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In Myanmar's vast northern region, commonly called Shan State, covering over 50,000 square kilometers, transportation may be inconvenient, but natural resources are extremely rich. Besides the Raveneye Mountain range and the Mai Zayan Special Zone, there are three other special zones—Myanmar's First, Second, and Fourth Special Zones.
On paper, these three special zones are under the Myanmar government's jurisdiction, but in reality, they're three independent regimes, each with its own army. Their political structure and governance are just like those of China! The official language and writing are Chinese. Everyone there speaks Chinese! RMB is the main currency in circulation. Cell signals are from China Mobile and China Netcom, and the area code is from Yunnan Province. It's highly autonomous, but these small regimes are still fragile! Due to Burmese nationalism, the Myanmar government has always wanted to swallow them up, but the leaders of these special zones are all Chinese, fiercely united, and their armies are very strong. After fighting the Myanmar government army for over a decade, the government gained nothing and lost a lot. In the early 1990s, they finally reached a peace agreement and ended the war. Now, these three special zones are developing their economies with China, building their own highly autonomous special zone governments.
The Shan State region is home to the Kokang Clan, Han, Wa, and other ethnic groups. Over a hundred years ago, it was under the jurisdiction of the Qing government—specifically Kokang County and Bangsan County. Later, British colonists occupied Myanmar, imposed colonial rule, and forced the Qing government to sign unequal treaties, assigning Myanmar's First, Second, and Fourth Special Zones to British India's Myanmar colony. In the 1990s, China and Myanmar set a border treaty, splitting blood-related Chinese into two countries. After the 1970s, Myanmar saw anti-Chinese movements, so the Han people there, to avoid Burmese persecution and fight for equality, renamed themselves the 'Kokang Clan.'
Those three special zones and the Mai Zayan Special Zone are far from Myanmar's interior, making transportation difficult, but they're close to China's southwestern border, so their economic and cultural ties with Yunnan are strong. They're highly dependent on China's economy and culture. Chinese is the common language there, and they always maintain friendly relations with the Chinese government. Notably, because these three special zones banned poppy cultivation, China has suffered less from drug abuse, and the main sources of narcotics have been cut off.
Now, after repeated attacks, thousands of Kachin Tribe fighters still haven't taken Raveneye Mountain. Worse, they're threatened from behind and risk being surrounded and wiped out by the Myanmar government army. In desperation, General Mason had to urgently seek help from the Chinese leaders of the three special zones. But those leaders didn't want to get burned, so they refused to break their peace agreement with the Myanmar government. They only agreed to temporarily shelter some refugees and refused to send troops to help Mason.
With Mason losing his strongest backup, the 'remaining enemies' at Raveneye Mountain used the natural fortress to fight the Kachin Tribe to the bitter end. Taking Raveneye Mountain isn't a task for a day or two—the Kachin Tribe would have to pay a heavy price and spend a long time to win, but the urgent situation doesn't allow them that luxury. Three divisions of the Myanmar government army have already surrounded them from several directions. If the Kachin Tribe doesn't escape this predicament quickly, they'll be 'wrapped up like dumplings' and face total annihilation!
General Mason finally understood what it meant to have a 'head as big as a bucket.' He even regretted attacking Raveneye Mountain for the huge profits, which let the Myanmar government army take advantage. Now, he's stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to advance or retreat!
Just as General Mason was feeling depressed in his temporary field command post, discussing solutions with his officers but coming up empty, Martin Yang showed up right on time. Mason's aides reported that Martin Yang had brought 'great news'—a plan that could solve the Kachin Tribe's current crisis!
When Mason heard the news, he couldn't wait to welcome Martin Yang. He'd worked with Martin for years and trusted him, since Martin had never bragged or let him down. Mason didn't know Martin's true strength, but he was aware that Martin had powerful forces backing him. So, when Martin explained his intentions, Mason was genuinely moved by the 'friendship in adversity.'
General Mason personally welcomed Martin Yang into the command post. Together with his officers, they discussed and analyzed the complicated situation. Martin, a seasoned veteran, immediately pinpointed the Kachin Tribe's predicament, shocking Mason and the other officers. Then, he laid out his long-prepared cooperation plan. After a moment of silence, Mason and the Kachin officers launched into a heated debate, but in the end, they all agreed—because they had no other choice!
The two sides formed an alliance, flipping the situation on its head. The Myanmar government army, which had just been smoothly encircling the Kachin Tribe, suddenly ran into big trouble—Nick Carter's men at Raveneye Mountain actually teamed up with the Kachin Tribe to fight off the government army! The government's grand plan to force the northern factions to accept peaceful integration was instantly ruined. The abrupt turn of events left Commander Wu Kalong, who was in charge of three divisions, furious—he cursed out Nick Carter, the infamous drug lord, and also blamed Gerhard, the senior American JSOC figure behind the plan, calling both of them untrustworthy scoundrels. Of course, like most people, he had no idea Nick Carter had already lost his grip on Raveneye Mountain, and that Gerhard—the 'godlike' JSOC mastermind—was already dead!
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After venting his frustrations, Commander Wu Kalong saw the situation was still somewhat favorable for his side, so he ordered his troops to split into two groups and attack both the Kachin Tribe and the Raveneye Mountain area!
With this formal battle order, the shadow of war fell over northern Myanmar! Fierce fighting erupted among the mountains and jungles, with Raveneye Mountain becoming the main battleground. Its strategic location made it the key to victory!
Because of this, out of the Myanmar army’s 30,000 troops, 20,000 were sent specifically to attack Raveneye Mountain. Luckily, Shawn Young, following advice from Vincent Xiao and Colonel Hank, ordered the tens of thousands of mines in the mountain’s ammo depot to be densely planted at every key pass, temporarily stopping the government army’s assault.
Meanwhile, Vincent Xiao and Colonel Hank led a few Dragonsquad and Dragonblade special operatives on several successful nighttime raids, making the government troops miserable. Their attacks slowed the enemy’s advance, and after Martin Yang’s Hung Society brothers scored a few surprise victories on the front lines, the government’s battle plan was thrown into chaos. Despite the huge disparity in numbers, the fight turned into a stalemate!
But this stalemate didn’t directly affect the warring sides the most—the ones who suffered most were the countless unarmed refugees!
Many refugees died while fleeing, and even more flooded into Raveneye Mountain and the First, Second, and Fourth Special Zones that agreed to take them in. The safest place, though, was across the southwestern border into China—no matter how fierce the fighting got, it wouldn’t spill over into Chinese territory, especially since the Myanmar army wouldn’t dare provoke the Chinese military.
After five days of fierce fighting, the Chinese government, acting out of humanitarian concern, opened up certain areas on the southwestern border so refugees fleeing the war could take shelter. When the news broke, a massive wave of refugees poured into China’s southwest border—tens of thousands of people! The local authorities were overwhelmed, scrambling to find places for everyone.
Given the situation, General Ethan Tang of China’s Southern Command sent his 'secret intelligence' to the top leadership in Zhongnanhai. After an internal meeting, the Chinese government dispatched special envoys to Myanmar to act as mediators. The First, Second, and Fourth Special Zones also sent their own envoys, hoping to negotiate a new division of power in the Third Special Zone and restore peace as soon as possible!