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

"Yangon is doomed." When the news of the British defeat in Mawlamyine reached Huang Zurong's ears, his first reaction was that Yangon was going to be lost and the expeditionary force would soon be entering Burma.

However, he hadn't fully decided yet whether to enter Myanmar first or wait.

Following behind the expeditionary force?

We'll see if we can rally the routed soldiers then.

Then, by using these defeated soldiers, they could increase their own strength?

Although it is not easy to recruit soldiers of the Central Army, if you are tough and offer good treatment, it is not impossible.

However, if not handled properly, serious problems can easily arise.

More importantly, there are many of our compatriots and Chinese in Yangon.

Must I really just stand by and watch them repeat what happened in history?

"Commander, should we immediately send a telegram to my brother and the others, instructing them to evacuate from Yangon at once?" Upon receiving the news, Chen Shunwen immediately sought out Huang Zurong, clearly deeply concerned for his brother's safety.

"Don't panic." Huang Zurong gestured for the other party to calm down. He was still thinking about whether to give up everything and just retreat, or whether he could take the risk and get some benefits.

According to his information, before the British army withdrew from Rangoon, they destroyed everything that could be destroyed, including the port, docks, munitions facilities, and locomotives.

Huang Zurong was naturally somewhat regretful that so many supplies were gone, especially the military equipment.

He wasn't concerned about food or cloth, since he could buy those things anytime.

But the situation is different with arms manufacturing. Currently, the arsenal has more than fifty employees, but only five rifles are being produced. Although production is constantly increasing, it is still too slow for Huang Zurong.

The arms deal completed some time ago has enabled the troops to be re-equipped, but Huang Zurong felt it was not enough, so he asked Chen Shunfa to continue to look for the British to see if they could get more weapons and equipment.

However, the situation had not completely deteriorated at that time, so the British officers did not dare to sell too many weapons. They could only sell them little by little. Chen Shunfa planned to send them back together when he had more weapons.

Once news of the disastrous defeat at Sidon River spreads far and wide, the British will likely sell even more, but at that point Chen Shunfa's transport capacity will be severely strained.

More importantly, there are still many Chinese and Nanyang Overseas Chinese mechanics in Yangon. Huang Zurong is reluctant to part with them. If these people could join him, his strength would definitely develop rapidly.

After careful consideration, Huang Zurong decided to personally lead a group to Yangon.

Just then, the Nanyang Overseas Chinese mechanics' convoy resumed transporting supplies, so there were trucks heading there every day. Once they reached Lashio, they could take a train to Yangon. Presumably, the Japanese army had not yet reached Yangon by then.

Therefore, I still have enough time. As long as I can reach Yangon within three days, I will definitely be able to transport a lot of supplies.

We absolutely cannot let this drag on until the beginning of next month, or it will be too late.

"Awen, how's the bicycle training going for each battalion and company?" Besides training in formation and shooting, the most practiced activity during this period was bicycle training. For this reason, an order was issued that anyone who could learn to ride a bicycle within three days would be immediately rewarded with three months' worth of military pay.

Sure enough, a generous reward will surely attract brave men. Many people really went all out for three months' worth of military pay. After a period of hard training, almost all of the more than three thousand men in the regiment could ride bicycles.

Two thousand of his security forces were combat soldiers, specifically responsible for fighting, while the remaining one thousand included various other branches of the military, such as logistics. They originally thought they wouldn't need to learn, but they discovered that everyone else did.

Fortunately, riding a bicycle isn't too difficult. After half a month, even the clumsiest person could awkwardly ride around on a bicycle.

With bicycles, the logistical pressure on the troops was instantly reduced, because the 28-inch bicycles could carry so much material. As long as you were bold enough, carrying 400 pounds was definitely not a problem. This had been proven by the Odbiaos in actual combat. However, those Odbiaos were carrying the maximum load, which was about 500 pounds.

However, Huang Zurong considered the road conditions and decided to halve the weight to 300 jin, which was just right.

The amount of goods that three thousand bicycles can transport is quite considerable.

It's much more comfortable than carrying it yourself, isn't it?

He had actually considered using motorcycles to transport supplies, but after some thought, he realized that with his current capabilities, it was not feasible.

Besides the high price of motorcycles, there's also the issue of fuel. Small quantities can be purchased through the black market, but larger quantities become problematic.

More importantly, motorcycles are noisier, which is a significant disadvantage compared to bicycles.

Another point is that the learning time for motorcycles is relatively long. Once we have a strong enough team, we can consider incorporating them into the logistics system. As for trucks and the like, we'll have to wait a bit longer.

However, this trip to Yangon might allow us to bring back a batch of trucks. After all, the Japanese army is about to attack, and so many trucks will definitely be destroyed. It would be such a waste if they were just blown up like that.

Huang Zurong was mobilizing his troops to head towards Yangon, while the people of Yangon knew that the front lines had suffered a crushing defeat and that the Japanese army was about to arrive. Some Chinese began packing their valuables and preparing to flee.

"Damn it, that idiot Smith, he should be court-martialed!" Lieutenant General Hutton cursed angrily. He hadn't expected that Mawlamyine would be lost so quickly, which was hard for him to accept. He had originally thought that he could fight a brilliant battle at Mawlamyine and let the Japanese know the power of the British Empire, but the result was so disastrous that he couldn't accept it.

But that's the reality, and he can't change it now. He can only try to remedy the situation, but he soon discovered that it seemed he couldn't.

Thanks to the British army's development of the area, there are roads from Mawlamyine to Yangon, so the Japanese army can reach Yangon in a very short time by following the roads.

Yangon at that time simply could not spare more troops to stop the Japanese advance.

With the gates wide open, how can we defend the rear?

So when Lieutenant General Hutton requested reinforcements, everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

reinforce?

Sending reinforcements at this time would be suicide.

They're not stupid. If Smith's 10,000 men couldn't hold off the Japanese, how could their small force possibly defend themselves?

"Commander, I suggest we retreat. Rangoon cannot be held."

"That's right, we must find a way to destroy those ports and shipyards, and we absolutely cannot leave them to the Japanese army."

To reiterate, transporting these supplies back would cost more than manufacturing them, so they would rather destroy them than take them with them, and even felt that taking them would slow down their march.