Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 69 Confident
The scene was a little awkward for a moment.

After all, they all just agreed unanimously with what the Colonial Bureau did. Now they suddenly slapped themselves in the face and changed their support to Zheng Yi, which was more or less going with the flow.

Moreover, many people are still a little scared at the thought of challenging the British.

After all, the Chinese in Perak are all in the wilderness, and there are actually not many British people there. But the Chinese living in Kuala Lumpur are living under the noses of the British.

Zheng Yi continued, "Right now, the guns produced in Penang are a bit inferior, but at least we can produce a hundred or eighty a day. We've accepted the British order, and our technology has matured a lot. Besides, I can also make grenades."

“You all know that I was the first to make hang gliders in Penang. If you are willing to buy one, I can give it to you in the form of a hang glider.
Even if the British knew, as long as you don't use it, it would be difficult for them to know who has the gun. If something really happens, it's better to trust these things than the police."

Li Xiaoshi suddenly said, "Ayi, you'd better think it through. If you really challenge the British, even if the Colonial Office in Perak can't do anything about it, and even the British in Penang might turn a blind eye, you're just an individual after all."

"Unless you become a permanent resident in Penang, if you displease the Colonial Office, they will find a way to punish you. Are you planning to start a riot in Kuala Lumpur as well?"

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "I'd like to, but I don't have the strength. Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, it will take at least two years for our Chinese armed forces to truly be able to compete with the police force."

Li Xiaoshi: "Even if everyone here today is willing to support you, how could the Colonial Office give you two years? The Colonial Office may not kill you or arrest you, but we are all under the same roof. If they target you personally, I'm afraid... I may not be able to help you."

Zheng Yi smiled and smoked a cigarette for himself, saying, "Don't worry, big brother. I know what's going on. You're in Kuala Lumpur. Just keep Thai Machinery safe. Don't worry about me. I don't believe they dare to start a big fight in Penang."

"In short, for the next period of time, Mr. Chen, Mr. Xu, and I are saying that Chinese people should arm themselves as much as possible. If you are willing to arm yourself as well, we welcome you and will cooperate. If you are not willing, that's fine too."

After he finished speaking, he saw that everyone present had heavy expressions on their faces.

Whether it is the Chinese and Malays or the Indians, once a conflict really occurs, how can even the British deliberately distinguish who is holding guns and who is not?
As long as the Chinese on Hu Wenhu's side start shooting and clashing with the Malays, with Zheng Yi supporting them from behind, do the other Chinese have any choice?

As long as a small number of people have guns, I'm afraid the British will think that all of them have guns.

Apart from Chinese people like Li Xiaoshi who have extremely extensive connections and political background in the Colonial Office and British politics, who else can be better?

Since there is definitely no good, just in case, they can only have as many guns as possible to protect themselves.

This thing is a spiral. Once it starts, there is no way to stop.

Zheng Yi did not only sell in Malaya. He also had arms orders from Indonesia, Burma, and French India. Although there was British supervision, Penang was Chinese territory after all. As long as he could think of a way, he could always produce and transport the goods.

The actual use of powered delta wings in warfare remains to be verified, but their use in smuggling is quite amazing.

This is actually a bit dangerous.

The British will definitely not like this.

But Zheng Yi and others all think that it is time for them, the Chinese, to do something that the British don’t like so much.

Of course, they don't raise any anti-colonial or anti-imperialist slogans, nor do they have any political demands. They are purely for self-preservation. If the Colonial Office doesn't allow it, then if it goes too far, the Colonial Office will actually be in trouble. Do you really think these external government agencies don't have KPIs?
How much money have the Chinese helped them make in recent years?
Of course, this is from the perspective of the Chinese as a whole, but if it is an individual Chinese, it is definitely a different story.
At this time, everyone was a little surprised and curious. What was Zheng Yi's confidence in believing that the British would not target him personally even in Kuala Lumpur?

Or does he plan to live in Penang permanently and communicate news from Kuala Lumpur with Li Xiaoshi remotely?
Didn’t Mr. Zheng just buy a house in Kuala Lumpur and hasn’t renovated it yet?
His Northern Fujian Chamber of Commerce is also in Kuala Lumpur.

Do I have to give it up?

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhang Yucai, who had been silent the whole time, said:

"Whether there are Chinese police or not is of no concern to me. I've been working in Southeast Asia for over forty years and have seen a lot. Without the police, do we really have no ability to protect ourselves?"

"It's okay to fight the British. After all, we Chinese have money and guns now. The damn British should respect us a little more. We can't let the Indians and Malays bully us."

"But... Brother Zheng Yi, there are no jobs. If you don't repatriate, what will happen to so many Chinese who are unemployed?

How should we deal with the piggy boats that come to Singapore every day? Fellow countrymen are close, and so are fellow townspeople. But isn’t there a new saying going around lately: whether you’re close or not, you’re divided by class.”

"Brother Zheng Yi, are those newly arrived Chinese the same class as the Malays and Indians, or are they the same class as us?"

"I heard that when there was a famine in the Central Plains, if the famine was minor, the landlords and wealthy people would take the initiative to share their grain or lend it to the farmers affected by the disaster. This was to gain a good reputation."

"If the famine is more severe, people will hoard grain and be reluctant to sell it, hoping to get a good price, or use it to acquire land and become bigger and stronger."

"However, if this famine becomes more severe, we will have to stockpile food and weapons and find ways to protect ourselves."

"If you encounter a famine of that magnitude, haha, haha, I once encountered it in my country when I was young. At that time, all forty-eight wealthy people in our county, including my family, were robbed without exception.

I am fortunate to have survived this long, to make a comeback in Southeast Asia, and to rebuild my family's reputation."

"So, I want to ask Brother Zheng Yi, do you think that with so many people unemployed in Nanyang, is this a minor disaster, a medium disaster, or a major disaster?"

"These machines were sold by you, Thai Machinery. You've taken all the jobs. Singapore is sending refugee boats full of people. And you say you want the Chinese to organize themselves and have weapons to protect themselves."

"But Brother Zheng, can you guarantee that the weapons you produce won't end up in the hands of these jobless newcomers who just arrived in Southeast Asia and have nothing?"

"If they get guns and grenades, will they point their guns at the Malays, Indians, and British? Or will they join forces with the Indians and Malays and point their guns at us?"

"Brother Zheng, you live in a villa now. You are no longer an ordinary person. Those peasants may not care who lives in the villa."

Zheng Yi smiled upon hearing this and said, "Brother Zhang is indeed right. Therefore, we must address the root cause while treating the symptoms.

The employment situation is indeed very serious, but you can rest assured that I have a solution for this as well. As long as we can get through the next six months at most, after that, perhaps there will be a labor shortage in Nanyang again, and you can take the initiative to bring in people from China by shipload.

(End of this chapter)