Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 302 A big market of million people (Second update, please subscribe)

On August 8, at the end of the day's negotiations, in the Governor's Office in Sandakan, Huberts, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, signed the "Sandakan Treaty" on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which included Dutch Borneo and its affiliated islands. Transferred to the North Borneo Company. According to the treaty, the North Borneo Company would assist the Netherlands in returning to the Dutch East Indies.

In addition, there is a corresponding secret agreement in the treaty, that is, the Netherlands needs to hand over Japanese prisoners of war in Sumatra and other places to Borneo. Some people can never be let go. After all, labor is very important.

Two days later, Huberts, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, finally returned to Jakarta after his long absence. At the same time, 5000 Dutch soldiers landed in Java.

Their arrival was naturally met with protests by the Javanese, and even armed conflicts broke out in some areas, but none of this had anything to do with Borneo.

Only those who have fought in war will know how talented people are.

As for the previous proposal, it was just a hint in the minds of the Dutch.

As for handing over Sulawesi to Siiri to the Dutch, it does not mean that he will withdraw his troops.

Withdraw the troops, you can withdraw slowly.

Three years, four years...

Who knows?

If the Dutch don't agree, there are other ways to do it!

What about autonomy and independence? In short, there are ways.

Anyway, by then the Dutch will no longer be in charge.

When the Dutch returned to the Dutch East Indies, the founding of Borneo was finally on the agenda.

In fact, people have long been mentally prepared for the arrival of this day, and many people are even full of expectations. After all, being a company employee and a founding father are two completely different concepts.

But statehood in Borneo was not easy.

"First of all, North Borneo was a company, and a colonial company with a treaty of protection with Britain."

As the judicial director of the Commissioner's Office, Zheng Tianxi was a talent that Li Yi'an found from Switzerland - a former judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice of the League of Nations. This judicial director, uh... was also recommended by Uncle Guo. I have to say that the mainland is really full of talents.

As a legal expert, Zheng Tianxi pointed out the biggest problem as soon as he came up.

"Then there is Sarawak. It is an independent country in name, but it also has a protection treaty with the United Kingdom. This also means that unless North Borneo and Sarawak are excluded after the establishment of the country, the establishment of the country requires the permission of the United Kingdom."

Zheng Tianxi's words made Li Yian dumbfounded. To be honest, he really didn't expect such a result.

"It seems inappropriate to ask for permission from the UK..."

Then Zheng Tianxi made up for it again.

"Then there is the state body. From a state perspective, North Borneo is a company and Sarawak is a kingdom. Even if the British factor is not taken into account, if you want to establish a country, you must consider two points - first, the issue of ownership of the North Borneo Company. It’s not just about property, it also involves debts and other issues. The second one is the Kingdom of Sarawak, Mr. Li, and this involves your throne... If the kingdom is extended, then the country will inevitably be a constitutional monarchy. Is this... against the trend of today's world? After all, there are lessons learned from Yuan's rebellious behavior back then, so please ask Chief Li to think twice!"

Look, at first I just wanted to buy at the bottom and get good results, but now there’s a problem!

Li Yian's brows knitted together, and then he said.

"This seems to be a problem!"

Isn’t that the biggest problem!

North Borneo is a company with a "state", while Sarawak is a kingdom. Since I am the boss and the king, what next?

Somewhat embarrassed.

"Director Zheng, do you have any good suggestions?"

Faced with the boss's suggestion, Zheng Tianxi said.

"First of all, a country must be established! If we do not establish a country, the name will not be justified, and it will also involve matters such as joining the United Nations and making claims against Japan in the future. If we do not establish a country, we will not be able to integrate into the international community."

As a legal expert who has served as a judge of the International Court of Justice, Zheng Tianxi is very clear about the necessity of nation-building. In fact, he has also carefully studied Borneo. It should be said that Borneo is his private property. "But considering the special circumstances of North Borneo and Sarawak, I think the North Borneo Company is your private property, so it should continue to maintain the company system, and the company holders will appoint or entrust the local governor in the future."

This suggestion is entirely based on protecting Li Yi'an's property. After all, as far as Zheng Tianxi knows, North Borneo was bought by someone else, and even the funds for large-scale construction were provided by him personally, and even many infrastructure costs were provided by him. He paid for it personally and had absolutely no problem maintaining his property.

Nodding, Li Yian did not speak, but asked again.

“What about Sarawak?”

"For Sarawak, it's very simple... you are still the king, and you still retain the throne. After all, you bought that country with money, and you have also been recognized by the local people. I think the system of the two places will not change. This is the founding of the country. basic principles.”

Zheng Tianxi said again.

"Then the remaining question is...what about the rest of Borneo?"

This is the real problem.

Li Yian looked at Zheng Tianxi, waiting for him to give an answer.

"Isn't this problem solved?"

Zheng Tianxi's words stunned Li Yian and he didn't react for a while.

“The North Borneo Company and the Kingdom of Sarawak can be put on hold for the time being, and the Borneo part can be established as a separate country. This can not only avoid British interference, but also temporarily avoid the issues of the company and the kingdom, and wait until the future to negotiate. After all, The most important thing now is to participate as a country in Japan’s surrender and future demands for war compensation!”

To build a country alone, Zheng Tianxi's suggestion made Li Yi'an fall into deep thought. Is this a good choice?

Seeing that the chief was lost in thought, Zheng Tianxi said from the side.

“For now, this is the best option. As for the future, the state can acquire the company or complete the transition in other ways. The Kingdom of Sarawak can also handle it in the same way... Yes, that is, there will be a transition period. "

Taking a deep breath, Zheng Tianxi told the reason why he was like this.

“Moreover, for now, establishing a separate state is beneficial to Borneo’s economy. After all, both North Borneo and Sarawak are signatories to the British Empire’s preferential system. If we establish a state through foreign trade, then as signatories We are facing a completely different market! A huge market with hundreds of millions of people will be completely open to us. Not only will it be open, but many goods will even have zero tariffs. Once we are separated from the Commonwealth, Then, it will be difficult for us to enjoy such tax benefits and customs clearance benefits!”

The "Empire System of Preferences" mentioned by Zheng Tianxi refers to the system of mutual preferential treatment in trade between the United Kingdom and other members of the Commonwealth. Developed at the Imperial Conference in Ottawa in 1932. The main content is: to provide preferential tariff treatment to imported goods between member states, reduce tax rates or exempt each other. About 80% of the goods can be imported duty-free, and about 20% of the other goods are only subject to low tariffs of about 10%. High tariffs were levied on imported goods from countries outside the Commonwealth and colonies. In order to implement the agreements of the Ottawa Conference, Britain signed a series of agreements with various dominions and colonies. North Borneo and Sarawak were both signatories.

In other words, most of the products from factories established in the two places can enter the British-dominated world with zero tariffs. How huge is this world?

Britain is now the world's largest colonial power. Its colonial area is about 3000 million square kilometers, accounting for 1/4 of the world's total land area. Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand, etc. are all British possessions. The British colonial population is as high as 4 billion, accounting for 1/6 of the world's total population.

For Borneo, which needs to develop overseas markets, such a huge market cannot be given up.

After Zheng Tianxi analyzed the benefits of staying in the Commonwealth one by one, he emphasized again.

“…So, from an economic point of view, it is beneficial to our economy to maintain the North Borneo Company and Sarawak. After all, we only have a market of a few million people, while the Commonwealth and colonies have more than 400 million people. market."

Population, market, and resources are all indispensable for economic development in Borneo.

"There is another issue, which is the name of the country after the founding of the People's Republic of China."

“Nanyang!”

Why is it called Nanyang?

Because this is history...after all, the Han people have been coming to this land, Nanyang, to some extent the South of the South, since the first century AD.

(End of this chapter)