Expedition to Europe

When Jackson boarded the ship to Cairo, Zhang Chengye and Xu Zhongqing had just entered Chiang Mai.

Although Lan Fang, Britain and France had divided Siam in Coconut City, it did not mean that Siam had returned to peace. The Coconut City Conference only determined the sphere of influence of the three countries. Whether they could really stand firm depended on their own ability.

The British obviously failed in this regard. Although Lan Fang and France recognized Britain's control over the ten provinces in northern Siam, the resistance in the British-occupied areas did not stop, but instead tended to become more and more serious. Just last month, the British troops in Chiang Mai were forced to withdraw from Chiang Mai, and Chiang Mai became the first province to declare "independence".

That's not right. Chiang Mai did not declare independence. In the announcement issued by Xu Zhongqing, the Chiang Mai Freedom Army announced that it would secede from the original Kingdom of Siam, join French Indochina, and become part of French Indochina.

This announcement was really disgusting, and Charles Mangin, the newly appointed Governor-General of French Indochina, was immediately dumbfounded.

Charles Mangin didn't know whether the rebellion in northern Siam was secretly supported by the former Governor-General Lyautey, but since this Chiang Mai Free Army said so, it must not be groundless. So when the Chiang Mai Free Army announced its joining French Indochina, Charles Mangin did not deny it immediately, but chose to contact the country to confirm whether the former Governor-General Lyautey had any relationship with the Chiang Mai Free Army.

It was already a week after Lyautey's telegram was sent to Saigon. At this time, even if Charles Mangin firmly stated that France and the Chiang Mai Free Army had no relationship, it seemed a bit of a cover-up.

"Chiang Mai! I'm finally back again!" Xu Zhongqing, who was sitting on horseback and looking at the Chiang Mai city, was full of pride.

This was actually the second time that the Chiang Mai Free Army captured Chiang Mai. The last time, the Chiang Mai Free Army took advantage of the British carelessness, made dumplings of the Indians stationed in Chiang Mai, and then took Chiang Mai. But when the British transferred a purely British force from Liabi, the Chiang Mai Freedom Army took the initiative to give up Chiang Mai City. This time, it took a full half year for the Chiang Mai Freedom Army to capture Chiang Mai City again.

Counting it, Xu Zhongqing has joined the Chiang Mai Freedom Army for more than a year. In this year or so, Xu Zhongqing has completed the transformation from a young master of aristocratic family to a rough soldier. His former robes have become military uniforms, his long hair with the style of Tang and Song dynasties has become bald, and his originally slender fingers have become thick joints. When he speaks, he is even more vulgar.

Even if Xu Ziting sees Xu Zhongqing now, he probably doesn't believe that his son has become like this.

Zhang Chengye still appreciates Xu Zhongqing's changes. Zhang Chengye has no intention of pointing out the situation. He raised his hand and called Zha Peng over, asking him to take people to settle the captives first, especially those British. They are bargaining chips for the Chiang Mai Freedom Army to negotiate with the British. If they are killed by accident, it will be a big loss.

"We won't leave again this time, right?" Although they had fought with the British for more than a year, Xu Zhongqing still had to ask Zhang Chengye for advice on such a professional question.

"It's hard to say. If the British send more troops, we still have to avoid the sharp edge temporarily. It doesn't matter. We can always fight back anyway." Zhang Chengye didn't care about the gains and losses for a while. It's normal to win and lose in a war.

As they talked, Xu Zhongqing and Zhang Chengye had already arrived at the gate of the city. More than a year of war has caused great damage to the ancient city of Chiang Mai. Many damaged battlements can be clearly seen on the city wall, and the tower is also damaged. Large pieces of bricks on the outer wall were blown down by artillery, and the inner wall built with clay was exposed. If it is not repaired in time, this section of the city wall will be destroyed.

Chiang Mai is still so big, but few people come to welcome the Chiang Mai Freedom Army. After more than a year of war, the residents in the city died or fled, and only one tenth of the population of the entire city remained. Almost all the people who can be seen are soldiers of the Chiang Mai Freedom Army in military uniforms. The clothes on these soldiers are the same as the British uniforms, but they are tied with a towel on their arms to distinguish them. Although it is a bit out of place, it is also a helpless move.

"Fuck the British--" After all, it is his hometown. Seeing such a miserable situation, Xu Zhongqing couldn't help cursing.

Zhang Chengye didn't say anything. He has been in the army for many years and has seen many such situations. It's not that he is numb, but that in this chaotic world, there are always many things that are beyond his control. Strictly speaking, Chiang Mai is now sparsely populated, which is related to the resistance of the Chiang Mai Freedom Army. It is precisely because of the existence of the Chiang Mai Freedom Army that the British implemented cruel rule over the people of Chiang Mai. A large number of Chiang Mai people were forcibly conscripted into the army to do auxiliary work. Those who dared to resist were imprisoned and tortured. Many people died in pain. More people escaped from Chiang Mai and joined the Chiang Mai Freedom Army. In just over a year, the total number of Chiang Mai Freedom Army rose to more than 10,000, which is almost the total population of Chiang Mai.

Entering the city, Zhang Chengye and Xu Zhongqing arrived at the Governor's Mansion without any obstacles. This was originally the seat of the governor of Chiang Mai. After the British came, it was requisitioned as the private residence of Sir Lauren Milne.

Now Sir Lauren Milne is in the prisoner-of-war camp in the military camp, and the "Governor's Mansion" has become the headquarters of Zhang Chengye and Xu Zhongqing.

"What should we do next? The British will definitely not give up. It's a good thing to conquer Chiang Mai, but it will also become a hindrance to us. If the British come back, I don't want to go into the mountains again." Xu Zhongqing sat on the armchair in the living room, playing with a jade ornament found in Sir Lauren Milne's private collection. He felt itchy all over before he finished speaking.

Before joining the Chiang Mai Freedom Army, Xu Zhongqing had never been to the mountains. Xu Zhongqing had lived in Chiang Mai for more than 20 years, and he never knew that the mosquitoes in the mountains were so ferocious. Although he had been struggling in the mountains for more than a year, Xu Zhongqing was still not used to it. This was once ridiculed by Zhang Chengye as a "young master's disease", but Xu Zhongqing just couldn't adapt.

"Wait and see. We have thousands of British prisoners in our hands. The British will be cautious. If the British dare to attack, I don't mind killing a few of them. Anyway, if it doesn't work, we can still hide in the mountains. What are we afraid of?" Zhang Chengye was looking through the documents sorted out from Sir Lauren Milne's study. These are all rare intelligence.

"I guess the British don't have time to trouble us now. They always have to deal with the French first, and then they can slow down." Thinking of the stroke of genius a few days ago, Xu Zhongqing was still very proud.

Originally, Zhang Chengye planned to declare Chiang Mai independent and establish a country similar to Sarawak, but Xu Zhongqing proposed the statement of allegiance to the French. After discussing with someone, Zhang Chengye readily agreed to Xu Zhongqing's frame-up.

"Those people are all the same. Don't expect them to fight over this." Zhang Chengye had a clear understanding of the nature of imperialism and did not expect to sow discord between Britain and France so easily: "You can make another statement tomorrow, saying that we have decided to join Lan Fang and give the British a headache."

"Join Lan Fang? This-isn't this just asking for trouble?" Xu Zhongqing was immediately shocked.

As a core member of the Chiang Mai Freedom Army, Xu Zhongqing certainly knew who was supporting the Chiang Mai Freedom Army behind the scenes. If he made such a statement at this time, it would undoubtedly be a self-inflicted blow.

"It's okay. The more muddy the water, the better. Even if we don't say it, the British will be suspicious. It's better to throw it out as a smokescreen and let them fight the lawsuit." Zhang Chengye was confident. This was also collective wisdom.

The original text can be read in Liu # 9 @Book/Bar!

The British have always been suspicious of the origins of the Chiang Mai Freedom Army, and Lan Fang is the most likely suspect. However, the British had no evidence. Although they had captured prisoners from the Chiang Mai Freedom Army in the past year or so, they were all insignificant pawns. The news they received was that the leadership of the Chiang Mai Freedom Army included Chinese, Chiang Mai people, French, and even British people, which really confused the British.

"Okay, how about I send another message the day after tomorrow? Let's just surrender to the Republic of China and confuse the water a little more." Xu Zhongqing was addicted to the game of fishing in troubled waters, and he wanted to drag the whole world to play with him.

"Vote for the Republic of China? You are really ambitious!" Zhang Chengye was stunned and couldn't understand Xu Zhongqing's imagination.

The Republic of China was still in the midst of a civil war. The Beiyang government had crossed the Yangtze River and even occupied the temporary seat of the Southern Military Government, but it was unable to completely defeat the Southern Military Government in one blow. Now the Southern Military Government is still entrenched in several provinces along the southeast coast, relying on geographical advantages and the support of Britain and the United States to fight the Beiyang government to death. Although Lan Fang increased its support for the Beiyang government, the Beiyang government was still unable to do what it wanted, which made Lan Fang extremely disappointed in all aspects.

It cannot be said that the Beiyang government did not work hard. President Xu Shichang and Northeast King Zhang Yuting even went to the front line to supervise the battle, but they still could not achieve success in one battle. The fierce fighting on the front line was in full swing, and there was a problem with the supply in the rear. Just last month, a batch of medicines supported by Lan Fang to the Beiyang government arrived in Beijing. Before the goods were unloaded, some people were openly selling them on the black market. Zhang Hanqing, who was responsible for the handover of the supplies, was so angry that he cursed and killed more than a dozen officials of all sizes in one breath, but it was still useless.

After this incident, the Lan Fang people had almost completely given up on the Beiyang government. Although the Beiyang government was a democratic government in name, because it was located in the capital, the officials used in the government were still the people left over from the former Qing government. These people were rotten to the core. If they wanted to make any improvement, they had to completely overthrow it and start over.

This was easier said than done.