Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 101: Is money still a problem for us men?
Because the premise is to only consider military affairs and not politics or economy, He Shilei is very open-minded and talks about anything.

In fact, he was not familiar with the situation in Nanyang at all. He had heard the word "Perlis" for the first time three days ago. He was completely in the dark about the situation. Even if he wanted to get involved in the economy and politics, he couldn't.

"From a military perspective, the terrain is crucial. These past three days, I've specifically requested a simple map of Perlis. The overall terrain is high in the north and low in the middle. To the west is the Nakawan Mountains, and to the right of the mountains is mostly plains. Here is Lake Chimadasu."

"The most suitable area for large-scale settlement in the state is here, south of Chimadasu Lake and east of the Nakawan Mountains, all the way to the coastline. This large area is flanked by mountains on both sides, forming a natural barrier.
The terrain is flat, with abundant rainfall, and it is very suitable for large-scale mechanized farming. Fruit trees can also be planted on the mountain, which can not only make money but also serve a military defense function.

"Of course, to figure out how to do it, I need to personally survey the terrain there. The map I have is too rough and may not be very accurate. Mr. Hu, I'm not sure if the 40,000 hectares of rice fields you're referring to are in the area I drew."

Zheng Yi asked, "Can I understand this as meaning that as long as we cultivate land in this area, it's fine?"

He Shili: "It should be possible. Of course, I need to personally check out the terrain over there to determine how to reclaim land. Also, if the area to be reclaimed is really ten thousand hectares, I'll need a sufficient number of heavy machine guns, mortars, and howitzers."

Yi Guangyan frowned and asked, "Where will the soldiers come from?"

Ho Sai-lai: "Yes, I have clearly stated this in my conscription and training plan. The military training locations in Penang will be based on chambers of commerce and factories. I have set them up directly in Perlis."

"Our conscripts are required to travel to Perlis, a settlement area, for three months each year to conduct training and guard the border simultaneously. As the saying goes, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. If necessary, we can substitute combat for training."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi also picked up He Shili's training and combat plan and began to read it.

This guy is really cruel. In addition to the requirement for men of military age in Penang to serve in the military, he also designed a "naturalization service".

In other words, in the future, if people from other areas of Nanyang want to work and live in Penang, especially if they want to become naturalized citizens, they must participate in military training and border garrison.

The military service of Penang residents is two training sessions every three years, with each training session lasting three months. They rotate like in the Western Han Dynasty. That is, they first go to Perlis to settle for three months, then come back and serve as sentries and patrol the city for three months.

If you don't want to serve in the military when it's your turn, that's okay. You can pay someone to do it and let He Shili find someone to serve in your place. In this way, you can even use the money earned specifically for military service to support a group of professional full-time soldiers.

The naturalization service is designed specifically for foreigners. They either have to pay to hire someone or serve for at least one year to obtain Penang household registration.

As for the use of Penang household registration, it is still unknown at the moment. In any case, it is of no use for the time being. However, it will be useful in the future. When the construction project is completed, if one day a large number of refugees flock to Penang and cannot find jobs, this will at least be a place where people can serve as soldiers and get paid.

Zheng Yi thought for a moment and said, "If we eat up all this land, how many hectares would it be? Can all of this land be used to grow rice?"

Hu Wenhu took it, glanced at it, and said, "It looks like... at least 20,000 hectares of paddy fields, and about 10,000 hectares of mountain land. We can grow crops like sweet potatoes and cassava, and we can also develop animal husbandry."

Zheng Yi thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll buy this entire piece of land. Brother He, I don't understand military matters, but I need all the heavy artillery and heavy machine guns you mentioned.
Whatever you need, I will give you. As long as it's a problem that can be solved with money, I will solve it for you. Don't save money for me, just treat me as a money printer."

"Also, Lao Hu, there's no need to be so aggressive. We must fight the Malays, but we certainly can't wipe them out. Penang is a city with a predominantly Chinese population, but it's not a city with only Chinese people. Nationalist Nazism is unacceptable."

"If this is the case in Penang, what about outside of Penang? We can't possibly kill all the Malays in the entire Malay Peninsula.

Similarly, the Malays cannot exterminate us. We must learn how to coexist peacefully with them, and we must also let them learn how to coexist peacefully with us."

“I plan to set up an agricultural company there, but I will not only buy land from you Hakkas, but also from the Malays.
In the future, when we establish armed settlements, you will need land to farm, and Malays willing to cooperate will also need land to farm. We even welcome Malays to invest their land and engage in mechanized production together. Can we lead them to a better life together?"

"For those who are willing to cooperate, I don't mind leading them to prosperity together. The dividends of economic development cannot only benefit us Chinese. We eat the meat, but we should leave some soup for others. This will also help ease ethnic conflicts."

"Of course, if someone isn't satisfied with just drinking the soup and wants to grab the meat, or even eat our flesh, we will of course take drastic measures against them."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in confusion, even Hu Wenhu was stunned.

I took the map and looked at it quickly.

The area south of Lake Chimadasu and east of the Nakawan Mountains, all the way to the coastline, is almost one-tenth of the entire Perlis.

Moreover, it is almost one-tenth of the state with the most abundant rainfall and the best water conditions in the entire Perlis.

Do we want to enclose everything and develop it on a large scale?
My claim of 40,000 hectares is really an exorbitant price.

Why do I feel like Mr. Zheng hasn't really paid back the money?
That wasn't the end of the story. Zheng Yi flipped through a map and continued, "And since we're planning to establish military settlements as a pilot project, it's probably not appropriate to just focus on Perlis. What about Penang Island? I mean, we should also conduct some large-scale development there, engage in friendly cooperation and exchanges with the local Malays, and establish an agricultural company."

"We can buy the developed land at a high price, or we can let the Malays use their land as equity. Then we can set up large-scale mechanized farms, just like in Perlis. Not only will I not collect taxes from them, I will also provide them with agricultural subsidies."

"In my opinion, if everyone cooperates smoothly and happily, it is not impossible to give guns to the local indigenous people of Penang Island and organize them to train. Of course, the ammunition must be controlled by us."

"After all, the indigenous people of Penang are not necessarily Malays, and Malays are not a strict ethnic concept."

Penang Island is the island where Penang is located. Only the northeast corner of the entire island is Penang City. The rest of the island is uncultivated land and forests. The entire island is surrounded by mountains in the middle and a circle of habitable terrain.

Penang is to Penang Island as Taipei is to Taiwan. The terrain is similar, but there is only one city on Penang Island.

After all, it was before World War II, and there was no concept of Penang State. Penang Island was a marginal area in the entire Malay Peninsula. It is said that when the British first occupied here, there were only 58 indigenous people on the island.

Speaking of which, the concept of Malays is actually a bit like Indians and Javanese. The British were simply lazy, so they called all those living in the Indian subcontinent Indians, all those living on Java Island Javanese, and all the indigenous people living on the Malay Peninsula Malays.

Penang Island is not on the Malay Peninsula.

Is Penang an island?

Then why are the natives of Penang still called Malays?

Whether it is to welcome the coming storm or to prepare for the Anti-Japanese War ten years later, the doorstep must be cleaned up, and if the problem can be solved with money, try to solve it with money.

For a moment, everyone became more speechless.

However, Qian Qiwen, Zheng Yi's concubine, could not help but cough a few times and stood up to say, "Sir, there is not much money left in the Penang public account. There is only less than 3 million Malaysian ringgit."

Li Jiqian also sighed and said, "Besides... even if we Chinese in Southeast Asia were to raise funds now, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to raise much money.
The petrochemical plant's $10 million investment, along with the construction site and factory facilities, has almost drained all of Nanyang's cash flow. In a short period of time..."

Tan Kah Kee: "We can issue bonds in Penang, Singapore, Malacca and other places, and we should be able to raise some money, but if we use the money we raise in this way... I am afraid it will not be enough.

Furthermore, agricultural development is not a project that can recoup its investment in the short term. If there are any errors in our repayments, it will have a significant impact on the credibility of the Penang government.”

It all comes down to two words: no money.

After all, Zheng Yi's plan was made as if he could operate a money printing machine.

Wake up, the printing press is in the hands of the British.

Li Xiaoshi: "I heard that Citibank and Morgan are going to give us a loan for urban construction? Is Ayi planning to use this money?"

Zheng Yi shook his head. "That won't work. It's not a good idea to be so pushy. I'm still waiting for them to come to me and ask for help. Besides, urban construction loans must be used for urban construction. There's no reason to use them for agricultural development."

"Everyone, the two agricultural companies I want to set up don't have to use funds from Penang's public accounts. You are welcome to invest money. The more the better. I will take whatever you have. If there is any shortfall, I will make up for it. It's just money, right? Money is not a big deal to us men."

Zheng Yi said to He Shili with a smile: "Brother He, do what you need to do. If you need to buy artillery and firearms from abroad, you can place an order now.

Don't worry about me having no money, and don't save money for me. No matter how much you spend on the military, it's worth it."

Then he said to Hu Wenhu: "I need one to two months to raise money, Lao Hu, I know very well what you want to do.
Do you intend to transfer your Burmese, Siamese, and Borneo compatriots to Perlis on a large scale, and with my support, engage in armed settlement and establish a separatist regime?

"I can tell you very clearly that I support you and I can also provide the money. You can prepare it now. It depends on whether you trust me. Within two months, if your people are in place, my money will definitely arrive."

Hu Wenhu frowned: "Where did you get the money?"

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "I won't tell you."

(End of this chapter)