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

On the tenth day after entering Myanmar, Huang Zurong led his militia to Namkham town at around 10 a.m. The town was located on the Burma Road and was quite lively.

Originally, the atmosphere here at Huang Zurong's place should have been tense, and if nothing unexpected happened, the Japanese army should have advanced to the middle section by now, and the atmosphere here should have been very tense.

How so? This area is along the highway, so the British army had to build defensive fortifications at different elevations.

Even without fortifications, there should be roadblocks or similar structures to strictly check people coming and going.

There was nothing there, and the townspeople showed no sign of tension. Even the roadside vendors continued to hawk their wares.

"Commander, the atmosphere here is too strange, isn't it?" Huang Zhiwen, who had already turned to the dark side, looked at the atmosphere in Nankan Town and felt that something was wrong. He even felt that everyone in the town must have surrendered to the Japanese army, otherwise how could they be so harmonious?

"It is indeed a bit strange." Huang Zurong nodded. He also felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The key was that he couldn't find anyone to ask.

"Commander, there are no British troops in the town. We arrested a few people and found out that the British troops who were supposed to be in the town ran away two days ago, and now the whole town is unattended." At this moment, Du Fan, who was in charge of guarding, ran back with his men and quickly reported what he had learned.

Upon hearing this, Huang Zurong was stunned. The British army ran so fast?

According to his understanding, the Japanese army should have just occupied Lashio at this time, right?

The key issue is that he can't possibly tell his subordinates about this.

After all, the idea of ​​being able to predict the future is too shocking to the world, so he could only pretend not to know.

But now Lashio has just been occupied by the Japanese army, and the British army has already fled?

These British troops really did have the idea of ​​sacrificing themselves rather than their own from the very beginning. If Huang Zurong had any doubts before, he was now certain that the British troops were definitely thinking the same thing.

"It seems the situation at the front is quite dire," Huang Zurong said, feigning a moment's thought.

"Isn't there a hundred thousand expeditionary troops?" Huang Zhiwen couldn't help but ask.

The others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Judging from the comparison of troop strength, the British army had already surpassed the Japanese army at this point. As long as the British army wasn't so incompetent, this battle would be no problem at all.

No matter how you look at it, this battle shouldn't be lost.

The advantage is in my hands.

"Have you thought about anything else while you're only thinking about the 100,000-strong expeditionary force?" Huang Zurong knew he had to teach them again today, and since he had plenty of time, he patiently asked.

"What's the problem?" The others looked at him blankly, not knowing what he meant.

"Logistics, how much logistics support do 100,000 people need every day? That must be an astronomical figure. How long can the expeditionary force sustain itself with the supplies it carries?" Huang Zurong looked disappointed, but there was nothing he could do. These people's military skills were indeed very poor, and he could only train them slowly.

That's why he didn't dare lead his troops directly to the front lines, because he knew the capabilities of his own troops. If such troops were to face the Japanese army, they would be sent to their deaths.

That's why the marching speed was unusually slow, and not only that, they also used the Burmese army as practice targets.

If he truly had an elite force under his command, and considering he himself was a walking logistics depot, he would have already been fighting the Japanese on the front lines.

However, he has been preparing a major move, believing that if he succeeds, his troops will be completely transformed.

"Presumably, the British army has been providing logistical support for the expeditionary force during this period. Now that the British army has fled, how long do you think the 100,000-strong expeditionary force can hold out?" Huang Zurong said, looking at the others.

As expected, the others' expressions immediately turned serious upon hearing this. Everyone knew that once logistical support was disrupted, no matter how capable the troops were, their fighting power would be reduced to zero when faced with hunger. They couldn't possibly follow the example of the Japanese army and eat grass, could they?

"Not to mention, there are also the Burmese troops. They will definitely do everything they can to implement a scorched-earth policy, preventing the expeditionary force from obtaining any supplies and completely cutting off their retreat," Huang Zurong added.

Now everyone realized that the situation at the front was indeed very critical, and even with 100,000 expeditionary troops, it was not necessarily safe.

"Commander, what should we do now?" Since everyone knew that the situation at the front was dire, it was not appropriate to stay here any longer. They either had to continue advancing or retreat in disgrace. As they spoke, everyone looked at Huang Zurong, waiting for his orders.

"Let's rest first. Also, send out the entire reconnaissance company and have them scout the area along the highway towards Lashio." Although Huang Zurong knew that Lashio had fallen at this time, he still pretended to send people over.

"Yes."

In fact, Huang Zurong had only sent his men out for a short time when he received news of the loss of Lashio.

"Have we encountered the Japanese army?" Huang Zurong thought it was the reconnaissance company that had encountered the Japanese army, and he was startled, wondering if the Japanese army was that fast.

After taking Lashio, shouldn't we have taken a break and reorganized our supplies?

Although the Japanese had emptied Lashio of its military supplies, there were still quite a few civilian goods. If the Japanese army had put in the effort to collect them, they could have gathered a considerable amount of supplies.

Therefore, according to the estimate, the Japanese army should have stayed in Lashio for at least a few days before continuing their journey. Now that they have appeared so quickly, could it be that the Burmese people offered them the service?

This is not impossible, after all, these Burmese people are basically ***, and they would be willing to give their hearts and souls to the Japanese army, so it is entirely possible that they would actively help the Japanese army collect supplies.

"No, we encountered a group of defeated soldiers. They said Lashio has been occupied by the Japanese army." Huang Zhiwen shook his head and quickly reported to his superior.

"Defeated soldiers?" Huang Zurong was taken aback for a moment, then asked.

Which unit? The 28th or the 29th Division?

According to the expeditionary force's operational plan, the main task of these two divisions was to defend Lashio and the section of the Burma Road to Wanting.

Now that Lashio has been occupied, these two divisions must have been defeated.

Therefore, it is normal for small groups of soldiers to flee.

"The 82nd Regiment of the New 28th Division," Huang Zhiwen quickly replied.

Huang Zurong had some understanding of these two newly formed divisions, as they were newly formed direct forces of the Central Army. However, the problem arose from this.

These two divisions belonged to the 66th Army, whose commander, Zhang Zhen, belonged to the Tang Enbo faction. The other three division commanders belonged to different factions. In addition to the New 28th and New 29th Divisions, there was also the New 38th Division, which, needless to say, belonged to the Tax Police Corps, a unit of the financial system.

The first two divisions belonged to Kang Ze's Fuxing Society and the latter's Supplementary Training Department, respectively, which were directly under the command of Army Commander Zhang Zhen. The three divisions were not under each other's command, making it difficult for Zhang Zhen to coordinate them.