Chapter 92: Nanyang Students

Song Yu, as Jiang Anguo's chief of staff, made a suggestion.

"Commander, what we need to do now is block Lashu City, entry only, no exit," Song Yu said.

Jiang Anguo nodded, "Indeed, these Burmese really aren't reliable!"

"Song Yu, you go handle it. Our ten companies in Lashu are publicly called the Myanmar Overseas Chinese Guard Team; make them do the joint‑defense work."

Song Yu's mission is to assist in defending Lashu.

Jiang Anguo, just as Song Yu stepped out, immediately called him back and told him that if anyone tries to leave Lashu, Burmese should be dragged to a corner and shot on the spot.

One advantage of Northern Myanmar is that there aren't that many Burmese; they remain the majority, but there is another group, the Chinese.

If they are killed, so be it; Burmese aren't good people, now or later.

"Brother Anguo, Brother Anguo."

If he heard correctly, Jiang Anguo felt someone was calling his name, and it was a girl.

And she was not far from him.

"Xiao Si, who is that girl?" Jiang Anguo turned his head and asked Xiao Si.

He truly had no memory of that girl in his mind.

"Young Master, this is Chen Jiageng's youngest daughter, Chen Baoyi," Xiao Si said.

"My brain got knocked out last time; do we know each other?" Jiang Anguo was full of doubt; he knew Chen Jiageng, a patriotic overseas Chinese, a Nanyang tycoon.

But who is this Chen Baoyi?

Because Jiang Anguo had attained Gunmanship Proficiency, his eyesight was excellent; Chen Baoyi had a student‑style haircut, wore a blue shirt with a black skirt underneath.

She looked quite cute, but that hairstyle wasn't Jiang Weiguo's taste.

"Young Master, your second sister Jiang Anping married Chen Jiageng's fourth son Chen Boji, so by that you are relatives," Xiao Si thought, indeed, the Young Master must have fallen from his horse and forgotten some things.

The guards tried to stop Chen Baoyi, but Jiang Anguo waved his hand and let them pass.

"Why are you here?" Jiang Anguo also had an awkward expression; being awkward, he needed to take the initiative to speak first.

Chen Baoyi giggled, a bit playful, "My classmates and I came to Lashu to help; a few of them can drive, so we came to transport supplies."

"Weiguo brother, why are you in the army?" Chen Baoyi felt Jiang Anguo looked even more handsome in his uniform.

"Looking at you, it seems you've become an official; I'm so far away, but your soldiers block me."

As she spoke, Chen Baoyi pursed her lips, but in her mind thought, Weiguo brother looks so handsome in uniform.

Jiang Anguo thought, "What a sin," this little girl is probably not even eighteen yet; indeed, as Jiang Anguo thought, Chen Baoyi is only seventeen this year—what girl isn't in the bloom of love.

"Why are you still in Lashu, and how many of you are there?" Jiang Anguo asked.

Chen Baoyi estimated in her mind, "We have about one hundred and thirty people!"

Jiang Anguo looked; indeed there were many student faces, mainly Chinese and Burmese who looked similar; Southeast Asia's tropical climate makes local Burmese a bit darker, but Lashu has so many South Sea Chinese that it's hard to tell them apart.

After some inquiry, Jiang Anguo learned that Chen Baoyi was actually at Southwest University, and her classmates were all Southwest University students; they had only been on duty a short time, and the Dian-Mian Highway was extremely treacherous, costing many classmates' lives, yet even so they resolutely joined the Anti‑Japanese ranks.

"Stop the nonsense, quickly gather your classmates, get any operational transport vehicles moving, you leave today," Jiang Anguo shouted.

April 24, 10:20 a. m.

"Weiguo brother, why so fierce?" Chen Baoyi didn't mind at all; she even felt Jiang Anguo's vigor.

"No. You must immediately inform your classmates and all Chinese you know to start organizing an evacuation, retreat inland," Jiang Anguo finally remembered, having forgotten that Song Yu said entry only, no exit; but now with so many Chinese, they must be organized to withdraw.

They cannot be sacrificed pointlessly in Lashu.

"Why are you letting us evacuate?" A person stepped out of the student crowd; his name was Wu Yu. The Wu and Chen families were long‑standing friends, and Wu Yu was courting Chen Baoyi, but she had rejected him.

"Remember, I am now Lashu's supreme commander. The Japanese have already broken through the East Branch Frontline; soon they'll reach Lashu. Once the Japanese Army attacks Lashu, you won't have a chance to leave, so you must immediately, right now, evacuate Lashu for me."

"Understood?" Jiang Anguo shouted.

His voice carried strongly, and the noisy crowd fell silent at once.

Chen Baoyi's eyes flashed, staring at Jiang Anguo.

"You are fighting the Japanese, we are too; why should we retreat?" Wu Yu was still resentful; seeing Chen Baoyi's gaze, he regarded Jiang Anguo even more poorly.

"Remember, students should serve the country in a student's way, not cause trouble here. As long as we soldiers haven't been wiped out, we don't need you students on the battlefield. Of course I appreciate your goodwill, but once Lashu goes to war, I won't have time to deal with you; whether you live or die, only heaven knows."

"Notify Gao Yaguang, organize personnel, and quickly move Lashu's supplies—wounded first, supplies second." Gao Yaguang, the newly appointed commander of the Transport Regiment, was Jiang Anguo's appointee.

After speaking, Jiang Anguo did not linger; he had more important matters to attend to and had no time to waste.

Jiang Anguo gave Gao Yaguang another Transport Company; they had no vehicles, but Lashu had plenty of transport vehicles, more than enough.

Thus the Transport Regiment's strength exceeded 360 men, and adding the transport troops and drivers left in Lashu, the total number of people who could drive surpassed 500.

However, there weren't that many vehicles—about 400 transport vehicles. A single convoy could deliver up to 800 tons of supplies inland; to bring all of Lashu's supplies back would require at least ten round trips.

Gao Yaguang quickly devised a safe but relatively slow method: keep each transport vehicle spaced a hundred meters apart. The purpose of this distance was to protect against Japanese aircraft, as the transport vehicles presented a huge target.

Regarding domestic fighter aircraft, the priority was to ensure Yunnan's safety; providing support to the Dian-Mian Highway was extremely difficult.

Another issue was that Jiang Anguo didn't know the air force contact in Baoshan Mangshi; if Lashu lacked radar and detected Japanese aircraft, calling for air support would be useless due to the time lag.

Because by the time our own planes reached the battlefield, the Japanese aircraft would have already flown away.