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

Upon seeing that the other party had designs on the wounded soldiers of the 12th Division, Cun Xinghui looked intently at Huang Zurong, as if trying to see through his thoughts.

Huang Zurong, on the contrary, remained calm and composed, looking calmly into the other person's eyes.

"The remnants of the 12th Division have been reorganized in Shaanxi Province, and there aren't many wounded soldiers." Cun Xinghui shook his head, neither refusing nor agreeing, or rather, he was waiting for the other party to give a reason.

Upon hearing this, Huang Zurong smiled with relief and continued speaking.

"Is the rebuilt Twelfth Division still the same Twelfth Division? Can those people in the mountain city continue to solidify the Yunnan Army's expansion of power? This is the best opportunity to weaken the Yunnan Army's influence."

Is there something wrong with what you said?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. He knew that Cun Xinghui would definitely understand, especially since the pillar of the Cun family was gone, and their influence would naturally be greatly weakened. If they wanted to preserve the family's glory, they would definitely come up with many ways.

The problem now is that Shancheng has consciously weakened the influence of the Yunnan Army and it is impossible for the Yunnan Army to expand its strength. Therefore, the newly reorganized Twelfth Division will not be mainly composed of people from Yunnan Province. It will definitely be a mix of people from other regions, and some middle and low-ranking officers will be promoted. In this way, the control of the Twelfth Division will no longer be in the hands of the Yunnan Army.

As expected, Cun Xinghui's expression turned somewhat unpleasant upon hearing this. He knew it was the truth, but he couldn't fight city hall. Although his family was considered respectable in southwestern Yunnan, it was nothing compared to the mountain city.

Especially now that there are still Central Army troops in Yunnan Province, if they dare to cause trouble, it won't be long before they face the executioner's blade.

"Uncle Cun, can the Cun family still produce someone capable of leading the family?" Seeing that the other party remained silent, Huang Zurong asked again.

Upon hearing this, Cun Xinghui opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Can it still be played?

It's not that they can't be sent out. Of the remaining eight, some of them are quite talented. With some training, they could easily become division commanders. But then we get back to the previous issue: Shancheng can't solidify the Yunnan Army's ability to continue expanding its strength, so there's no chance for them.

"So you're after those people?" Cun Xinghui had already guessed what the other person was thinking and bluntly exposed him.

"Yes." Huang Zurong readily admitted, after all, experienced veterans and greenhorns are two completely different things. Although the troops under his command were well trained, they were still far from being true veterans. Without fighting on the battlefield, they could not develop a killing intent.

However, he believed that with more training and battlefield experience, he could quickly build a formidable force. But the prerequisite was that the weapons and equipment could not be inferior. He had to find a way to make up for the gap with the Japanese army, which was why he set his sights on the British army.

"Uncle Cun, believe me, this is an incredibly worthwhile investment. Even if it fails, you won't lose anything. But if it succeeds, you'll get countless times more than you do now." Huang Zurong directly painted a rosy picture for the other party.

Upon hearing this, Cun Xinghui did not immediately agree, but weighed the pros and cons in his mind. From the current perspective, could Huang Zurong succeed?

The possibility is not very high, but it is not impossible. If they can really get a large number of British weapons, the chances of success are quite high. Moreover, based on his observations over this period of time, the other side does indeed treat its soldiers like their own children.

Officers like this are generally destined for great things in the future.

After thinking for a while, Cun Xinghui finally nodded and agreed to the other party's request. However, he also made a request: the other party must first obtain British weapons. Only after this condition was met would he agree to hand over the wounded soldiers to the other party.

There were not many people, about a hundred or so, all from southwestern Yunnan. They had a very close relationship with the Cun family, and many of them had even served as Cun Xingqi's bodyguards.

"No problem." Huang Zurong didn't even frown when he heard that they needed to get British weapons. He agreed immediately. After all, with the weapons they had, even if they brought those elite veterans over, they wouldn't be able to do much except train the troops.

"Then we'll wait for your good news." Cun Xinghui nodded and left, clearly still needing to go back and report this to his father.

After the other party left, Huang Zurong sent a telegram to Chen Shunfa, Chen Shunwen's brother, who was far away in Lashio, asking him to think of a way to get some weapons from the British army, and the British army could name their price.

He will have someone send the money over within a few days.

At this time, counterfeit British pounds were rampant. Although high-ranking officials in the British Isles were aware of this, they were too lazy to care. Therefore, the value of the pound still existed. It was perfectly fine to use the counterfeit pounds for transactions, and they even felt better than the real ones. Moreover, there was no sense of guilt involved. In Huang Zurong's words, these were all notes that the Empress Dowager had paid for. He was just collecting some interest now, and he was still far from getting his principal back.

Upon receiving the telegram, Chen Shunfa's first reaction was that Huang Zurong had gone mad and gone to buy arms with the British army.

However, after reading the contents of the telegram, he felt that it might be worth a try, especially since he had been transporting supplies between Lashio and Yangon for the past six months and had some understanding of the British army's behavior.

In particular, Brigadier General Fawell, the commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade responsible for the defense of the Lashio railway/road hub and the guarding of the supply depot, was a greedy man. If he had really used money to buy weapons and equipment, he might have actually succeeded.

In the past six months, he had developed a good relationship with the people of the First Infantry Brigade, so after some hesitation, he prepared a generous gift and prepared to visit Brigadier General Fawell.

Brigadier General Fawell was naturally pleased with Chen Shunfa's arrival, mainly because of the gifts. He particularly liked the exquisite blue and white porcelain, knowing that such items were quite valuable.

Since they gave him such an expensive gift, they must have asked him to do something for them, so he asked directly.

"Chen, is there anything I can help you with? You can just say so."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shunfa didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.

"Here's the thing, a friend of mine wanted to buy some weapons and equipment, so he asked me to help him see if I could buy them. Of course, he was very generous and willing to pay a high price, in pounds."

Fearing the other party might be unwilling, Chen Shunwen suggested that the transaction could be conducted in pounds sterling.

As expected, Brigadier General Fawell immediately became interested upon hearing this. As a member of the high command, he knew a little about the situation in the South China Sea, especially the news that the British were considering replacing the highest-ranking British commander in the Far East. This news instantly made him sense something unusual.