Chapter 604: South China Freedom Army

January 8, 1943.

For three months, Jiang Anguo led the Guard Battalion across Thailand's territory—no, now across Nanko's territory.

He exchanged nearly a few hundred million points entirely for population, converting almost ten million people, mainly Huaxia.

Of course, there were also Germans, Americans, British, but they made up only a small proportion.

And they all spoke fluent Chinese.

From Singapore and Batam Island to the Malay Peninsula and the area around Huadu, brand‑new villages sprang up from the barren land.

Nanko strictly followed the plan, allocating five hundred people per village, dividing land and building houses so that each wave of immigrants could quickly put down roots and have a home of their own.

Then ten or more villages combined to form a town.

Village construction proceeded orderly; immigrants worked together, moving bricks and tiles, clearing land, and the once‑wild slopes and forests gradually gave way to tidy houses and fertile fields.

The houses were mostly low‑rise Chinese style, arranged in an appealing stagger, each with its own courtyard where small vegetable plots were cultivated, exuding a homely atmosphere.

Everyone supported one another; those unfamiliar with construction learned from experienced hands, those who could not farm consulted the elders, and within a few short months each village took shape, cooking smoke rose, and laughter echoed across the fields.

After the villages were firmly established, the construction of public facilities also began.

Nanko dispatched medical staff to set up simple clinics in each village's central area, equipped with basic medical gear and medicines, treating the immigrants' ailments, spreading hygiene knowledge, and completely overturning the previous plight of remote areas with no medical care.

Children also gained a good place; temporary schools were built one after another, teachers arrived with books, and in the crude classrooms the clear sound of reading soon rose, the children's smiling faces becoming the most moving scenery in the villages.

As villages multiplied and populations gathered, towns gradually formed. In densely settled areas, roads were repaired and widened one by one, turning dirt paths into smooth stone slabs that linked each village with nearby outposts.

Street shops slowly opened: grocery stores selling grain and tools, silk‑cloth shops offering needles and fabric, tiny eateries and blacksmiths, gradually forming a bustling market where residents could purchase everything without leaving home.

From barren lands to villages with rising cooking smoke, from scattered settlements to lively orderly towns, every Nanko construction embodies the immigrants' sweat and carries Nanko's hope.

Jiang Anguo's WarSystem now lacks nothing in points; the more population, the more he gains.

Jiang Anguo's resolute decision to exchange all points for population stemmed mainly from the fact that the "R Plan" was simply too slow.

Even though transport capacity has now been increased, along with multiple new transport routes.

Yet the daily peak transport capacity remains only three to four thousand people.

Just this amount means that Lin Yi and Zhuge Mingliang's side must coordinate nearly two hundred transport aircraft each day.

To ensure the current mission can be completed.

Thus the mission is not only cumbersome but also time‑ and energy‑consuming.

It also consumes a great amount of money.

In the eyes of most officers of the st Division, this transaction is decidedly poor value for money.

But Jiang Anguo is different; he controls the WarSystem, and the more population, the more points he accrues.

Just as Nanko's population—local Chinese, regardless of origin—will from now on be uniformly classified ethnically as Han.

'Mandalay' has also been renamed Chang'an.

The crucial point remains the strategic location of Mandalay, whose rugged geography is very similar to Chang'an's.

After all, if some key cities retain their original names, they become spiritual pillars for would‑be rebels.

After consulting with Chen Jiageng, Jiang Anguo decided to rename Mandalay to Chang'an.

Currently within Nanko's borders, there are over 12 million Han.

That figure can generate 24 million points for Jiang Anguo each day.

Therefore, Jiang Anguo fundamentally lacks no points.

Population growth brings more conflicts; in later times, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Malay Peninsula each have over a hundred million people.

Nanko is formed from multiple ethnicities and former territories merged, its demographic makeup is complex, making governance extremely difficult.

Although 12 million Han serve as the core, the original Myanmar's 16 million and Thailand's 18 million populations are not far off.

Even counting the Malay Peninsula's locals, the Han to indigenous ratio is about one to three.

Yet the great families and clans entrenched across territories have long been accustomed to dominating their regions and wielding real power, unwilling to relinquish authority, becoming the biggest obstacle to Nanko's unified governance.

To clear these obstacles, Zhi Tian Xin Zhong led the South China Freedom Army in a proactive strike.

Upholding the principle "those who submit will undergo peaceful evolution; those who resist will be firmly suppressed!"

Step by step they pacify regional warlords, and Northern Myanmar's Banwa Town is a key target.

Banwa Town lies on the border of Northern Myanmar's Kachin State, adjacent to Huaxia's Yunnan, a major Kachin settlement and an important transport hub in Northern Myanmar, controlling nearby jade veins and cross‑border routes, long ruled by the Kachin warlord Dao Meng.

Dao Meng, born into a great Kachin clan, leveraged his family's influence and a force of over two thousand armed men to dominate Banwa Town for years, nominally pledging allegiance to the former Myanmar government.

In reality he ruled unilaterally, monopolizing local mines and trade, imposing heavy taxes on the populace; any hint of resistance was brutally crushed, leaving residents angry but silent.

Such local warlords are countless in Northern Myanmar.

Mainly because Northern Myanmar's terrain is mountainous and information is sealed off.

This gave these great families the ambition to claim kingship and dominance.

Upon learning of Nanko's rise and its intent to unify Northern Myanmar,

they even planned to station Chinese in every village of Northern Myanmar.

Dao Meng not only refused to submit but also stockpiled grain, reinforced defenses, and allied with several nearby minor forces, threatening to fight the South China Freedom Army to the death.

Dao Meng knows Banwa Town's terrain is treacherous, with many mountains and little flat land, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.

He also uses his family's local influence to incite the Kachin people, falsely claiming that Nanko will oppress minorities and strip them of land and benefits, attempting to rally forces for stubborn resistance.

'South China Freedom Army Commander' Zhi Tian Xin Zhong, after leading the South China Freedom Army to Banwa Town's outskirts,

did not rush to attack, but first sent an envoy into the town to meet Dao Meng.

Conveying Nanko's invitation to surrender: "Leader Dao Meng, Nanko upholds a principle of multi‑ethnic equality; those who submit will retain their families' legitimate interests, we will not interfere with local customs, and we will provide supplies to improve residents' lives; should you persist in resistance, the South China Freedom Army will launch a full assault, and your family will be annihilated—regret will come too late."

Dao Meng sat at the head of the council hall, and after hearing the envoy's words, sneered, waved the envoy away: "Tell your Nanko that for me, Dao Meng, to submit, the sun would have to rise from the west! Banwa Town is Kachin territory; it's not for Nanko to dictate. If you want to take Banwa Town, you must first step over the corpses of me, Dao Meng, and my brothers!"