Chapter 452: My

At this moment the sky had already darkened, the oil lamp inside was lit, Chen Jiageng lowered his head to ponder the matter, whether to go or not to go.

The oil lamp flickered intermittently.

Zhuang Mingli said decisively, "Mr. Chen, you must not go, this must be a Little Devil's plot!"

"Mingli, if they wanted to kill me, they would have acted already," Chen Jiageng said, looking at Shan Ben Shiba outside the window.

Shan Ben Shiba smiled at him.

"But they are Japanese," Zhuang Mingli said.

"Yes, they are Japanese," Chen Jiageng repeated.

Southeast Asia was almost entirely under Japan's iron hooves, and at this moment a man suddenly appeared before you and said, "I will take you to Myanmar to create brilliance together."

No matter who it is, no one would believe it easily.

Huang Bo Quan, also curious, said, "Mr. Chen, do you know Jiang Anguo?"

Chen Jiageng nodded, "Actually Bo Quan, Mingli, you both know him; when Boji married back then, I joked that I would marry my little daughter to that crying little boy, and that was Jiang Anguo."

Everyone's thoughts drifted back to more than ten years ago; it was indeed far in the past, but everyone's memory remained.

Chinese also have their own circle; this circle is not only for convenience, but more importantly to protect themselves—relying on relatives at home and on friends abroad.

"It's him, this matter is indeed far in the past," Zhuang Mingli recalled, but indeed the time had passed.

Huang Bo Quan only now remembered, "Mingli, Mr. Chen, a few days ago the radio received news from Chongqing: the Expeditionary Force achieved a great victory at Tonggu; among them, besides the th Division commander Dai Anlan, there was the name of Independent Regiment Regiment Commander Jiang Anguo. If the name is correct, then it is him."

Chen Jiageng at this moment also recalled; he constantly followed the situation at home and of the Expeditionary Force, hoping that one day they could win and drive out the invaders.

Chen Jiageng's information also came from the transmissions of these friends.

Chen Jiageng hesitated, "Bo Quan, Mingli, I want to go to Myanmar to see, to travel."

He handed the letter written by Jiang Anguo to Zhuang Mingli; Zhuang Mingli opened the letter and saw the words, and Huang Bo Quan also leaned in.

"We badly need a piece of our own land; even if we drive out the Japanese, there are also United Kingdom and Dutch. South Sea Chinese have suffered too much," Chen Jiageng's eyes flashed with a glimmer.

Yes, too bitter.

Without a strong motherland, after all, they are all outsiders.

"Mr. Chen, we'll follow you; it seems that even if we don't go to Myanmar, the Little Devils outside the gate won't let us leave. In that case, Mr. Chen, why don't we go with you to Myanmar?" Zhuang Mingli said firmly.

"Yes! Mr. Chen, now Java is also full of Japanese, we are also on edge; perhaps we should first go to Myanmar to see the situation. If it goes smoothly, we can return home and continue contributing to the Anti-Japanese effort," Huang Bo Quan also said.

Seeing his friends so steadfastly follow him, Chen Jiageng knew a decision had to be made.

"Alright, then let's go on this trip!"

What Chen Jiageng didn't know was that this journey nearly scared the nearly seventy‑year‑old old man to death.

Because Shan Ben Shiba had actually found a transport ship requisitioned by the Japanese in Sulabaya, and its destination was Myanmar's Moulmein, which was the first place the Japanese Army's 15th Army would capture upon entering Myanmar.

It was also one of the most important ports in eastern Myanmar.

The transport ship was actually not Japanese; it was a Dutch vessel docked in Jakarta, now simply requisitioned by the Japanese.

The ship was loaded entirely with supplies—an entire ship of rice—provisions for the 15th Army.

And the captain of the ship, Shan Ben Shiba, had already become familiar with him; the other party was also eager to get to know this widely‑connected Kyoto man.

Compared with Shan Ben Shiba's composure, the others were terrified inside.

When they boarded, they discovered it was a ship run by the Japanese, with the Japanese Army's banner flag hoisted.

If the ship had not been heading north, Chen Jiageng would even have thought it was bound for Japan, to take him to Japan.

It wasn't until they left Singapore's waters that Chen Jiageng and the others felt relieved; at least those three Japanese were not planning to hand them over to the Japanese.

But along the way, they dared not speak.

In fact, aside from a few Japanese crew members, the rest were workers and laborers from Dutch‑controlled India recruited by the Japanese on Java Island.

A small amount of food was all that was needed to obtain free labor.

Thus, more than a dozen people of Chinese appearance suddenly appeared on board, causing no incident, especially since the authentic Japanese Shan Ben Shiba led them.

Departing from Sulabaya, the transport ship sailed the sea for seven days and finally arrived at Moulmein.

"Quick, yours, get off the ship quickly, move faster," Shan Ben Shiba said in a swaggering tone.

Zhuang Wen glared at Shan Ben Shiba, but after being pulled by his father Zhuang Mingli behind him, he reacted and immediately bowed his head to Shan Ben Shiba.

The group did not bring many clothes.

But to cross the final rainforest required considerable preparation; therefore, from Moulmein to Taunggyi, they had to traverse the primitive forest of southern Myanmar, a distance of five hundred kilometers.

To cross the jungle, a party of ordinary people without professional training might need two months.

Thus Shan Ben Shiba needed to prepare, and precisely because of his Japanese identity, handling matters in Moulmein was not difficult.

He first arranged for Chen Jiageng to stay at a pre‑arranged residence in Moulmein, then they split up to procure supplies.

Food was the most critical.

After two days of preparation, the party bought three ox carts to transport supplies through the jungle; Chen Jiageng also played the role of driving the oxen, wearing a conical hat.

Days of fatigue made it hard to tell whether this was Chen Jiageng or just an ordinary old man.

Even so, Chen Jiageng never uttered a word of fatigue; he held a belief that they must find a way out for Chinese in Southeast Asia.

It was precisely this belief that kept him closely following the team during such a harsh march.

"Shan Ben, why do you help me, even sacrificing your own life?" Chen Jiageng looked at the tombstone before him, which bore only a few simple characters: Xiao Chuan Qingzhi.

Just now, while everyone was resting in place, a poisonous snake silently approached Chen Jiageng; Xiao Chuan Qingzhi, who was closest to Chen Jiageng, also noticed the incident, but there was no time to think further.

Xiao Chuan Qingzhi directly used his hand to block the attacking poisonous snake.

Although he ultimately killed the poisonous snake, its venom spread quickly, and there was no medicine for treatment.

In the end, the 'Japanese' who escorted Chen Jiageng northward to Taunggyi perished at a place called 'Paben'.

Shan Ben Shiba's eyes showed no sorrow, only resolve, "Mr. Chen, my mission is to deliver you safely to Taunggyi, even if it means sacrificing my life!"

Chen Jiageng and everyone present were moved; they did not understand why those three Japanese were so determined to take Chen Jiageng to northern Myanmar.

But what can be affirmed is that they would never betray Chen Jiageng.

It was not until many years later that Chen Jiageng, in his memoir, interwove a passage about traveling northward from Java, and he titled that passage "My 'Japan Friend'".