Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2580 Hope (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

The sounds of cannons and gunfire could be heard intermittently within the territory of Zhenla.

This was almost the only sound here. In the Cardamom Mountains, the three-way battle never stopped: the Chizhen who retreated to the mountains, the Zhenla government army that occupied the northwest region, and the Thang Long army, which was the invader. The three sides fought fiercely in the area.

The tens of thousands of square kilometers of mountain rainforests served as a natural barrier for the guerrillas, who were active in the area. They were constantly moving and fighting, and only temporary campsites provided temporary shelter.

That morning, at a campsite deep in the rainforest, a group of people embraced tightly, bidding each other a reluctant farewell. Tears welled in their eyes as they waved, overwhelmed with emotion.

They then dispersed. Unlike ordinary guerrillas, these people did not wear green military uniforms or black clothing. This group of several thousand people included men and women of different ages, many of whom wore glasses, and only a few had weapons.

Most of them looked bewildered, completely unsure of what to do.

Guided by the warriors in black, these experts from a foreign country finally embarked on their journey home after months of trekking through the rainforest.

Travel to another country.

"Will they lock us up?"

Their concerns stem from the well-known fact that Siam is a supporter of the government forces, and it is with their support that the government forces have been able to hold out in the northwestern border region for many years.

"Since your family wants you to go that way, they must have already made arrangements."

And so, this group of several thousand people in the rainforest, under the cover of the black-clad warriors, headed towards the border.

They marched on, not knowing how long they had traveled—one day, two days—crossing mountains and valleys. Some even collapsed in the rainforest. However, they had grown accustomed to it, having spent the past few months moving through the rainforest with the army.

They came to this country to help it develop, but now they have become a heavy burden. Therefore, after coordination, it was agreed that they would withdraw to Siam.

Although the straight-line distance to the Siamese border is less than 100 kilometers, it took them a full 16 days to traverse mountains and valleys. During those days, they crossed more than 40 mountains. In the midst of arduous and thrilling journeys, with the sun shining ahead, someone in the group shouted loudly:

"Here we are!"

"Here we are……"

Amidst excited shouts, the exhausted people cried out joyfully, and just as they were about to run towards the edge of the rainforest, their escorts shouted:
"Stop! Everyone stop! There are landmines..."

The black-clad warriors even raised their guns, and only then did the people stop, remembering that this was a border area; the Cambodian side was mountainous forests or bamboo groves, while the Siamese side was flat land.

Along the way, their escorts warned them that there were many landmines buried along the border and many traps dug.

So people bent over, hunched their shoulders, carried their backpacks, walked through the dense bamboo forest, and then waded through the shallow waters of the border river.

Here, there are no villages, no border posts, just a vast wilderness. Around 3 p.m., dark clouds rolled in, lightning flashed and thunder roared, a strong wind blew, and torrential rain poured down. Everyone was soaked to the bone; they had been drenched in sweat just moments before, but now they were covered in goosebumps from the cold.

The storm raged on, and the people who went ahead to search for the villagers were nowhere to be seen. As they continued their journey through the wind and rain, suddenly, the roar of helicopters filled the air—it was the army.

Several helicopters circled overhead, their loudspeakers broadcasting in Greek:

"You have invaded Siamese territory. We demand that you lay down your weapons immediately and remain where you are!"

The black-clad soldiers escorting them on the ground were nervously holding their guns and shouting loudly.

The warning sounded again, and seeing that they had not yet laid down their weapons, the soldiers on the helicopter fired a warning shot. Only then did they lay down their weapons under orders from their superiors.

Then, soldiers zipped down from the helicopter, and in the distance, tanks pointed their dark cannons in this direction.

Upon seeing the Siamese soldiers, the leader and his entourage produced their passports, loudly proclaimed their identities, and instructed them to contact the Bangkok Command, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the embassy.

The Siamese officer, whether he didn't understand or pretended not to, completely ignored them and directly gave the order:

"They were all trespassers. Check everyone's luggage to make sure there were no weapons..."

To these people, this was undoubtedly an unreasonable act. While the searchers were loudly protesting, the black-clad warriors who were escorting them were also surrounded. Some of them, unwilling to be captured, immediately ran to the other side of the rainforest.

However, as he was running, a Siamese soldier picked up an M16 and pulled the trigger.

A gunshot shattered the silence, and everyone froze. Then, the officer looked at them and said in a cold tone:
"Your identities are meaningless here. You are all illegal immigrants. You have two choices: either submit to our search, or you will be considered armed intruders..."

Although the other party was a Siamese officer, everyone could understand what he said. Surprisingly, given his cold expression, no one tried to make friends with him; some even seemed somewhat uncomfortable. Of course, many of them also appeared very angry.

However, they still chose to cooperate, after all, it involved everyone's safety. But some items needed to be destroyed.

Soon, these people, dressed in short-sleeved shirts, boarded trucks provided by the Siamese military and headed towards the temporary resettlement camp. A night wind blew, and everyone in the trucks shivered with cold. They felt no warmth, only the howling wind and the night chill.

Right after they left, some soldiers began cleaning up the area where they had been, which of course included inspection.

……

People always focus on different things.

The arrival of these people naturally made the news and attracted attention from the outside world.

Television stations from Bangkok to Southeast Asia broadcast this news, reporting on the safe evacuation of these people to Siam.

Unlike journalists who focus on the seemingly legendary experiences of how people entered and camped in the rainforest, some people have a distinctly different focus.

"...Every day I heard the sound of cannons, and sometimes gunshots. Every day I endured hunger, insect bites, mosquito bites, and flies crawling on me."

We ate only two meals a day, our faces pale and we were so hungry that we had no choice but to eat elephant meat, pangolin, and monitor lizard. The elephant meat was coarse and tasteless, like a cornbread bun. But the elephant trunk was delicious, fragrant, and very tasty.

At night, pangolins would come to our bedside. If we poked them with a stick, no matter where we poked them, they would curl up and cover their heads with their limbs, making them our meal.

Watching the person being interviewed on the TV screen, the man sitting on the sofa couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

He took a sip of his ice-cold beer and said in a deeply emotional tone:

“I used to think that Phnom Penh was the beginning of victory, and it seemed that was how everything was back then. First Phnom Penh, then Saigon.”

Hearing the man's words, the woman sitting next to him nodded and said something.

"Yes. That's what we all thought back then. We thought... we would liberate all places, even this place."

As the woman spoke, she unconsciously turned her gaze to the window.

Outside the window lies a tranquil community, peaceful and serene. The faint sounds of children's laughter can be heard.

The nights here are always like this.

Over the years, they seem to have grown accustomed to everything here, to life here, living here with their children.

But only they themselves know that they are carrying a mission.

They have never given up on this mission.

"Back then, we thought...that was where it all began. Alas, who would have thought that such a big change would happen in just a few years?"

As he spoke, the man's gaze became somewhat complicated. Then the woman said:
"Their failure was inevitable. They have completely lost the support of the people and are infamous internationally, receiving absolutely no support."

Hearing the woman's words, the man nodded silently.

But his gaze remained fixed on the television screen, watching the people on display and listening to the reporters' interviews.
Over the past few months, there has been so much news about Zhenla on television that even he was shocked by what was happening there.

"Yes, it seems difficult for them to regain public support; people probably won't give them another chance..."

After uttering this sigh, the man frowned, then let out a long sigh, his eyes seemingly filled with a sense of loss.

It wasn't a certain kind of loss, but a profound sense of loss.

Afterward, the two of them continued watching the news on television. Listening to the reports, the couple sat on the sofa, their hands clasped together.

Their expressions varied, but their moods were likely heavy.

After a while, he turned off the TV with the remote, somewhat dejectedly, and said:

"I hope they can persevere. Maybe, just maybe, they'll still have a chance..."

Seeing her husband's expression, the woman simply nodded slightly. She said:
"Maybe."

In fact, even they themselves didn't quite believe the possibility when they said those words, but people always need to hold onto a glimmer of hope...

(End of this chapter)