Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 87 Why are you all giving me money?

"Mr. Zheng, I've noticed that in addition to the above projects in Penang, you seem to have hired people to dig a huge underground tunnel. What is this for?"

Zheng Yi: "Ah~ I'm planning to... build a super-defense underground fortification. When the Japanese invade in the future, we'll rely on Penang's unique terrain to resist layer by layer. We'll fight to the death."

Kiichiro Toyoda:? ? ? ?
I'm still fucking here!

Seeing everyone looking at him with amusement, Kiichiro Toyota could only smile wryly and said, "Professor Zheng, you're joking. Although there are disputes between China and Japan, peace remains the mainstream between the two countries. It is precisely through the grassroots efforts of people like me and Mr. Zheng that the friendship between the two countries can be maintained."

When the others heard this, they also laughed awkwardly, but they really thought Zheng Yi was joking.

You see, no one believes him when he tells the truth, so they force him to tell lies.

After all, in that era, no one really believed that the Japanese dared to attack Southeast Asia.

In fact, Japan was deeply divided internally over whether to launch a full-scale attack on China, at least during this period. The civilian government was sincere and did not want a full-scale war to break out.

There are also pacifist factions within the country. Militarism actually devours the inside before devouring the outside.

Kiichiro Toyota, at least during this period, was truly a pacifist. Seeing Zheng Yi mention him, and Li Huaishuang and Kong Caishen also present, he simply spoke on this occasion:

"We in Japan are the world's largest, perhaps second-largest, textile producer, while China is the world's third-largest and Asia's largest cotton producer."

"Japan is short of coal, and China produces coal. Japan is short of iron, and China also produces iron. The two countries are close neighbors and have an enduring friendship. In terms of resources, technology, and production, they are almost complementary.

China and Southeast Asia are also Japan's largest and most important export markets. Only with peace can we develop together. And peace requires people like Mr. Zheng and me to carry out deeper cooperation! "

Hearing this, Zheng Yi rolled his eyes at him calmly, but of course he also smiled to show his approval.

Kiichiro Toyoda said this sincerely. During this period, Toyota was actually producing textile machines.

Toyota's textile machines are the most cost-effective, best, and most outstanding textile machines in the world. Moreover, the product that Toyota used to lead Japan to take the first step in its liberation after the war was also a textile machine.

Toyota textile machinery was the first industrial product that the United States allowed the Japanese to export after World War II.

This thing is really well made.

Kiichiro Toyoda was also the chairman of the Japan Textile Association during this period.

Japan's textile industry is a pillar industry in Japan. Their cotton mainly comes from China, and their sales are mainly to China and Southeast Asia.

For these people in the textile industry, they certainly do not want to see a war. As long as there is a conflict between China and Japan, Japanese goods will be smashed and destroyed in China, mainly targeting cotton spinning. Even in Southeast Asia, sales have dropped significantly due to the large number of Chinese people.

It's all fucking lost.

If there really were an all-out war, all of those textile manufacturers would have to change their careers without exception, either to produce guns or tanks. Toyota is a product of this kind of forced development.

Given the nature of Showa Japan, it's good enough that they don't let you produce at a loss. For them, starting a war is not as profitable as doing business.

This is actually the so-called peace force in Japan. In fact, there are many pro-Japanese people within the domestic government, and they have contact with these anti-war and peace factions.

The consensus between China's pro-Japanese factions and Japan's pacifist factions is that China and Japan should increase exchanges and interactions, especially trade, so that both countries can profit from it. Trade is the best way to end war. Clearly, this is the role Zheng Yi is currently playing.

If you don't pretend, how can you seduce Kiichiro Toyota to invest in Penang?
Although Zheng Yi and Kiichiro Toyoda are still in the process of business negotiations, they are having a very pleasant conversation. As a giant in the world's textile industry, chemical fiber has just come out, and it would be a disaster if he doesn't want to get involved.

In fact, once chemical fiber came out, Japan's position as the number one in the textile industry would soon be taken away by the United States. If Kiichiro Toyoda wanted to break the deadlock, he could only look for help from himself.

Zheng Yi knew this very well, so he could unscrupulously control Kiichiro Toyoda. After all, apart from DuPont, he was the only one in the world that had chemical fiber.

One of them wanted a textile machine and the other wanted chemical fiber, but one didn't want to spend the money and the other was not a fool. Besides, the petrochemical plant would not be put into production for at least two years, so they were not in a hurry. So they just procrastinated and ended up becoming a pair of good friends.

Since no one believes the truth, he naturally has no choice but to tell lies.

Zheng Yi: "I am sorry to make you laugh at my small ambition, but Penang's population is growing very fast now, with three to five thousand new immigrants coming in almost every day, and sometimes even more.

We all hope that one day this small Penang can become the center of the Nanyang Chinese community, like Singapore, or even bigger, like a big city like Shanghai."

"However, Penang's land is scarce. With a growing population, even if we expand, we can only expand it into a long strip, which will inevitably cause inconvenience in travel. So... we are planning to build a subway."

Upon hearing this, all the guests were a little surprised and couldn't help but sigh: "Mr. Zheng, you are really a good city lord. You actually started planning to build a subway so early."

Zheng Yi: "It's mainly for convenience. After all, we're going to be doing a lot of construction right now. Building houses, the dirt we dig out from the ground is perfect for burning bricks and stones. We need to lay a solid foundation first. Later, when we have more money, we can build the subway."

When everyone heard this, although they all lamented Zheng Yi's overestimation of his own capabilities, they also understood in their hearts that Zheng Yi really wanted to build Penang and become a local lord.

In other words, he is a wise leader.

Kiichiro Toyoda immediately said, "If Mr. Zheng really wants to build a subway, I might be able to help. I'm friends with Mr. Tokuji Hayakawa, the chairman of the Tokyo Metro Company. If Mr. Zheng is interested, perhaps we could get involved?"

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "Okay, after all, you have experience. By the way, you're not building right now, can you rent me a tunnel boring machine?"

Kiichiro Toyoda: "I can help contact this matter after I return to Japan. This is all for the peace, friendship, prosperity and stability between China and Japan."

Zheng Yi: "You are absolutely right. This is all for peace, friendship, prosperity and stability."

A few Americans on the side glanced at each other, and suddenly one of them stepped forward and asked Zheng Yi, "Mr. Zheng Yi, since you are so welcoming to Japanese companies investing here, do you welcome investment from the United States?"

Zheng Yi: "Of course, Mr. Smith, you want to invest in Penang?"

Smith: "We, Morgan Bank and Citibank, are planning to build a branch in Penang. Of course, we need a little support from you. In return, our two banks can lend you a special amount of funds for urban construction. I wonder if you are interested?"

"Yes, I do!"

But I can't help thinking about it.

This ceremony didn't seem completely meaningless.

It would be fine if the Japanese came here to give money, but why are the Americans also rushing here to give money?
Of course, there is no free lunch in the world, especially in the financial world, where everything has a price. But after all, he is a modern man. How could he be cheated by a group of ancient people?

(End of this chapter)