Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 116: Teach the Malays what war is

On the plane back to Penang, the bodyguards on the plane were so excited that they kept chattering.

"Brother-in-law, I can't believe it. Things are going so smoothly. Are we going back now? We killed nine of their sultans in one breath. Hahaha, they must be leaderless now."

Zheng Yi was also very happy. He even opened a bottle of good wine. He drank it, smiled, and pretended to be calm. He said, "Well, this is all within my expectations. Calm down, calm down."

In fact, Zheng Yi's heart was beating fast at this moment.

Don't be fooled by his calm and composed look as if everything is under control when he enters the police station.

But in fact, he was just holding on. If his heart rate was measured, it might still be above 130.

After all, the success of this incident was entirely based on the Colonial Office's stereotype of him, thinking that he was a scientist and an intellectual, and thus failing to guard against his sudden murder.

However, any stereotype is based on objective historical facts. Zheng Yi himself is indeed a scientist and an intellectual!
Just a year ago, he would have been fucking terrified if he saw someone pull out a gun.

However, Zheng Yi, who understands history, knows clearly what he wants to do and what he needs to face.

The era of great contention, and the greatest era of contention since the beginning of human civilization, will begin in just a few years, and may even have begun now.

Anti-Japanese War, Anti-colonialism, and the Cold War.

There will be no peace at all in the next few decades, at least until the mid-to-late 1980s. Any wrong step will lead to the destruction of Penang and even the entire Nanyang Chinese.

Since Zheng Yi has positioned himself as the leader of the Chinese in Southeast Asia, he has the obligation to lead the Chinese in Southeast Asia and overcome these three major hurdles.

So what can he do?

He also wanted to be a simple scientist or entrepreneur, make money honestly, and live an honest life, but there was no honest life in this world, so he could only bite the bullet and force himself.

Doing these things is actually very difficult for him.

He is under a lot of pressure!
Even he himself didn't know how he had done it, to get to this point today. Even his hands were shaking now, and he could feel his heart almost jumping out of his throat when he fired the first shot to kill someone.

Why has he been sitting since he got on the plane?

Because his legs were weak, he couldn't stand up at all!
Before shooting today, even Zheng Yi himself did not expect that deep down in his heart, he had such a violent side, and that he was such a crazy person at heart.

The feeling of betting your life and winning is really great.

"Brother-in-law, is there really oil in Malaya? I heard someone say that you can tell where there is oil just by looking with your naked eyes. Is this true?"

No matter what, the main reason why this group of people were able to walk out of the police station in a swagger after killing people was that Zheng Yi really gave an explanation to the Colonial Bureau.

That's an oil field.

In this era, the demand for oil was far less than that in later generations, but at the same time, most oil fields were undeveloped, and even the Middle East had only just begun to be developed.

The value of oil fields is no less than that of later generations. To a certain extent, the fundamental reason why the Allies gradually went to destruction in World War II was because they lacked oil.

"It's not that exaggerated. This is science. After all, I've lived in Malaya for almost three years, so naturally I've noticed something. That's all."

"Brother-in-law, tell me, is there any oil in China?"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

"Brother-in-law, why don't you give us some advice on what to do back home? If we had oil, wouldn't we... wouldn't we... wouldn't be bullied and life wouldn't be so difficult?"

For a moment, all the bodyguards on the private plane, who were originally excited and chattering, stopped and became extremely quiet, staring at Zheng Yi seriously.

The entire cabin fell into an eerie silence.

At least during this period, everyone still considered themselves Chinese.

"Sir, is there any oil in the country?"

"I heard someone say that it's impossible for China to have oil given its geological topography. Is this true or not?"

"Yes sir, do you know whether there is any oil in the country?"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

For a moment, Zheng Yi really didn't know how to answer.

Is there oil in the country?

Of course China has oil. Before Zheng Yi traveled through time, China's total proven oil reserves ranked 13th in the world.

Although it is certainly not an oil-rich country and cannot be compared with the special environment of the Middle East, it is indeed not related to the word "oil-poor".

Many large oil fields are developed in a protective manner. To put it bluntly, they are not mined at all. The energy strategy has always been to use foreign oil as much as possible and leave domestic oil as much as possible for future generations.

Zheng Yi is of course much more familiar with the distribution of domestic oil than foreign oil. He can even accurately find every oil field in the country in 2024.
If all of them were to be listed, it would be in the early 20th century when oil resources were not yet fully developed.

China can be the world's number one oil producer.

This is even a good thing for Nanyang.

Because if there were oil fields in the country during this period, and large oil fields at that, then it is highly likely that the Japanese would not have gone south to attack Southeast Asia.

There would probably not have been a Pearl Harbor incident, and the United States would probably not have been involved at all. The history of World War II might have been greatly rewritten.
It is very likely that the Chinese in Southeast Asia will be able to live a peaceful and stable life.

You know, in history, the Japanese killed a lot of Chinese in Southeast Asia. In terms of proportion, they even killed more than they did in their own country. Except for the people of Fuqing, the Chinese in Southeast Asia had no chance to become traitors.

Anyone who donated money to the domestic war of resistance, a member of a secret society, such as the Hongmen and Huaji, or made anti-Japanese remarks, was killed.

The brutality of the Singapore Massacre was even worse than the massacres in China.

Before the war, Chinese people made up 60% of Malaya's population. After the Japanese left, that percentage dropped to 40%. Historical data on this aspect of Southeast Asia is severely lacking, but he at least knows that after World War II, Kuala Lumpur, once a city dominated by Chinese, suddenly became 50/50 Malay and 50/50 Chinese.

Singapore was the British Far East's ruling base. Although there is no specific statistics, it should have a population of about one million. How come there were only a few hundred thousand people after the end of World War II?

There are also hundreds of thousands of Malays and Indians. There are some Indians in Singapore these days, but where the hell are the Malays? How did these land-farming people become the majority ethnic group in this coastal city?
Historically, 92% of the adult men in Penang were members of the Hongmen. Now, it's almost 100%. Once the Japanese invade, everyone will be fucking killed. Can he really stop the Japanese's crazy attack with % certainty?

Whenever he thought of this, he felt extremely stressed. However, these things, which had not yet happened, could all be avoided with a casual remark from him: if he just pointed out the location of the Daqing oil field to the Japanese, everything would be fine.

The reason why the Japanese attacked Southeast Asia and declared war on the United States, Britain and the Netherlands was not just for those oil fields in Indonesia?

If it weren't for the fact that they had no oil and were completely unable to sustain the war and domestic production, the Japanese would be crazy to take the initiative to fight a war that they were almost sure to lose strategically.

In one sentence, a catastrophe could have been avoided for the Chinese in Southeast Asia. Otherwise, nearly one-third of the Chinese in Southeast Asia would have died.

But if the Japanese really get the Daqing oil field in advance, then how the hell can we fight the domestic war of resistance?

In his heart, he still considered himself a Chinese. If he really pointed out the Daqing Oilfield, wouldn't he become a huge traitor?

But he is the lord of Penang, and he still considers himself a Chinese. Is this really... okay?
To be honest, Zheng Yi has had a lot of similar considerations in his mind recently. It's not just about oil exploration. As Zheng Yi's power grows and Penang develops better and better, he will inevitably face a choice.

That is, national interests conflict with personal interests, with the interests of Penang, and with the interests of the Nanyang Chinese.

He brought in a large number of wives and children of Southeast Asian Chinese from China, which actually meant he was cutting off their roots in China.

There is also the issue of food. Now, no less than one hundred large landowners in the country have come to Penang to communicate with them, expressing their willingness to sell their food to Penang in exchange for US dollars, which can be used to buy real estate in Penang with the exchanged US dollars.

Penang is short of food! It’s so short of food.

But if he did that, he would completely stand on the side of the domestic reactionary class.

As the leader of the Chinese in Southeast Asia and the mayor of Penang, should he do it?

These things have been fighting in his mind for a long time. He is also a human being and has just begun to try to transform from a scientist to a politician and a hero.

It's not turning that fast or that good yet. He hasn't found a balance that can at least make his thoughts clear and make him feel at ease.

After thinking for a while, Zheng Yi suppressed these complicated thoughts, shook his head, and said, "The country is not peaceful right now. Even if there is oil, it is not suitable for development now. Don't think about domestic affairs. Think about ourselves first. Think about how to deal with the Malays."

"The world is in turmoil and a time of great conflict. Let's first resolve the crisis at our doorstep. We're almost landing, Xiaowei. What's next depends on you.
All the Chinese in Penang, and even in Nanyang, are watching you. Whether we can gain a foothold in Nanyang in the future depends entirely on you."

Hearing this, Li Xiaowei held his head high and chest out, looking energetic, with confidence and pride almost overflowing in his eyes.

"Don't worry, brother-in-law. I will never let you down. Use me in this battle, and I will definitely win. It's time to let those Malays know what a fucking war is!"

………………

The private plane landed at the airport in Penang, and the people of Penang who had already received the news in advance naturally came to greet it.

However, among the people who came to greet them this time, there were many extremely unfamiliar figures, but they moved in an orderly manner.

When Zheng Yi got off the plane, these people shouted in unison: "Greetings, Mr. Zheng!"

Seeing this, Zheng Yi quickly waved his hands and said, "Don't do that, don't do that. It's too feudal."

A middle-aged man wearing glasses and looking very gentle took two steps forward, extended his hand and shook hands with Zheng Yi excitedly, saying, "Hello, Professor Zheng, my name is Tao Jun. I have heard a lot about you, a lot about you!"

Zheng Yi: "I am truly flattered that Mr. Tao has come to Nanyang in person. With your great help, I will have a much better idea of ​​how to handle the upcoming war.
Well... let me ask one more question. Mr. Tao, are you coming to Nanyang for a short stay, or..."

Tao Jun: "If Mr. Zheng doesn't mind, I'd like to stay in Penang and start a small business, perhaps opening an import and export trading company. What do you think?"

Zheng Yi: "Great, great! It's an honor for Penang to have a great man like you come to Southeast Asia!"

Tao Jun was quite famous in that era. He participated in the Wuchang Uprising and was considered a veteran in the revolutionary army. During the Northern Expedition, he was a brigadier general and later served as commander of the 18th Army.

After the Guangxi clique was defeated in the Chiang-Gui War in 1929, he stepped down from office and moved to Shanghai, Hong Kong Island and other places. Historically, he did not return to the military until 1937, but he never had any real power.

And this person's arrival in Southeast Asia at this time naturally meant that Zheng Yi and the Guangxi clique's cooperation had taken a step further.

The Guangxi clique was actually quite capable, but it had always lacked independence. This was mainly because Guangxi was too poor and lacked independent financial capabilities.
Apart from collecting a little opium transit tax, there was really no other financial income. To a large extent, it had to rely on the financial support of the Guangdong faction to have the qualifications to challenge the central army.

No money.

Zheng Yi has it!

Zheng Yi has such a close relationship with the Li family, and Li Jiqian of the Li family is a veteran of the Xinhai Revolution and has a personal friendship with Bai. In addition to Li Xiaowei's relationship, it seems that Zheng Yi now needs to fight.

They have money, guns, and people, but they don't know how to fight and have no relevant experience.

Behind Zheng Yi, Li Xiaowei also got off the plane. The two thousand people shouted in unison: "Hello, Battalion Commander!"

It turned out that the first batch of soldiers sent by the Guangxi clique were the soldiers of the Flying Tiger Battalion that Li Xiaowei led when he was the battalion commander in Guangxi.

Lend it to Zheng Yi for use, as a gift from the Guangxi clique to Zheng Yi.

Li Xiaowei has actually been the subject of a lot of gossip since he took office as the Public Security Bureau Chief of Penang. After all, he is too young, just in his early twenties, and he is Zheng Yi's brother-in-law, so it is impossible for him not to be gossiped about.

At this time, his own soldiers came back to his command and obeyed his command. How could he not be happy?

With more than 2,000 old subordinates, who would dare to say that he is a relative?
Although they had actually been fighting with the Malays for quite a long time, in Li Xiaowei's eyes, this was the real first battle.

"Brothers, two people per vehicle, a powered delta-wing, a Thompson submachine gun, and four grenades, set off immediately.

The first battle is in Kedah. While they are in chaos, follow me and attack them directly. I will completely destroy their so-called royal family and teach them what war is!

(End of this chapter)