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

Zhang Chi nodded slightly, secretly agreeing in his heart.

Indeed, in his original plan, he wanted to unite the local Qian expatriate forces and establish his first independent force in Pegu.

Then, with the future Allied counterattack against the Japanese, the tentacles of their influence will gradually spread throughout the South Seas.

However, what he didn't expect was that before he could contact these local tyrants, the younger generation of their families came to him on their own initiative.

But why does the name of Nanyang Zhang Family sound a little familiar?

"Who is Zhang Xueyi from Guangzhou to you?" he suddenly asked, his tone quite casual but his eyes sharp.

Zhang Guangsong was stunned for a moment, a few drops of sweat on his forehead, and he replied with a forced smile: "According to seniority, he is my clan's grandfather."

He felt nervous because what he had just said was just some nonsense he had made up.

He was just a small ant in the Zhang family's side room and had no power to represent the family in making any decision to support the warlords.

In fact, his real purpose was just to fool the colonel in front of him and lead his troops to rescue his cousin Zhang Guangjun.

As for the follow-up, his cousin Zhang Guangjun had the funds of the Pegu detachment of the Nanyang Youth Overseas Chinese Volunteer Army. He thought that when the time came, he would have his cousin give the colonel some gold, and the matter would naturally be settled.

Zhang Chi couldn't help but laugh after hearing this answer.

The expression on his face changed from cold to friendly.

"Call me uncle."

"Ah?" Zhang Guangsong was stunned and didn't react for a moment.

Zhang Chi smiled faintly and softly recited the Zhang family's sixteen-character generational rhyme: "Loyalty passes on the family legacy, virtue and talent inspire future generations; literature begins with determination, learning and trustworthiness lead to far-reaching journeys."

Then, he said with a smile, "My name is Zhang Chi. Zhang Xueyi of Guangfu is my father. According to seniority, you and Zhang Guangjun of the Guang generation are both my nephews."

"In that case, we are all family, so it is only right for me to save my nephew. But..."

Having said this, Zhang Chi suddenly stopped.

Zhang Guangsong was just feeling happy, but was suddenly interrupted by these words, and he couldn't help but start to speculate.

He asked cautiously, "Just?"

Zhang Chi sighed softly and changed the subject: "Since we are all one family, then there is no need for your 'Nanyang Young Overseas Chinese Volunteer Army' to exist independently. Simply disband it and merge it into my independent regiment. By the way, how many people are there? How many guns do you have? What is the educational level of the team members?"

When Zhang Guangsong heard this, his face turned pale instantly.

Only then did he realize that he had walked into a tiger's mouth and had fallen into a trap.

Fortunately, he was too smart and thought he could fool the regiment commander with sweet words, but he didn't expect that the other party had guns and cannons and could easily swallow up their small volunteer army detachment with just a few words.

"Speak up, do you have any opinion on what my uncle said?" Zhang Chi's face darkened. The aura of a superior that he had cultivated over a long period of leading troops in battles and having thousands of soldiers under his command suddenly burst out.

Zhang Guangsong felt like he was facing the elders of the tribe and was unable to resist at all.

He swallowed his saliva and quickly told the whole situation like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.

"We have more than 30 of us, armed with over a dozen rifles, and are currently hiding in the nearby mountains. However, our captain, Zhang Guangjun, was captured by the Japanese while leading a few key members on a disguised reconnaissance mission. We are now being held in a prisoner-of-war camp in a place called Naupi Town."

"All of us are from wealthy families, and the worst of us have only graduated from high school. Some of us, like me, have attended college or vocational school."

"Oh? You went to college? What major did you study?" Zhang Chi's eyes lit up. He was worried about the lack of high-quality talents under him.

"I have a bachelor's degree in Drama from King John's College..." Zhang Guangsong answered somewhat embarrassedly.

"Tsk!" Zhang Chi lost interest as soon as he heard it and waved his hands in disappointment.

There are wars everywhere now, and Shakespeare is of no help in directly defeating the Japanese.

"Xiao Qi, get a few people to take him to a bath, take him to the cafeteria for a good meal, and then accompany him up the mountain to bring down those damn Overseas Chinese Volunteer Army members."

When Zhang Guangsong heard the word "take a bath", he realized that he had been running in the mountains for several days in order to escape the Japanese's pursuit, and the smell on his body had already fermented.

Soon, several soldiers from the guard platoon came in, picked him up without saying a word, and brought him into the camp like a chicken.

------

Inside the newly established command center.

Zhang Chi stood next to the large map on the wall that was marked with various battle plans and deployments of the Japanese troops, and whispered the three words "Naupi Town".

A scene not long ago emerged in his mind - at the John people's airport, Sir Spencer had asked him to go to Naupi Town to rescue a group of captured John people, or at least give them a quick death and prevent them from suffering further torture.

Zhang Chi had no intention of completing this mission. After all, what did he care about the lives of a group of Johns? He and Sir Spencer didn't have a deep friendship.

But now, the situation seems to no longer allow him to hesitate.

His finger slowly slid across the map, and finally found the location of Naupi Town at the confluence of the Yawanadi River and the Lankanmayu River.

Now it seems that whether he likes it or not, he has to go to Naupi Town.

Zhang Chi quickly made a battle plan and shouted:

"Where's Hao Yi? Go gather your first battalion. This time it's your turn to show off your prowess."

-----

Soon after, the first battalion of the independent regiment, the guard platoon, the amphibious reconnaissance platoon and the air defense company were all dispatched.

As a liaison officer, Zhang Guangsong naturally had to accompany the army.

He sat in the co-pilot seat of an M13 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, his heart filled with surprise and confusion.

"Your commander said that these half-track armored vehicles and amphibious tanks were all sent by the Zhang family in his hometown?" Zhang Guangsong turned his head to look at the driver who was driving and couldn't help asking.

The driver, Yu Yuanbai, was a private first class from the air defense company. Upon hearing this, he smiled proudly and said as he drove, "Right! Don't you know? Those young men from the Zhang family escorting the car all had shaved heads and wore Mao suits. They looked very impressive!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, his tone rising a bit: "Let me tell you, it's not just these armored vehicles and tanks, we also have planes, artillery, trucks, anti-aircraft guns. Under the leadership of our regimental commander Zhang Chi, our independent regiment has everything. It's in no way inferior to the Japanese's elite regiment!"

When Yu Yuanbai said this, his eyebrows were already beaming with joy and his eyes were shining.

"And this canned meat is a rarity back home. Ordinary people can't even get it if they want. But our regimental commander is incredibly powerful and has secured a whole warehouse. Just how powerful do you think the Zhang family behind him must be?"

Zhang Guangsong listened to Yu Yuanbai's endless chatter. Although he appeared calm on the surface, he felt mixed emotions in his heart.

He could feel the absolute trust and pride that these independent regiment soldiers had in their commander Zhang Chi, and that heartfelt respect almost infected him.

However, the "Zhang family" mentioned by Yu Yuanbai and the Nanyang Zhang family he was familiar with seemed to be two completely different worlds.

Could it be that the Zhang family in Guangzhou has become prosperous in recent years?