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

"Well done." When Huang Zurong arrived at Long Wenzhang's position, his gaze swept across the battlefield. Looking at the still high-spirited cannon fodder soldiers and then at the Japanese troops fleeing in disarray in the distance, a hint of approval appeared on his lips. He spoke generously to Long Wenzhang, who was coming to greet him.

"Thank you for your praise, Commander. All of this is inseparable from your brilliant guidance! Without your strategic planning and the excellent weapons you provided, even if we had the greatest abilities, we wouldn't have been able to hold this position, let alone repel the Japanese invaders' attack." Long Wenzhang quickly stepped forward, his face plastered with his familiar grin, and he flattered him respectfully.

"Alright, stop flattering me." Huang Zurong waved his hand, his face showing a hint of helplessness but also gentleness. "You and your brothers fought for this battle on the front lines. They were the ones who bled and sacrificed their lives, so the credit naturally belongs to you. I won't take credit for myself."

He wasn't the type to take credit for his subordinates' work, so he shook his head to indicate that he didn't need to do that.

In his view, the key to victory was the soldiers fighting bravely on the front lines; he was just doing what a regimental commander should do.

Upon hearing this, Long Wenzhang smiled slightly, but still humbly stated that without the regimental commander's weapon support, he would not have been able to hold on until now.

"Commander, especially that landmine, its power was just too great. The Japanese tanks were blown to smithereens, and those Japanese soldiers were completely terrified." As he spoke, Long Wenzhang gestured to the mine.

Huang Zurong accepted this calmly, a composed smile on his face, and a little bit of pride rising in his heart.

When he first started working on this thing, many people privately discussed it, saying that it was just nonsense and would never be useful. Some even advised him to focus his energy on finding proper weapons.

But now, these "rustic gadgets" that were once questioned have played a huge role on the battlefield, holding off the elite Japanese regiments, and people are starting to praise them.

Doesn't this prove that his initial choice was correct?

"Ahem, these are all tried-and-tested good stuff." Huang Zurong coughed twice to cover up his smugness and quickly resumed his serious expression.

"I have another message for you, so you'd better be prepared—the Japanese are coming not just one regiment, but two. Behind the regiment you're currently holding off, there's another infantry regiment that's rapidly approaching and should arrive here soon."

"Wh...what?"

Upon hearing this, Long Wenzhang's smile froze instantly, his eyes widened, and he was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

"Two regiments? Commander, you...you're not kidding, are you?"

Two combined teams?

Wouldn't that mean there are five or six thousand people?

How can we fight like this?

Long Wenzhang quickly calculated the difference in troop strength between the two sides: including the main force of the 200th Division and Huang Zurong's militia, they only had about 10,000 people in total, and many of them were wounded. Those who were seriously injured were unable to fight. Only about 7,000 or 8,000 people could actually be put into battle.

In this case, the difference in troop strength between the two sides is not very large, but the difference in combat effectiveness is very large.

The reason why Long Wenzhang has been able to persist until now is because he leads cannon fodder. Although they were "cannon fodder" before, most of them were veterans who had fought in battles and had rich combat experience. It was just that their weapons and equipment were too poor in the past, so they were looked down upon.

Now equipped with British weapons, their combat effectiveness has greatly improved. Facing the Japanese offensive, they can naturally gain the upper hand and even make it difficult for the Japanese to advance.

What if we replaced them with new recruits?

Although he appeared energetic and enthusiastic about fighting, Long Wenzhang's combat prowess was truly underwhelming.

He put a lot of effort into training them, teaching them shooting, hiding, and digging fortifications step by step. Even so, many people were still injured or killed in previous battles.

They have not experienced the baptism of artillery fire and lack combat experience. If they encounter a fierce attack from the Japanese army, they may panic and even desert their posts.

These new recruits made up more than half of Huang Zurong's militia.

If these new recruits were to face the elite main force of the Japanese army directly, and be attacked by two Japanese regiments in turn, the consequences would be unimaginable. They would probably be overwhelmed by the Japanese army in no time, and the entire position would fall. All of them might perish here.

"What? Scared? You were just bragging to me a moment ago, but now that you hear about two regiments, you're chickening out?" Huang Zurong took in the changes in his expression and naturally saw through his thoughts. He smiled faintly and teased him.

"A bit. After all, two regiments came at once, which is more than 5,000 elite troops. Even a regular British division would probably be scared away if it encountered two Class A regiments of the Japanese army, let alone our group of 'ragtag troops'." Long Wenzhang came back to his senses and gave a wry smile.

He didn't hide his fear; fear is normal on the battlefield, but fear doesn't mean retreat.

"Indeed, the strength of two regiments is not easy to deal with. However, as much as we are afraid, running away is out of the question." Huang Zurong shook his head.

"The enemy is the Japanese 18th Division. As for what crimes this division committed on the battlefield, you should all know very well."

As expected, upon hearing the words "Japanese 18th Division," the expressions of everyone present instantly changed. The ease and smiles on their faces were replaced by anger and indignation, and their eyes blazed with fury. Many people clenched their fists tightly, their knuckles turning white, and the atmosphere around them instantly became heavy and cold.

How could they not know the crimes of the 18th Division?

"It was these beasts." Meng Fan muttered, his tone filled with grief and indignation.

"Since it's them, then we won't retreat. Even if it costs us our lives, we'll take a big bite out of them." Long Wenzhang took a deep breath and said with a determined look in his eyes.

"Don't worry, our lives are very precious, we can't just risk it like this." Huang Zurong said with a relaxed expression, showing no concern whatsoever.

After the drone squad took off and figured out the Japanese troop strength and unit number, he had already come up with a plan: to repeat the previous tactics and use drones to decapitate the Japanese.

However, the only problem now is that the enemy's command post has not been located, so he is still waiting for an opportunity.

"Commander, the 200th Division has sent reinforcements." Just as Huang Zurong was about to announce the next battle plan, the communications soldier came to him and quickly reported.

Reinforcements?

Huang Zurong was stunned for a moment. Wasn't the 200th Division attacking Lashio? How could it still have the capacity to send reinforcements?