The War of Resistance: From Overseas Chinese Mechanics to King of Nanyang

The commotion caused by Huang Zurong eventually reached the ears of the highest military officer in Dali. Not long ago, the newly formed 29th Division of the 66th Army was stationed in Dali.

The division headquarters and its directly subordinate units were stationed in Dali, while the regiments were stationed along the Yunnan-Burma Road, which runs through Xiangyun, Fengyi, Xiaguan, Yangbi, and Yongping.

"Recruiting? Military training?" Major General Ma Weiji, commander of the 29th Division, frowned slightly as he looked at the report from his adjutant.

Since they had just moved in, they naturally had to pay attention to the various important institutions in Dali in order to better defend Dali. During this period, there was a lot of commotion at the single dormitory of the Nanyang Overseas Chinese mechanics, which naturally reached his ears. What surprised him was that these Nanyang Overseas Chinese mechanics were actually thinking of conducting military training.

"Have you figured out the reason?"

If anyone else had dared to do this, they would have been accused of treason. But the other party was a group of overseas Chinese mechanics, and the supplies for the Burma Road needed to be transported by these people, so things were a bit complicated.

After all, he knew that the higher-ups still had some support for the Nanyang Overseas Chinese Mechanics, because they had genuinely donated money and supplies. For that reason alone, he had to handle the matter properly, and he also knew why the adjutant had passed the problem on to him.

"They said they wanted to recruit soldiers and horses to fight their way home and drive out the Japanese army," the adjutant said quickly.

Upon hearing this, Ma Weiji almost burst out laughing. Did they really think they could fight back with just that rabble?

He felt that these people were mentally unstable, so he lowered his guard considerably.

"How many people have you recruited?" Ma Weiji asked casually.

"It seems there are two or three hundred people." The adjutant thought for a moment and gave an uncertain number.

"So many?" Although he didn't take this number seriously, the fact that they could recruit so many people in such a short time meant that the other party was indeed quite capable.

So, are you considering whether to force them to disband?

This would likely offend the Nanyang Overseas Chinese mechanics, since some of the supplies they transported ended up in the hands of the Yunnan Army.

If you really offend them, it could be very troublesome if they use some underhanded tactics in the future.

"Yes, the other side offered very generous terms: food and lodging included, meat at every meal, and even silver dollars," the adjutant explained.

"Yes, the conditions are indeed quite good, better than those of a typical security force." Ma Weiji nodded, agreeing with his adjutant's assessment, before falling into deep thought about whether or not to proceed.

"Commander, not only that, but more and more Nanyang mechanics have been lured into joining them. If this is not handled properly, it could cause considerable trouble. The supplies on the highway still need to be transported by them," the adjutant cautiously reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Ma Weiji glanced at the other party and said coldly.

"Hmph, do you think I'm stupid? This is indeed a problem. If we don't do anything about it, the number of people will increase and they'll become too powerful to control. If we do do something about it, we'll offend them, and the profits here will be significantly reduced."

He can still see things clearly, so he is weighing how to resolve the issue.

"Commander, I have a suggestion, though it may be premature..." the adjutant asked cautiously after thinking for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Ma Weiji glanced at the other person and gestured for them to continue.

"That's right, they promised to provide us with a batch of supplies every month, including rice, flour, oil, meat, and other necessities, enough to feed a battalion," the adjutant quickly replied.

Before he could finish speaking, Ma Weiji understood that the other party had already asked someone to pull strings. They knew that such a legitimate recruitment of soldiers could not be kept secret from them, so before he could get angry, they found their adjutant and offered him benefits.

If he agreed, he would not only win the friendship of the Nanyang Overseas Chinese mechanics, but also get a battalion's worth of supplies for free. Especially now that the Pacific War has broken out, the prices of various supplies have skyrocketed. He could make a considerable profit by reselling them. This would be an unexpected windfall.

If you refuse, then you'll have nothing.

"Do you think you can agree?" Ma Weiji asked instead of answering immediately.

"I think it's perfectly acceptable, Commander. Our division is newly formed, and the quality of our personnel and our weaponry are not even as good as those of second-line units. Our combat effectiveness is only slightly better than those security regiments," the adjutant quickly replied.

"Moreover, with the outbreak of the Pacific War, the prices of various supplies have skyrocketed. Kunming is probably unable to provide us with more supplies. The fact that we were transferred here probably has a deeper meaning, which is to make us find our own way to obtain supplies."

Ma Weiji had already understood his meaning, and in fact, that was what he was thinking as well. So when he first heard that the incident was caused by the Nanyang Overseas Chinese Mechanics, he did not get angry.

"That means they're tacitly allowing them to recruit soldiers. What if they recruit too many? After all, there are two hundred people now, but there might be two thousand in the future. It would be very difficult to fight back with just this many people," Ma Weiji said to himself.

"Commander, we can't stop them from fighting their way home, can we? After all, they're saying they're just hiring these people, and they have to provide for their own weapons, equipment, food, and ammunition," the adjutant pleaded.

The reason they worked so hard was naturally because they had received benefits from the other party.

The main reason is that the Yunnan Army is having a hard time now. In the past, the Yunnan Army was quite wealthy, at least among the top of all the miscellaneous armies. But now they are being closely watched, so life is naturally more difficult. Now that there are ways to make money, they are naturally unwilling to give them up.

"And if they really have a lot of people, let them station themselves on the border. If the higher-ups really question us, let them enter Myanmar. After all, their slogan is to fight back home, right? This way, it won't have anything to do with us," the adjutant advised again.

Upon hearing this, Ma Weiji's eyes lit up. He thought this was indeed a good idea. After considering it for a while, he made the decision.

"Okay, we'll do it your way, but make sure they send this month's supplies as soon as possible."

"Yes, Commander."

Soon, Huang Zurong received a reply. He had no objection to it. After all, he knew that his actions were like walking a tightrope. If the other party really took it seriously, he really couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't just take his people to Myanmar.

Then recruit those natives?

At a critical moment, these locals surrendered to the Japanese army? They tied themselves up and handed themselves over to the Japanese?

So he still had to recruit people from here. In addition, he also recruited Chinese from Southeast Asia because the living conditions there were relatively good and the literacy rate was relatively high. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been thousands of Nanyang Overseas Chinese mechanics.

Now that he had established connections with the 29th Division, Huang Zurong naturally wanted to recruit people on a large scale, but this time he was poaching them.