants to take advantage of the civil strife in Laos to develop his team, recruit troops to expand his territory, and then become the overlord of Laos again.Unexpectedly, the Laotians are of course highly wary of these Chinese troops, which have troubled the Myanmar government. One is to use them, and the other is to eliminate them.One year later, in 1962, Laos established a three-party provisional national unity government. The left, center and right factions sat together and shook hands. The first agreement reached by the three parties was to jointly eliminate the Kuomintang mercenaries. Zhang Suquan said that he was only a little short of dying in the despicable attack of the Laos that time.It's hard for us to imagine what it would be like if the drug development in the Golden Triangle left Zhang Suquan as a big man?However, without Zhang Suquan, the Kunsha Group will still flourish like it is now, and become the world's largest drug trafficking group as we all know?In short, history is a chain that cannot be connected without a link. The government fighter jets suddenly flew over the garrison on a morning when there was no sign at all and began to straf.The planes swooped down and dropped bombs, strafing repeatedly, and then a large number of government troops came to attack ferociously like a pack of wolves, surrounding the hills, while the Lao Communist guerrillas blocked the Mekong River and cut off their retreat.The Kuomintang army was at a disadvantage from the very beginning. They were simply confused. Many people did not understand a simple truth until their death: how could they become enemies overnight when they were good allies yesterday?what the hell is it? After all, Zhang Suquan is a professional soldier who has experienced many battles. Although he was in the disadvantaged position of being passively beaten at the beginning, he was like a tiger.Abandoning their wounded and dead comrades, they fought and retreated, dealing with government forces in the mountains.A few days later, this little battered army finally broke through the encirclement and crossed the Mekong River back to the Golden Triangle.When the pursuers were gone, Zhang Suquan counted the number of people, and two-thirds of the officers and soldiers had become victims of friendly attacks. Laos trumpeted the military victory and reported the ignominious fate of the Nationalist invaders.The Taiwan side categorically denied that these "aggressors" had anything to do with the Kuomintang, stating that they were just some local bandits and had nothing to do with the Taiwan government.Lu Weiying's great ambition to make a comeback came to naught again. He was disheartened and turned into a lost dog. He finally quietly left the team on a dark night and went to Thailand alone, living in a foreign country without a trace for more than 20 years. year.In the 1980s when Mainland China was reforming and opening up, General Lu resolutely embarked on his return journey in his seventies, meeting his family members and children whom he misses day and night in Kunming, Yunnan. In the autumn of 1992, the old man passed away suddenly in Kunming and was buried in the famous scenic spot Qiongzhu Temple Yuan Mountain, fulfilling his long-cherished wish of returning to his roots. Lu Weiying went away, and Zhang Suquan became the leader of this dilapidated small team.He led a hundred people and a hundred guns, wandering among the mountains of the Golden Triangle like a lonely ghost.They defected to Duan Xiwen and Li Wenhuan successively, but due to factional struggles and numerous contradictions within the Kuomintang, they had to return to the forest and lived a life of wandering like wild animals.They have to be vigilant at all times, because deadly dangers and enemies are hidden everywhere in this land full of murderous intentions and prey to the weak: Burmese soldiers, Shan armed forces, Wa troops, anti-government guerrillas, chieftain soldiers, and all kinds of enemies. bandit.This is like a little wolf. The pack dominates the forest by numbers, but the little wolf may become the prey of others. On a cloudy day with no sun, rain clouds gathered on the hilltops in the distance. This exhausted small team had just escaped from the pursuit of the Burmese soldiers, but was surrounded by another local armed force with a larger number in a river valley with no place name. Extremely critical.Gunshots sounded, and the small team basically had no hope of breaking through, so they had to resist desperately.At a critical moment, someone on the other side suddenly shouted Zhang Suquan's name, not in unfamiliar Burmese or Shan, but authentic Chinese.We see that, just like the sun suddenly piercing through the clouds, this accidental opportunity completely changed Zhang Suquan's fate, and the hand of God inadvertently planted a foreshadowing of suffering for our troubled world.From then on, Zhang Suquan ended his wandering life as a professional soldier, and turned to another road to hell full of thorns. The leader of that team was none other than his former subordinate Kun Sha. 6 Qian Yunzhou led a team of special agents, all of them wore coir raincoats, with a top bamboo hat on their heads, submachine guns hidden in the coir raincoats, looking like a group of caravans from a distance, and quietly returned to Mengsa in the dark.Grandpa Qian Dayu, Dao Dongxi, the great chieftain of Mengsa who has been inherited for ten generations, offended the government because he took refuge in the remnants of the Kuomintang army, and finally completely lost in this continuous war. His large group of wives, concubines, housekeepers, servants and soldiers Because of the ruin of the owner, the birds and beasts scattered, leaving only one young daughter, Qian Dayu's mother Ruina, who had nowhere to go, and took the child to live with her father. Qian Yunzhou posted a sentry outside the stronghold to block the road, and then led his men back home through the hole in the fence.The chieftain's mansion had been confiscated, and Reina lived in the former servant's hut. A yellow dog rushed out with a threatening whimper, recognized its owner, and immediately wagged its tail cheerfully.Hearing movement in the room, he was immediately booed as soon as he asked who it was.The door opened a crack, and Qian Yunzhou slipped in. After the catastrophe, the family was finally reunited, and immediately burst into tears. Qian Dayu said that when he was nine years old that year, when he opened his eyes and saw his father standing in front of him, he suspected it was a dream.The father was dark and thin, with long hairs on his face. He looked very ferocious, like an evil spirit, and immediately scared the younger sister to tears.The father was carrying a submachine gun, and his body smelled of sweat. The boy immediately realized that his father led the team and fought back, and his heart jumped happily.Mother hugged father tightly, convulsing like sick, tears soaked a large piece of military uniform on father's chest.There has been no news of my father for a year, and there are many rumors in the Golden Triangle. Some say that the Han army has gone to Taiwan and will never return.Some said that they saw them cross the Mekong River and were wiped out by the Laos.还有人幸灾乐祸地说，缅甸政府军打死的国民党尸体堆积如山，一百匹骡子也驮不完。金三角三十三家土司联合开会，宣布剥夺刀土司的世袭领地，把他的财产像瓜分烤羊肉一样分掉了。 父亲对母亲的唠叨不感兴趣，他干巴巴地问：“听说大人(岳父)有很多烟(鸦片)，你知道都藏哪里？” 母亲停止哭泣，惊慌地抬起头来，她从丈夫眼睛里看出不祥之兆。父亲沉下脸，威胁母亲说：“你到底跟不跟我走？想走的话，就把藏烟的地点告诉我，我马上送你和孩子去泰国。” 母亲还是没有说话，男孩听见父亲又缓和口气说：“就算队伍先借大人行不行？队伍急需经费，我们很快要打过来，到时候我去跟那些忘恩负义的土司算账，还怕没有堆得像山一样多的大烟？” 母亲到底没有见过世面，就把老土司藏大烟的地方告诉了丈夫。男孩看见父亲眼睛里射出一股恶狠狠的凶光，就像狼群的眼睛，叫人看了害怕，他就赶快躲在母亲身后。父亲唤进一个军官来，命令他先护送家属出寨子，到山里与马帮会合。那天夜里，他们一家人三代包括老土司都离开家乡勐萨，从此离乡背井远走他乡，再也没有回来。他们在山头上看见土司官邸燃起大火，把整个勐萨坝子的夜空映得通红。 这天以后，钱运周带领特工大队在金三角大开杀戒，对所有投靠政府军和背叛汉人军队的当地人进行疯狂报复，手段无所不用其极。一时间金三角淹没在恐怖主义的血泊之中，当地人防不胜防，无不心惊胆战，他们给钱运周取个外号叫“嗯玛尼”，意即“魔王”。一个没有月亮和星星的夜晚，这个杀人魔王突然出现在勐崖土司官寨里。 土司养了几百兵丁，几百条步枪，甚至也有几挺机关枪，但是这些武装对真正的特种部队来说就像泥胎小鬼，都是庙里的摆设。经验丰富的侦察兵像猫一样无声无息地窜出来，干掉岗哨，堵住营房，然后钱运周带了一队人大摇大摆地直扑土司竹楼。 土司正与小妾睡觉，突然门被一脚踹开，一群凶神恶煞的汉人闯进来，知道天塌下来。他的官寨养了几百兵丁居然一点作用也不起，可见得那些土司兵只能吓唬老百姓，在职业军人面前就像猫见了老虎。土司心中叫苦不迭，肥胖的脸上连挤出的笑容也挂不住，五官扭歪了，难看得好像在哭。不等钱运周开口，他就噗通跪下来连连求饶：“召龙(长官)行行好，不关我的事啊！令大人他、他的事，实在是……强盗干的啊！” 钱运周玩弄着枪柄，冷冰冰地说：“哪个强盗？不是你勾结老缅兵，占我大人地盘，抢他老人家的财产，放火烧他寨子，谋财害命，哪个大胆妄为的强盗敢去？……告诉你，今天要是交不出凶手，我就把你当那个强盗。” 土司吓得大小便一齐失禁，弄得屋子里空气臭烘烘的。他几乎是抱住钱运周的腿，边打自己耳光边哭诉：“冤枉啊！召龙不是我干的，我发誓……我不敢害人，召龙要什么我都给，求你开恩不要杀我呀！” 钱运周一脚把他踢开，叫人把他捆在院子的柱子上，剥光衣服抽三十皮鞭。然后当着土司的面，让部下轮奸他心爱的小妾。如此还不解恨，又把土司屋里的女人赶出来，逼迫家丁兵丁来大肆强奸。经过一番折腾，土司官寨已经乌烟瘴气一塌糊涂，土司尊严扫地，瘫在地上像一堆狗屎，钱运周这才用枪点着他的头警告说：“让你们这些混账摆夷明白一个道理，哪些事做得，哪些事做不得！你这颗头，暂时寄放在你的脖子上，我随时可以派人来取！……罚你三千两大烟，三日之内缴齐，要是敢耍花招，明年这天就是你的祭日！” 有部下不解地问他：“为什么要那么糟蹋女人？” 钱运周咬牙切齿地回答：“我比你们更懂这些下贱摆夷！他们生来欺软怕硬，老缅兵强奸他们的女人，他们因为害怕就去讨好老缅兵。汉人对他们仁义，他们反以为你软弱好欺！妈的，这个世道决不能心慈手软！” 特工大队神出鬼没，用同样手段一连威胁了十几家勾结缅兵的土司头人，稍有反抗就杀光全家，烧光寨子，杀一儆百，弄得偌大一个金三角，土司头人无不人人自危战战兢兢，纷纷派人来说情，答应各种苛刻条件。从此土司再不敢与国民党汉人作对，无论纳粮缴税还是替汉人做事，都规规矩矩不敢造次，唯恐什么时候那些杀人不眨眼的特工大队破墙而入，把一串冷冰冰的子弹射进你和家人脑袋里。 7 1964年，在金三角重新站住脚跟的两支国民党残军终于召开第一次联席会议，李文焕亲自翻山越岭来到美斯乐，这个举动本身可以被认为是重新团结的象征。他们讨论了形势、任务和重返缅甸的可能性，研究联合作战方案，划定各自作战区域，确立各自势力范围。当会议快要结束时，台湾发来一封密电，批准组建“东南亚人民反共志愿军游击总部”，总部设在美斯乐，任命段、李分别担任正副总指挥。 这就是说，台湾依然舍不得放弃这支武装，从名义上还是要把他们纳入国民党旗下。然而此一时非彼一时，此残军非彼残军，段希文李文焕也非当年盛极一时的二李(李弥李国辉)。第三、五两军合计兵力仅四千余人，要重现昔日辉煌谈何容易！台湾基本上不再供应经费和装备，也就是“自谋生路”，段、李非常清楚自身处境，他们与台湾是那种名存实亡的关系，好比分居多年的夫妻，恢复从前的关系已属不能，所以他们明智地确立为生存而战斗的目标。是年旱季残军倾巢出动，发动一场代号为“怒吼行动”的战役，重新打通萨尔温江走私通道，建立由他们控制的安全护商走廊。 谁掌握走私通道就等于控制鸦片贸易，谁控制鸦片贸易就等于控制金三角，我们看到，国民党残军这只蚕蛹，经过痛苦而漫长的进化，终于挣脱茧壳的束缚，完成从蛹到蛾的蜕变。这是大自然不可抗拒的进化法则。一只狗，如果不再依附于人类，它就会回归森林重新变成狼。如果说五十年代以二李和柳元麟为首的国民党残军固守政治信仰，念念不忘反攻大陆，给金三角涂抹上一层政治色彩，那么到了段、李时代，这种政治色彩就如同斑剥陆离的油漆一样，早已纷纷风化脱落，什么“反共抗俄”、“反攻大陆”，种种政治神话如同幼稚可笑的痴人说梦，早已灰飞烟灭不复存在。我们看到，这支经历时代变迁的汉人军队除了历史原因与台湾还有某些血缘牵联，沿用国民党番号，但是他们存在的全部目的和意义，已经与台湾政权没有任何关系。 对金三角来说，这支谋求生存的汉人军队不再作为一种政权形式，而是作为一股强大的经济和社会力量出现，对于金三角的原始社会关系迅速瓦解，新的生产力和生产关系的产生起到重要促进作用。原始的鸦片贸易被更大规模的走私所取代，国民党残军像推土机一样肃清障碍，在金三角建立起长达数千里的鸦片走私通道。很长一段时间，国民党残军都暗中控制着金三角最大宗的走私生意，经他们武装护送的马帮源源不断地将各种走私品送达老挝、金边、泰国和仰光以及周边国家。 这就是金三角历史上有名的“段、李时代”。