Chapter 496: South China Freedom Army (6)

The Japanese nation has several major traits.

First, they revere the strong, meaning they submit obediently to powerful opponents; in the colloquial saying of Chinese common folk, they belong to the kind of people whose bones are cheap.

The weaker you are, the more he sticks his nose in your face and bullies you without any restraint.

Conversely, when you become strong, or suppress the other side with overwhelming force, they will obediently listen and stay quietly.

"Lin Yi, Little Devil are despicable, slave‑minded; as long as you are strong, they never dare to rebel."

Jiang Anguo turned slowly, his gaze falling on Lin Yi's face, seeing the resolve and doubt in his eyes, and said softly, "The establishment of Nanko is not as easy as imagined.

We now seem to control a part of northern Myanmar, having won several battles, but in reality the crises we face are far greater than you imagine.

What we need are a group of Executioners—a group that can operate from the shadows without us appearing, handling matters we cannot address directly.

Nanko is still too weak; Jiang Anguo could arm all South Sea Chinese with limitless firepower, but eventually these warriors must lay down their weapons, pick up hoes, and rebuild this land.

"Executioner?" Lin Yi was stunned; he vaguely guessed something but dared not be sure, so he only shook his head, his tone still puzzled.

"Instructor, I still don't understand. We have the Expeditionary Force, elite soldiers, and the newly formed South China Army; no matter what arises we can confront it directly. Why must we use these Japanese prisoners of war as Executioners?"

Jiang Anguo was silent for a moment, walked to a rock's edge, leaned down to gaze at the vast land below, his eyes deepening as if pondering something, as if recalling forgotten sufferings.

After a long while, he finally spoke slowly, his tone heavy with emotion: "Lin Yi, do you know how many people live in Myanmar? Myanmar's total population is sixteen to seventeen million, yet on this land the Chinese number only a little over two hundred thousand. Those two hundred thousand Chinese, among sixteen‑seven million natives and colonists, are like a single small boat in the ocean—tiny and fragile."

Lin Yi was slightly taken aback; he had never seriously calculated Myanmar's demographic ratio, and Jiang Anguo's words sparked a hint of surprise in his heart.

But he immediately furrowed his brows, questioning, "But, Instructor, what does this have to do with arming those Japanese prisoners? We are the Expeditionary Force, here to defend this land and the Chinese; as long as we are strong enough we can protect the Chinese without relying on Japanese POWs."

Jiang Anguo gently shook his head, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

He knew Lin Yi had not experienced the future hardships nor knew what would follow, even if he were to see future defeats cascade like a mountain.

Jiang Anguo needed to prepare a fallback for himself, to arrange a fallback for his st Division.

Without a strong motherland, the Chinese of Southeast Asia would suffer even greater hardships; even if he told Lin Yi now, Lin Yi would not believe it.

After all, the Expeditionary Force now surges like a bamboo shoot, winning several battles in a row, holding the initiative; under such advantage, no one would believe they could lose in the future or fall into a dead end.

That loss would not occur on the Myanmar battlefield.

After much contemplation, Jiang Anguo decided to use another method to make Lin Yi grasp the deeper meaning.

He turned, looked at Lin Yi, and said gravely, "Lin Yi, since the anti‑Japanese war began, the Chinese have silently helped us resist the Japanese Army's invasion.

Whether Chinese at home or Chinese in Southeast Asia.

They have all done what they can—providing money, labor, and people, supplying us with material support, transporting troops, and many even gave their lives to support the resistance."

He paused, then continued, "You don't know how hard the Chinese live on this Southeast Asian land."

"After the Japanese Army occupied Singapore, they carried out a horrific, inhumane massacre of the local Chinese; in just a few days at least one hundred thousand Chinese were killed, blood flowing like rivers, corpses strewn everywhere."

"Those Chinese had offended no one; they merely wanted to live peacefully on this land, yet they suffered such cruel treatment."

Lin Yi's body shivered slightly; he had heard of the Japanese Army's massacre of Chinese, but Jiang Anguo's vivid description still pricked his heart, and the hatred in his eyes grew even stronger.

"But do you know? In Myanmar, the Chinese face not only Japanese invaders but also those lofty colonizers."

Jiang Anguo's tone grew heavier, "What you see is only surface calm, only the façade of a few victories. In fact, the British and the Dutch are the true masters of this land."

"In their eyes, the Chinese are like piglets, to be driven and bullied at will, with no dignity whatsoever."

"Over the years the Chinese have strived, taking root and sprouting in this unfamiliar soil, working hard to live and to carve out their own space."

"Yet they have no rights, no means of self‑protection, not even as much as the local natives."

"Those natives, mostly ignorant and foolish, are easily incited by the British and Dutch to crazily attack the Chinese, seize their property, and kill their families."

Jiang Anguo's gaze turned again to the distance, his mind full of his own calculations.

He wishes to become the master of this land, to control northern Myanmar, to dominate the Chinese forces of all Southeast Asia, and to free the Chinese from oppression and slaughter.

But he cannot tell Lin Yi these words; many matters are not yet the time for explanation, nor can they be clarified now—he must wait for the right moment for Lin Yi to understand gradually.

"We are the Expeditionary Force, the guardians of Nanko; our identity is bright, our cause just."

Jiang Anguo withdrew his gaze, looked at Lin Yi, and his tone became veiled, "But some matters we cannot act on, we cannot let our soldiers handle; if we do, it will tarnish our reputation, cause us to lose the Chinese's trust, and even draw international condemnation. These Japanese prisoners of war are different."

He paused, then continued, "They are already prisoners of war, already bearing guilt; even if they commit dark deeds, it won't affect our reputation, nor implicate the Expeditionary Force or Nanko."

"Therefore, many tasks we cannot handle can be assigned to the South China Freedom Army. They are the Executioners we raise, a knife in our hand, a blade hidden in the shadows that can clear all obstacles for us."

Lin Yi listened quietly, his expression gradually turning indifferent. He remained silent for a long while, then slowly nodded. Though Jiang Anguo spoke obliquely, Lin Yi still vaguely guessed what it meant.