The reason is very simple. In the northeastern region of India, except for the Yarlung Zangbo River Valley, that is, the Brahmaputra River Valley, the other areas are mainly mountainous, especially in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. The terrain is very complex and is not suitable for mechanized troops to fight clusters. It is not very helpful to the attacking side, and there is a high possibility of unexpected situations.

Of course, Qi Kaiwei had already prepared.

On the Eastern Front battlefield, the 15th Airborne Army, the only lighter unit of the Chinese Army, was the one that cooperated with the 42nd Army to fight.

After the army changed and dismissed, only the 15th Airborne Army was established completely according to the standards of lighter troops. Its predecessor was the 15th Airborne Army, and some units of the 16th Army and the 24th Army were also part of the 16th Army and the 24th Army.

Although it is called the Airborne Army, there is only one Airborne Division and an Air Assault Division within the organization. The other units are lightweight ground troops, such as a mechanized infantry division originally belonging to the 16th Army, and a mountain infantry division originally belonging to the 24th Army.

Compared with other armies, the biggest feature of the Fifteenth Airborne Army is that it has a powerful fleet of aircraft.

Within the group army, there are three land aviation brigades equipped with more than 1,200 inclined rotary wing aircraft and helicopters, which can perform airborne and aircraft landing combat tasks separately. In addition, four divisions and two independent brigades have airborne and aircraft landing combat capabilities and can fight under extremely complex terrain.

It can be said that this is also the characteristic of the 15th Airborne Army.

In addition, the 15th Airborne Army is also the only combat force that can cooperate seamlessly with the Air Force, that is, under any circumstances, it can be supported by the Air Force transport fleet. From the army level to the battalion-level combat forces, there is an extremely complete coordinated combat command system.

These organizational methods give the 15th Airborne Army very powerful combat flexibility.

To talk about the disadvantages, the biggest disadvantage is the lack of heavy preparations. Even the mechanized infantry division has less than a hundred main battle tanks, and the main combat equipment is airborne combat vehicles. Even the artillery is mainly towed and is not equipped with self-propelled artillery, let alone long-range rocket launchers.

In other words, the 15th Airborne Army's ground assault capabilities are very limited.

Due to this factor, during combat operations, the 15th Airborne Army mainly cooperated with other troops, especially heavy armored units, to fight.

Generally speaking, the 15th Airborne Army will not act alone.

Qi Kaiwei placed the 15th Airborne Army in the east, hoping to cooperate with the 42nd Army and use its powerful vertical assault capabilities to assist the 42nd Army in breaking through the Indian army's defense line, avoiding heavy armored troops entering the mountainous areas and fighting an unnecessary war of attrition with the Indian army.

You should know that in mountainous areas, due to traffic conditions, the armored troops cannot play a role at all.

On April 5, Qi Kaiwei returned to Kunming.

On this day, Mu Haoyang also went to the head of state. When reporting on the battle situation on the Western Front to Huang Hanlin, he mentioned the opening of a second battlefield in Northeast India.

In fact, Huang Hanlin was not worried about combat issues.

This has a lot to do with his lack of understanding of military affairs, and it is also directly related to his trust in generals such as Mu Haoyang. In his opinion, if even Mu Haoyang cannot fight this war well, even if he intervenes in the combat operation, it will not have a better effect. It is better to let Mu Haoyang let go.

At that time, what Huang Hanlin was most concerned about was the political system of India.

Although Mu Haoyang is not a politician, Huang Hanlin trusts him very much and knows that his views and suggestions are definitely different from others.

"First of the People's Republic of China, I'm not easy to participate in this matter, after all..."

"Just treat us as we chat in private." Huang Hanlin smiled and said, "I understand what you mean, but you are the commander-in-chief of this war and must have different opinions. Besides, the war has not ended yet, and the Indian Provisional Government must be established before the end of the war. In addition, ten years ago, you formed a Provisional Government in Japan as the commander-in-chief of the Occupy Army, and have experience in this regard."

Mu Haoyang forced a smile, still looking a little hesitant.

Although Huang Hanlin was very open-minded and in some aspects it was better than Li Pingko, Mu Haoyang didn't know much about the new head of state, so he didn't dare to speak up.

"What, do you have any concerns?"

"First of the People, I'm not worried, I just..."

Huang Hanlin smiled and said, "There is nothing good. If you think it's not right, I'll send you over to take charge of this matter."

"This..." Mu Haoyang sighed secretly and said, "The main purpose of establishing a provisional government is to make our military operations in India legitimate. To put it simply, it is to eliminate the suspicion of the international community and allow us to get more points in diplomacy."

Huang Hanlin nodded and encouraged Mu Haoyang to continue speaking.

At this time, Mu Haoyang was a little hesitant because he knew that what he said at this time would definitely affect Huang Hanlin's policy on India.

Chapter 108: Taking advantage of the situation

At that time, the policy toward India was indeed the biggest problem facing the Chinese government.

It can be said that this is not only related to India, but also to China's reputation in the international community, and to whether China's diplomatic actions can be successful.

For example, at that time, China had made a commitment to France and Germany to protect the EU's interests in India.

Politically speaking, we must first ensure that India will remain an independent country after the war, otherwise any promises made by China will have no practical significance.

In practice, the legitimacy of the new Indian regime must be guaranteed, that is, it must be an elected government.

At that time, France and Germany both clearly mentioned through diplomatic means that China must ensure the legitimacy of India's new regime, so that the EU can recognize the legitimacy of China's military operations, and be able to participate in India's reconstruction affairs after the war, and improve relations with China.

Now, the problem arises.

According to the requirements of France and Germany, the new Indian regime must be a highly centralized central government, which fundamentally violates China's interests.

The reason is very simple. It is difficult for a highly centralized Indian central government to guarantee that it will not become China's enemy again.

According to the information released after the war, the Chinese authorities had planned for India's future long before the outbreak of the war, and the best result was to establish a loose federal state in India. To put it bluntly, it was to improve the status of various states, weaken the influence of the central government, and completely lose India's threat. In a sense, this is also the main reason that promoted China to launch the Second Indian Ocean War.

As a senior general and a member of the senior leadership group, Mu Haoyang could not have been unaware of this arrangement.

Under Huang Hanlin's questioning, Mu Haoyang could only follow the flow of the plan, namely, implementing the federal system in India, establishing a central provisional government on the basis of local provisional governments, and then a formal government was formed through the national election to complete the transition from war to peace.

Huang Hanlin did not break his promise and arranged for Mu Haoyang to go to Islamabad that day.

On April 6, Mu Haoyang arrived in New Delhi via Islamabad and met with representatives of the local provisional governments and tribal representatives of the northwest India region.

Like Pakistan, India is a tribal country.

Although tribes are not political institutions, in many cases, tribes have greater influence than governments. To solve the Indian problem, you have to deal with the tribe's interest demands.

On this day, Qi Kaiwei had issued combat orders in Kunming.

According to his arrangement, the 42nd Army and the 15th Airborne Army will launch an attack on April 10 at the latest, and Pang Yuelong's Marines will open a second battlefield in the Ganges estuary area after the army makes major progress, and restrain the main force of the Indian army in the Ganges area.

In New Delhi, Qi Kaiwei's deployment helped Mu Haoyang a lot.

Faced with dozens of representatives from all over India, Mu Haoyang made it clear that the purpose of the Chinese army was to overthrow the former Indian regime, establish a new regime that can coexist peacefully in India, promised to hold general elections after the war, and help India carry out post-war reconstruction.

At that time, Mu Haoyang also clearly mentioned that no country or tribe was allowed to make independence.

At this time, Qi Kaiwei's deployment played a role, because it was not the provinces in the northwest region of India that were making independence, but the state of Assam in the northeast region.

To put it bluntly, Mu Haoyang's commitment is enough to convince the Indians that China will not only not divide India, but will also maintain India's integrity and will also attack India's separatist forces. In this way, it will be equivalent to winning over those Indian tribal leaders who are still suspicious.

In fact, what all tribes in India are most concerned about is the integrity of the country.

There is no doubt that a split India has no foundation to become a great power at all, and for India, which has been around for a century, split is certainly unacceptable.

After appeased the Indian tribe leaders, Mu Haoyang made a demand that local provisional governments and tribes must shoulder the important task of maintaining social security and stabilizing social order during the war. India's future belongs to the Indians, and the Chinese army will not occupy India for a long time. Therefore, any act that undermines social stability will only cause harm to the Indians, and the losses will be India's interests.

It can be said that Mu Haoyang's activities in New Delhi have achieved great results.

On April 9, after the arrival of representatives of various local governments, the Interim Central Government of India was established, with former New Delhi Mayor Jamalan as the Interim Prime Minister. At the same time, several government agencies including the Ministry of Interior, the General Police Department, the Commander-in-Chief of the Public Security Force, the Ministry of Public Affairs, etc.

The first job of the Provisional Central Government is to restore order in New Delhi and repair damaged public infrastructure.

This is undoubtedly a great thing for Indian people, especially residents of New Delhi, because it not only means that the supply of living resources such as electricity, tap water, gas, etc. will also mean that service public facilities such as hospitals and schools will resume operation, and that thousands of Indians can get job opportunities and get better living conditions through labor.

At that time, the first batch of public projects of the Provisional Central Government of India needed to recruit 150,000 workers.

This means that about one million Indians will be able to obtain more living supplies than rations, and the consumption generated by these people will create more jobs.

In fact, this was already rebuilt after the war.

However, at that time, the one who paid for India's basic projects was not the temporary central government, but the occupying army. It was not the cash that was paid, but the military coupons for the ration point to exchange for materials. Of course, this account would have to be repaid by the Indian authorities in the end, but it would have to wait until the war ended.

The same measures have also been promoted in other cities in the occupied areas.

The best way to end the war situation and carry out post-war reconstruction is to create job opportunities so that civilians who are frightened by the war can obtain a way to make a living. In any case, the rationing provided by the occupying forces can only maintain basic survival, and anyone has the desire to improve their living conditions.

As long as this wish can be mobilized, the Indians in the occupied areas can see hope.

With hope, there is a future.

However, new problems arise, that is, India's material supply is far from keeping up with consumption, and the occupied areas are far away from ports.

To put it simply, the issue of material transportation has surfaced again.

To solve this problem, the only way is to control more railway lines, especially railway trunk lines, and to exert the railway's transportation capacity.

On April 10, Mu Haoyang flew to Kunming.

He did not stop Qi Kaiwei from launching an attack on the eastern front, but only asked Qi Kaiwei to adjust the combat deployment on the western front, that is, the 13th Army no longer advances eastward, and the combat operation to capture the Ganges Plain was under the responsibility of the 42nd Army, and the 13th Army went south to sweep the Dekan Plateau.

At that time, Mu Haoyang proposed a clear purpose: to capture Mumbai as soon as possible.

Although Mumbai is India's largest city with a population of more than 24 million, and the total population of the Greater Mumbai region is more than 70 million, Mumbai is also India's largest port city, with an annual throughput capacity of more than 200 million tons and India's largest container terminal. More importantly, Mumbai is the railway, highway and shipping hub center on the west coast of India.

If Mumbai can be seized, it can solve the problem of sea transportation and the problem of railway transportation.

Of course, the premise is to control several railway trunks from Mumbai to New Delhi.

With the throughput capacity of Mumbai Port and the transportation capacity of the railway trunk, it is enough to solve the material transportation problems in New Delhi and even the entire northwestern region of India.

The problem is that the Army will definitely not be able to capture Mumbai quickly.

On April 10, the 13th Army was still near Jaipur, and the main force had already gathered in Ariegel in southeastern New Delhi, and was preparing to go down the Ganges River according to Qi Kaiwei's deployment, and sweep the Ganges plain before the 42nd Army and the 15th Airborne Army.

In this way, it will be as soon as April 12th that the 13th Army will be transferred to Jaipur.

The problem is that Jaipur is almost 800 kilometers away from Mumbai, with a marching mileage of more than 1,400 kilometers. During this period, two-thirds of the area were under the control of the Indian army.

Although the Pakistani army is closer to Mumbai, its main task is to capture the Kachi area.

Obviously, the Pakistani army will not march into Mumbai until the Kachi area is occupied.

In this way, the only ones that can be mobilized are the two landing divisions that have landed in Kenpad Bay before.
To be continued...