Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 80 Politics and Personnel

The Li family really realized that Zheng Yi really had no one available, otherwise it would be difficult for him to give them such great trust.

Li Jiqian must have kept saying yes and agreed on the spot, and he even didn't want the tin mine in Kuala Lumpur or the business in Hong Kong Island anymore.

In this whole family, he is the only one who really doesn't look like a businessman at all.

He is indeed not a businessman at heart, and he did serve as a county magistrate in the late Qing Dynasty, so he has certain governance experience.

Li Xiaowu also said that it was no problem, and he even planned to sell all the rubber plantations he operated.

After all, Li Xiaoshi had Tai and Machinery, and Li Xiaowei had at least become a major. It was just him, the second in command, who seemed to have accomplished nothing.

He originally thought he was doing a good job in managing the plantation, but since Zheng Yi came, he felt that it was all shit.

It's a plantation, planting trees, cutting rubber, washing rubber, what kind of sense of accomplishment is there? Isn't this just the life of a local rich man?

Immediately, Li Xiaowu stated that as long as Zheng Yi trusted him, he would sell the rubber plantation and take their Li family's Xinyi confidants to work for Zheng Yi in the future.

But Li Xiaoshi had not made up his mind yet and was a little hesitant.

After all, he has so many businesses in Kuala Lumpur, and his personal connections are concentrated here. It would be no problem for him to take up a post in Penang, but that place is actually unfamiliar to him, and he feels there seems to be no need for him to move his family there.

It would be more convenient for him to communicate with the Colonial Office in Kuala Lumpur. He could arrange for Taiyou Machinery to open a branch factory in Penang, and he himself would not move there.

Of course, Zheng Yi also has selfish motives.

The Chinese Kapitan also includes tax, which basically means that this place belongs to you, and we British will not care about it. You just need to pay me rent every month.

But the British don’t care whether you can control the other Chinese in Penang or whether others listen to you. It has nothing to do with the British. They just care about collecting money.

Therefore, in Nanyang, almost all the Kapitans in history came from gang backgrounds and held the power of violence.

The former Kapitan Xu family was the real leader of the Hongmen, with many younger brothers under him.

Zheng Yi is certainly different from this kind of person. As he himself said, whether it is Penang’s petrochemical project or Penang’s government affairs, all he can do is take the lead.

The project is relatively easier, after all, he is the founder, and he is the only one who understands the technology. Even if the money is raised, it will definitely not be a problem for him to take control.

But when it comes to Penang’s government affairs, it is very likely that he is just taking the lead.

He is not even from Penang. Without the support of other tycoons, who can he order around?

So it was impossible for him to say that if the British let go, he would become the boss of Penang, the mayor, or even go further and become a local emperor.

I don’t have that kind of strength.

The future governance of that place will definitely be a parliamentary system. How it will be discussed and who will have how much power are another matter. Anyway, it will definitely be discussed, and Zheng Yi's role will most likely be something like that of the Speaker.

So, of course, Penang must move as many Chinese tycoons from Southeast Asia as possible there, allowing them to own properties and have power in Penang. Only then can it truly become the central city for the Chinese in Southeast Asia.

Otherwise, what’s the difference from now?

Otherwise, he, the Kapitan, would have to become Xu Shengli's puppet.

Only when there are more dragons crossing the river can we suppress the local snakes.

He didn't really expect all the tycoons in Southeast Asia to invest in Penang, or even relocate there, but at least the tycoons in Malaya had to gather there to form a collective force. Of all these "communities," he naturally had the best relationship with the Lee family; they were almost like family. To be honest, he needed the Lee family's support.

Especially the police force, Zheng Yi really wants this police force to be in the hands of the Li family, and Li Xiaowei is really suitable.

It doesn’t matter whether Li Xiaoshi gets by or not, the most important thing is Li Xiaowei.

Apart from the Li family, the only force Zheng Yi can rely on is naturally the Northern Fujian Gang.

After leaving the Li family's Li Garden, Zheng Yi drove straight to the Northern Fujian Gang.

His trust in the leaders of the northern Fujian tribes was certainly far less than that in the Li family, but the lower classes of the Fuqing and Xinghua people were definitely closer and more trustworthy to him than the Xinyi people under the Li family.

In his vision, the core circle of the entire Penang by then should be Xu Shengli's Hongmen, plus the Xiamen people who could be influenced by Tan Kah Kee, the Xinyi people of the Li family, and his own Fuqing people, four fellow townsmen occupying a relatively important position.

At the same time, he can use Qiongzhou people as his outer core, after all, he is already quite familiar with Wang Qiaoyun.

There are relatively few people from Qiongzhou in Southeast Asia, and not many of them are doing well. Although administratively they are also Fujianese, their cultural customs are actually somewhat similar to those of Fuqing people, and they are all unique.

It was not unreasonable to allow him to establish an independent province later.

At that time, he might as well use these Qiongzhou people to check and balance the Xiamen people.

He used people from the Li family at the top level and people from Fuqing at the grassroots level. He used people from Qiongzhou to offend people. This should be enough to compete with people from Xiamen and Hongmen, and allow him to relatively hold power in Penang.

Honestly, it's tiring to think about these things in my head.

Zheng Yi is a scientist, and he is not good at it, or even unwilling to think about so many political and personnel matters. But now that it comes to the point, he has no choice but to think about it.

Human beings are really very strange creatures, especially when it comes to power. Even if they don't like power and are not good at using it, they will still scheme hard to keep the power that belongs to them and hold it tightly in their hands, fearing that others will snatch it away.

He was so busy that after finishing the project he thought about government affairs, and after finishing the technology he thought about politics. Sometimes he felt that he was about to suffocate, but even so, he would instinctively grab every bit of what belonged to him.

It's impossible to let go.

In addition, he is really busy now, so after returning home he feels extremely tired all over, but he still has to force himself to cheer up.

Because he still had things to do after he got home.

The sound of high heels clacking came from the kitchen. Qian Qiwen came over with a cup of coffee. "Mr. Zheng, have a cup of coffee to refresh yourself. You look even more haggard than the last time we met."

As she spoke, Qian Qiwen sat down next to Zheng Yi naturally and reached out to massage his neck.

Zheng Yi drank the coffee in his hand and asked, "Did you bring the person I asked you to find?"

"Found it, and brought it to you."

As she spoke, Qian Qiwen waved towards the distance. Zheng Yi then noticed that there was a child of about fourteen or fifteen years old standing by the bookshelf in the living room.

Because the clothes he was wearing were the same color as the bookshelf, he didn't even notice it just now and thought it was Wu Wenhao.

You can imagine how exhausted he is.

The child came over and knelt down before Zheng Yi without saying a word: "Lin Shaoliang, I am here to meet you, Master Zheng. Master Zheng, you have taken a liking to me. From now on, I am willing to go through fire and water for you."

(End of this chapter)