The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Huan Borong also hurriedly dissuaded him:

"General, you are a man of high moral integrity, not obsessed with power. However, your army now includes many of our overseas Chinese warriors. If you return with your army, these tens of thousands of warriors will have to leave their homes again. This is not a good idea."

The old fox Huan Borong has been up and down for many years and has seen many ugly faces of white people.

Now all his property is in the hands of the devils. If John's people come back and claim that these are the devil's assets, enemy property, and confiscate them directly, then all the hard work of several generations of his family will be in vain.

On the contrary, his Huan family and the Zhang family are somewhat related. If Zhang Chi stays here, even if he hands over half of it after the war, he can still keep half.

Qi Leshan, the oldest, smiled, stroked his graying goatee, and spoke slowly:

"Now, hundreds of thousands of Qian people in Pegu and millions more in Southeast Asia are left without a single refuge. After General Zhang expelled the Japanese pirates, he became the popular choice and should be the protector of these overseas compatriots. How could he simply walk away? I urge the general to reconsider."

Zhang Chi tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were constantly rising, picked up the teacup, and took a sip of the hot tea.

Hey guys, you begged me to stay, I didn’t force you.

He deliberately put on a sad expression and said, "Well, since the elders say so, and I hate to see others suffer, then let's discuss this matter later."

The three of them watched Zhang Chi's performance, smiling on the surface but cursing in their hearts.

If they weren't afraid of John's men coming back to collect the list, they wouldn't have done this. Qi Leshan might be able to escape back to Yunnan Province by then, but Meng Xingfa and Huan Borong had all their wealth in Southeast Asia, and their clans were also there, so they had nowhere to run.

"That's perfect. There's another thing. As you all know, the Chinese in Southeast Asia are not very united, and there are occasional fights. Since you have chosen me to be the leader and to fight against the John people on your behalf, you must also show some intention of pursuing unity."

With just one word from Zhang Chi, the protector that the few people had just mentioned became the person in charge.

When Meng Xingfa and Huan Borong heard Zhang Chi say this, they thought he was asking for money. They remained calm on the surface, but they were disappointed inside. After all, was this young man the same as those warlords?

"Let's set up Chinese schools, starting with primary schools in Kajang. Once I liberate the big cities, we'll set up middle schools and universities."

Huan Borong was still hoping to do something practical, so when he heard Zhang Chi was planning to open a primary school, he immediately responded, "Promoting education is a good thing. On behalf of the Guangdong Provincial Chamber of Commerce, I am willing to pledge money, land, and personnel. But where are the students? I wonder if General Zhang is willing to open a universal school."

Meng Xingfa also added: "Yes, General, you don't know that these young children are also half-laborers. They also have to work in the fields where we live. If the general opens a primary school, their parents may not be willing to send their children there."

Zhang Chi put down his teacup and smiled crookedly, "This will require your efforts. The elementary school I envision is compulsory and universal, free of charge, and includes lunch. As for how to run this school, Guangsong, you and the other adults should discuss this. If there's a shortage of staff, we can assign all the disabled veterans who are still able to move to your place."

Zhang Chi has thoroughly learned the essence of leadership at a 21st-century internet company. He is solely responsible for setting goals and assessing his subordinates' KPIs: "I have only one request: this elementary school must teach both Mandarin and simplified Chinese."

The Qian people in Nanyang clearly share the same blood, but why are they so full of contradictions and so fragmented?

Zhang Chi felt that the main problem lay in the "province-based grouping". People from different provinces such as Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Yunnan spoke different dialects and did not care about the life and death of people from other provinces.

Although the invasion of the Japanese army significantly broke this prejudice and united all the Chinese people at home and abroad, Zhang Chi knew very well that this unity would not last long.

As soon as the war ended, when the Johns, Dutch, French and other colonists returned to the colonies waving rifles, the Qian people in Southeast Asia once again suffered misfortune.

Therefore, Zhang Chi made preparations in advance to break this barrier. He could completely resist the force of the white colonists with his systematically established army, but internal unity must be based on the same language and the same writing.

Qi Leshan, Meng Xingfa and Huan Borong looked at each other in surprise when they heard this request. They suddenly realized that they had underestimated this young man.

They originally thought that Zhang Chi just wanted to occupy the land and become the king by force, but they didn't expect that the other party had such big ambitions.

Huan Borong instinctively did not want to agree to the request of only teaching Mandarin, but when he thought that he had begged Zhang Chi to stay, he had no choice but to accept it.

-----

While Zhang Chi was planning for the future, on the other side, the two Saka people who nominally ruled Pegu were also discussing the future.

In the southern part of Pegu Kingdom, in the capital city of Yangon, which is controlled by the Japanese.

Dr. Mo was pushed to the front as a puppet by the Japanese and was talking to General Aung San, who actually controlled the puppet army.

At this moment, the Kingdom of Pegu had just nominally gained independence from the Japanese, and it was a time of great satisfaction to have Dr. Mo as its leader.

As a doctor of law who graduated from a Fa-people school, Bamo has always sought independence from the John people. (Whenever there is trouble with the John people, there will be a Fa-people.)

Later, John's people put him in prison. When the Japanese arrived, they released him from prison and promoted him to a high position.

"What do you think about the Anti-Japanese Autonomous Committee organized by Zhang Chi?" General Wengshan, the commander-in-chief of the puppet army, did not realize that the Japanese were strong on the outside but weak on the inside, but the threat from Zhang Chi in the north had attracted his attention.

"It's just a minor problem. Pegu is the Pegu of our Saka people. Zhang Chi is just another thug of the white colonizers. Those white colonizers are our real enemies. We must help the Taijuns defeat them to win true independence."

"General Aung San, please focus more on the military. I have already requested more weapons from the Fuso nobles. I think we should quickly expand our army to 30 men, and then help the Fuso army invade the Sindhu Kingdom in the west and completely drive the Johns out of South Asia."

When Dr. Mo said this in a dignified manner, he believed it from the bottom of his heart.

However, the reality is that among the 10 million people in Pegu, the Saka people only account for 60% of the population, barely more than half, but not an absolute number, and their foundation is not solid at all.

In terms of military, the battle reports from the Japanese headquarters also made Dr. Mo believe that his side had always had the upper hand.

General Aung San Suu Kyi felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw Dr. Mok's arrogant attitude.

In terms of public opinion, due to the Japanese's inhumanity, all ethnic groups except the Saka were oppressed, and Zhang Chi was using the Anti-Japanese Autonomous Committee to unite these forces against the Japanese.

In terms of military affairs, he had previously led the puppet army to help the Japanese Southern Army attack the Expeditionary Force. The tenacious fighting power of the Expeditionary Force left a deep impression on him.

If Zhang Chi's troops were all at that level, he would not believe the news that the Japanese won a great victory in the last three-way siege, while Zhang Chi's troops suffered heavy losses.

Fuso Taigun's recent statement that the task of defending Pegu would be returned to him was actually giving him a hot potato.

After all, his puppet army now only has some light weapons and a small amount of artillery left by the John people handed over by the Japanese, so they can only help the Japanese.

Is it true that my General Aung San’s puppet army went to defend against the attack of Zhang Chi’s troops?