Wu Peifu had never been to India. A few seconds after walking into the Kunming POW camp, Major General Wu Peifu looked left and right unconsciously. He saw high walls with barbed wire on top. The soldiers on the watchtowers were all Chinese, and the soldiers around him were not only Chinese but also Zhili officers he was familiar with. These Zhili officers also had stunned expressions on their faces; Wu Peifu felt that everyone's mood should be similar to his own.

"Let's go; take a look from a high place," Senior Colonel Yu Cen said. Wu Peifu and others followed Yu Cen, passing through the main road and heading towards the high ground inside the POW camp.

Wu Peifu had seen Indians acting as running dogs for the British in the British concession. At that time, the Indian running dogs looked quite fierce. At this time, the group passed through the road in the middle of the POW camp, and the British Indian Army prisoners were getting their meals. The prisoners wore basically the same clothes as the Indian running dogs in the concession, but they looked humble and behaved submissively, facing the Chinese soldiers with very obedient behavior.

Compared with the prisoners, the number of Chinese soldiers in the POW camp was relatively small. Walking in the POW camp, although Wu Peifu was alert in his heart, he felt no threat. Walking through the passage, they went up to the high ground. Wu Peifu looked down, and the brand-new large-scale architectural complex built according to the terrain was in full view.

The highest position was arranged with the camp of the armed forces, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The barracks of the POW camp below were distinct in levels. The entire camp was well surrounded by the terrain, and the entrance leading to the outside was equipped with heavily guarded strongholds. Other places were difficult to pass and very dangerous. Barbed wire and other facilities were added, making it even harder to escape.

It was close to evening, and the sun was setting in the west. Looking down from a high position, the scenery of the Kunming mountainous area made Wu Peifu feel very good. The POW camp was orderly, and there seemed to be nearly 10,000 prisoners. Although this was a barren mountain, the people coming and going made Wu Peifu unable to feel the desolation of the wild mountains no matter what.

Just then, the street lights in the POW camp lit up one by one, which surprised Wu Peifu a little. Some of the Zhili officers around Wu Peifu exclaimed in admiration. On the watchtowers at the wall, searchlights also lit up one by one. The wall was divided into two layers. Sturdy thick square wooden stakes were erected on the ground, and a barbed wire was wound around the wooden stakes every 20 centimeters, forming a tight barbed wire fence. To climb over, one had to be prepared to have one's flesh torn open. Roads were built between the inner and outer walls, and patrol teams with fierce dogs were already patrolling there.

However, amidst the green mountains, the well-arranged neat buildings, neat roads, and orderly organization greatly diluted the solemn and fierce atmosphere, making the patrol team look like a loyal guard protecting this peaceful place.

"Commissar Yu, the capital hasn't been fully electrified yet; why does the POW camp have electricity?" a Zhili officer asked, his tone somewhat sour.

Hearing such a question, Yu Cen turned to the previous manager of the POW camp. This Lieutenant Colonel Ma looked at the Zhili officer unhappily. "We built a hydropower station here, and the electricity is provided by the hydropower station. We didn't build a power station specifically for this place."

Wu Peifu didn't like the attitude of this Zhili officer either, so he said in a gentle voice, "Lieutenant Colonel Ma, this POW camp is built really well. Lieutenant Colonel Ma's civil engineering is really amazing."

Like Yu Cen, Lieutenant Colonel Ma also didn't like working in the POW camp and just wanted to hand over the job quickly and go to the front line to fight. So he didn't hide it and told the way the POW camp was built, "These are drawings provided by the Railway Corps, and materials for construction were transported here. The hard labor in the POW camp was done by these British Indian Army prisoners, and the engineers and skilled workers of the Railway Corps were responsible for the technical work. If we want to continue expanding the scale of the POW camp or build new POW camps in the future, we can also do this."

Wu Peifu was stunned. "Did those British Indian troops not rebel at first?"

"Major General Wu wants to ask if those captured British Indian troops caused trouble, right?" Lieutenant Colonel Ma corrected cleverly.

Wu Peifu had never managed a POW camp. Hearing Lieutenant Colonel Ma say this, he realized that he didn't even know the 'terms' in the POW camp. So he followed Lieutenant Colonel Ma's words, "Are the prisoners so honest?"

"There is a trick here. The British have colonized India for more than a hundred years. After several generations, they have long felt that the British are superior people. We have to let the captured Indian prisoners see with their own eyes that the British prisoners are respectful in front of us, and let the British prisoners work, and the British prisoners work honestly. After seeing this with their own eyes, the Indian prisoners will be very honest."

Hearing this, Wu Peifu and other Zhili officers were slightly stunned, then all smiled bitterly. For Zhili officers, this was completely understandable. Seeing that the Zhili officers were obedient one by one after being captured, the Zhili soldiers had no thought of resisting the Northeast Army.

At this time, a mountain breeze blew, and everyone felt a little cold. Lieutenant Colonel Ma was used to this and laughed, "Gentlemen, let's go to the headquarters to talk."

Entering the headquarters, a Zhili officer asked, "I wonder how many British Indian troops the National Defense Force defeated to capture so many prisoners."

"Annihilated 9 regiments of the British Indian Army and captured more than 10,000 prisoners." Speaking of this, Lieutenant Colonel Ma couldn't help feeling anxious. The war was going too smoothly. Since the outbreak of the war, Britain had arrogantly engaged in 'refueling tactics' [piecemeal reinforcement]. Relying on sea transport, they transported 6 regiments in two batches, plus the British Indian Army originally stationed in Burma, a total of 9 regiments.

The National Defense Force attacked very quickly along the railway and had already solved the British garrison troops in Burma. When the British Indian Army reinforcements arrived, they retreated after engaging them. Sure enough, the British Indian Army began to pursue, was interspersed and surrounded by the National Defense Force, surrounded in field battles, and annihilated one by one.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Ma's comrades in the same batch, the fighting will of this group of British Indian troops was far inferior to the Japanese army. Mountain warfare, logistical transportation was very difficult; their equipment was slightly better than the Japanese army, but the number of artillery was far inferior to the battlefield between the Northeast Army and the Japanese army. So the battle was quite easy.

Of course, the comrades also seriously told Lieutenant Colonel Ma about the judgment of the Burma Theater on the future war. Britain would mobilize more British Indian troops to come, and later would also mobilize the Australian and New Zealand Corps and troops from the British mainland to participate in the war. The subsequent battles would be much harder.

Lieutenant Colonel Ma had participated in the Korean Campaign, engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army many times, and fought with bayonets twice. He was not afraid of so-called danger. The comrade's description of future opponents stimulated Lieutenant Colonel Ma instead. Defeating a real British white army on the battlefield, that would be majestic! If he didn't die after the war, this would be a lifetime of glory. How could there be any reason to escape?!

Seeing Lieutenant Colonel Ma's eyes shining although his tone was indifferent when talking about the battle, the Zhili officers all thought Lieutenant Colonel Ma was deliberately pretending that nothing happened, but was actually complacent inside.

But the Zhili officers didn't think there was anything wrong with Lieutenant Colonel Ma's mood. The Zhili clique cooperated with Britain and France and knew how formidable the British army was. The British Indian Army also belonged to the British Army. The National Defense Force beat the British Army badly and captured so many prisoners. The Zhili officers were indeed secretly shocked.

Wu Peifu felt similar in his heart. With the National Defense Force being so tough, Wu Peifu even suspected that the National Defense Force might really defeat Britain greatly. It was just that Wu Peifu knew the strength of Britain and felt this idea was very outrageous. But thinking that he was also a member of the National Defense Force now, the idea that the National Defense Force couldn't win was actually outrageous.

For a moment, Wu Peifu couldn't determine his true feelings, only feeling a bit irritable. Fortunately, dinner had been served. With the refreshing smell of spices, several dishes were brought up. Brown mixed with some green paste, some vegetables mixed in were wrapped in thick paste, and it was unclear what they were. This appearance made Wu Peifu feel not very good. Looking at the officers next to him, not only did the Zhili officers frown, but the officers from the Northeast Army didn't look very good either.

Lieutenant Colonel Ma introduced, "This is food from some areas in India, Masala. Masala can also be called curry, a kind of paste made from spices in the Indian region. By the way, just treat this as Zhili's Zhajiangmian [fried sauce noodles]."

After speaking, Lieutenant Colonel Ma took a plate of spherical objects handed by the orderly. Picking one up, Lieutenant Colonel Ma said, "You can treat this as prawn crackers."

Prawn crackers, also known as jade chips, were deep-fried food that appeared in the late Qing Dynasty. The traditional production method was made from shrimp juice and starch. Prawn crackers in various places would have some differences. Some used whole potato powder instead of 10-20% starch, which could greatly improve the expansion degree of prawn crackers. Another method was made from fresh potatoes through a series of processing processes.

Hearing Lieutenant Colonel Ma's introduction, the acceptance of the Zhili officers increased immediately. Everyone followed Lieutenant Colonel Ma, poked a small hole in the deep-fried puffed ball, poured some Masala into it, and then ate the whole ball. Most people thought it was okay, not liking it very much. Instead, a large bowl of rice noodles topped with minced meat was served, and the Zhili officers ate it slurpingly, quite happily.

At night, the officers were tired and went to rest first. Lieutenant Colonel Ma was anxious to complete the handover, so he invited Wu Peifu and Yu Cen to his office and carefully handed over the affairs of the POW camp to the two.

"...Commissar Yu, one of the goals of the higher-ups is to screen the Indian soldiers in the British Indian Army and send back those oppressed Indian soldiers. Let them become a force to set off resistance against British rule in India. The Political Department has sent people here, and more personnel will come next. I think this is the key work of the POW camp."

Yu Cen was somewhat hesitant. "In the materials I saw, the Indians selected into the British Indian Army were all Indians who actively approached the British, and a considerable part of them were children of local princely states. This work is quite difficult."

Wu Peifu heard this and disapproved somewhat. In Wu Peifu's view, according to the so-called 'struggle of spirit,' the Zhili officers should fight to the death with He Rui who implemented land reform. Didn't the Zhili officers in reality eventually accept their fate?

The relationship between Indian princely states and the British was similar to that between Chinese gentry and the small landlords below. When forming a militia, small landlords would indeed exert effort under the orders of the gentry and big landlords, but they would not really risk their lives. If the princely states were so fierce, how could more than 10,000 people be captured? Based on Wu Peifu's life experience, the Indian prisoners in the POW camp were truly docile. There was absolutely no intention of fighting to the death.

But as a defeated general, Wu Peifu actually admired the fighting will of the Northeast Army. Wu Peifu felt that he was also a generous person, knowing shame and valuing righteousness. But compared with the Northeast Army, Wu Peifu had to admit that he did have a gap. The Northeast Army truly feared no death for the country, especially these officers, who truly had feelings for the family and country. The treatment of Northeast Army soldiers was indeed not bad, but Beiyang Army officers would never risk their lives for this little treatment. However, millions of officers and soldiers of the Northeast Army fought fiercely with the million-strong Japanese army for nearly a year for China's interests. Wu Peifu persisted to the end back then, really for his old superior Cao Kun who promoted him. If Wu Peifu fought for himself, he would have surrendered earlier.

Hearing that Yu Cen thought the Indian army would have the determination to fight to the death, Wu Peifu felt that Yu Cen was a bit too strong-willed.

Lieutenant Colonel Ma advised, "Commissar Yu, you dared to go to the Kwantung Leased Territory alone to deliver the letter of war, but don't think Indians are like you."

Hearing this, Wu Peifu couldn't help it anymore and asked hurriedly, "Brother Ma, please speak clearly. What did Commissar Yu go to the Kwantung Leased Territory for?"

Yu Cen didn't want to show off with these, but Lieutenant Colonel Ma was very willing to publicize for Yu Cen. The generals and officers in the Northeast Army admired Yu Cen's bravery very much. With the barbarism of the Japanese, the comrades thought that the Japanese army might kill the envoy out of shame and anger. Everyone even envied Yu Cen for having such an opportunity.

Wu Peifu listened to Lieutenant Colonel Ma recounting that Yu Cen went to the Kwantung Leased Territory Command alone and personally delivered the Northeast Army's declaration of war against Japan to the Kwantung Leased Territory Commander Kawai Misao. He couldn't help slapping the table and standing up. He wanted to praise Yu Cen's bravery, but felt it wasn't enough. Moreover, Yu Cen didn't mention at all along the way that he had done such a thing, which made him admire even more. He simply saluted Yu Cen, "Commissar Yu, I salute you. You are truly a good man!"

Yu Cen hurriedly stood up and returned the salute. "I was not alone; several comrades went with me."

Seeing Yu Cen so humble, Wu Peifu admired him even more. When the two sat down, Wu Peifu considered for a moment and finally spoke, "Commissar Yu, I am a few years older; I wonder if I can call you Brother Yu."

Yu Cen was stunned, then laughed, "I wonder what advice Brother Wu has?"

Wu Peifu said, "I am a few years older and have traveled to more places. I have seen some things and want to chat with you two brothers. Two brothers, please don't think I'm wordy."