Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 95: Colonization Corps?

While Qian Qiwen was making a phone call, Zheng Yi had already roasted the cigars and gave them to Lai Renkang and Hu Wenhu in turn.

Seeing that the situation was urgent, Zheng Yi actually had the leisure to smoke a cigar here.

It was so early in the morning, Lai Renkang was really anxious and couldn't help but wanted to stand up and say something, but Hu Wenhu pinched his leg under the table and signaled him with his eyes to calm down.

It is never too cautious to mobilize troops, especially since Penang is in such a chaotic situation now and has not yet formed a real institutional governance model.

If they push too hard, it will appear that the Hakka people are too eager and trying to force the emperor to abdicate, which may have the opposite effect.

Zheng Yi is not very good at political operations and intrigues, but not being good at it does not mean that he cannot do it.

Those who come from state-owned enterprises, even if they are technical personnel, are ultimately sensitive to personnel operations.

Zheng Yi must do the job, but if Li Xiaowei really comes back, he must wait for Li Xiaowei to come and do it through him.

The gun cannot be in the hands of the Hakka people alone.

And objectively speaking, Zheng Yi's trust in Xinyi people far exceeds that of the Hakka people. Xinyi people are almost like his own people to Zheng Yi.
As for the Hakkas, to be honest, among the four kings of Penang: Tan Kah Kee, Xu Shengli, Li Jiqian and Hu Boon Hu, he and Hu Boon Hu are the least familiar with each other.

Before the Penang Uprising, they had only met a few times.

Fortunately, Hu Wenhu was also sensible and did not press the issue. Instead, he appeased Lai Renkang, who was also a Hakka, and asked him to stay calm and be patient, smoke a cigar for a while before talking about it. This matter was definitely not something that could be resolved in a few days.

Besides, Hu Wenhu's vision was higher after all. The fact that the Malays had heavy artillery was absurd and weird no matter how he looked at it. He couldn't help but think that if the British were really behind this, the Hakka people would not be able to withstand it on their own.

Zheng Yi, the entire Penang, and the entire Nanyang Chinese must be dragged into this, otherwise the Hakka people will probably be fucking finished.

He is a tycoon after all. He was so anxious when he knocked on the door just now that Qian Qiwen didn't have time to put on her clothes. Now, he has the leisure to talk about cigars with Zheng Yi.

"This cigar is from Manila, right?"

Zheng Yi said, "No, it's the Huang's in Semarang. I think it's pretty good. It's not any worse than the one in Manila."

Hu Wenhu: "I think so too. It's quite good. To be honest, tobacco can be grown in the Malay Peninsula. I have also grown it in Myanmar.

In terms of natural conditions, it's actually not much worse than Manila. What if Perlis and the other four northern states all planted tobacco on a large scale? Would it be possible?"

Zheng Yi: "I don't know much about the situation in the Northern Four Continents. Captain Lai, do you think it's okay?"

Lai Renkang: "Ah? Tobacco? I've never grown it before, so I'm not sure..."

Hu Wenhu pinched him again from below.

Aren't you a tin miner? Do you really need to be so honest?

"Ah... that should be possible. We can grow rubber, too. If we can grow rubber, we can definitely grow tobacco, right?"

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "I actually think that in Perlis, there's no need to grow cash crops like rubber, tobacco, and palm oil. I know there are many mountains and forests over there, but few people, right?" Lai Renkang said, "That's right. Generally speaking, the land is vast and the population is sparse, but that's also why there are so many wild animals."

Zheng Yi: "Is it difficult to mechanize tin and rubber?"

Lai Renkang nodded: "Indeed, because the area was developed relatively late, it is still mined on a small scale."

Zheng Yi: "I heard you run a tin mine, but you don't make much money, do you?"

Lai Renkang: "It's definitely not comparable to the one in Kuala Lumpur, but fortunately, because it was developed later, my mine doesn't require any mechanization. It's all open-air. I dig with a shovel and pick up tin with my hands, and I can still find tin nuggets."

Zheng Yi: "Now, over 50% of the tin mines in Kuala Lumpur are mechanized. Siam, Indonesia, and Australia are also increasingly using Thai machines. The price of raw tin will definitely get cheaper. In five years at most, the entire Kuala Lumpur will be mechanized. Mining in Perlis will probably have little cost advantage."

Lai Renkang: “…………”

He originally came to seek military support, but how come just a few words made him so uncomfortable?

Zheng Yi: "My suggestion, of course it's just a suggestion, Uncle Hu, is that this matter mainly depends on you as the leader of the Hakka people to take the lead. In Perlis, whether it is mining or cash crops, it is not particularly meaningful.

After all, everything is now mechanized and centralized. Perlis, due to its late development, is unable to achieve large-scale centralization and has no advantages.”

"Instead of that, why not just focus on agriculture? Honestly, the biggest risk facing us Chinese in Southeast Asia, especially those in Malaya, is food security. They should be able to grow rice in Perlis, right? And they can even smuggle it in from Siam, right?"

"There doesn't seem to be much land in the entire Malay Peninsula that can be used to grow rice. Malaya cannot achieve self-sufficiency in food."

Hu Wenhu said, "In Perlis, rice can indeed be grown, and we can also import some Siamese rice. However, the Colonial Office doesn't allow us Chinese to grow rice. It's okay to grow it on a small scale, secretly, but if we want to grow it on a large scale..."

Zheng Yi interrupted with a smile, "The British still don't allow us to carry guns. Isn't there a fight going on over there now?

The Malays have heavy artillery, no matter where it comes from, I can only regard it as given to them by the British. Since the British have done this much and have already used their artillery to destroy us, why should we care whether they allow us to grow rice or not?

“Since we have already broken off relations with the Malays, I mean, why not just use Perlis as a pilot and try out the Corps settlement model?
Penang will naturally provide you with as much support as possible, but whether or not to do so will of course depend on the opinions of you locals in Perlis. If it doesn’t work out, then forget it.”

Lai Renkang was stunned for a moment, then frowned and asked, "Large-scale military deployment... What if the British don't agree? After all, we're only facing Malay armed forces. If it were the Kuala Lumpur police force, or the Royal Navy taking action personally..."

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "Let's take a gamble. We will certainly try every possible means to prevent the British from taking direct action. I personally tend to believe that the British will not take direct action, but no one can guarantee such a thing."

"I am only the Kapitan of Penang. I have no management obligations in Perlis. All I can offer is advice. Please accept it. I can assure you that I will help you as much as possible, but the outcome may not necessarily be good."

"Perlis is ultimately your Hakka people's Perlis. Whether you want to take a gamble or not is up to you."

Both of them were stunned when they heard this. To be honest, this was not what they thought. Zheng Yi's ambition seemed to be even greater than they expected.

Are Chinese conducting military settlements in Perlis?

Isn’t this armed separatism?
Can the British tolerate this?
(End of this chapter)