Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 158 Those who killed me in Penang must pay the price
"General Bonnar, please believe me. The Japanese are ruthless and ambitious. When they are desperate, there is a certain possibility that they will attack Malaya from Siam. Siam is pro-Japanese."

"We Chinese have an old saying: 'Beside my bed, I allow others to sleep soundly.' How can Britain, as the great empire on which the sun never sets, allow a tiny nation like Siam to disrespect us?"

"Can you bear it? I can't bear it anyway. General Bonnar, if the British army is willing to send troops to Siam, I, Zheng Mouren, am willing to contribute money and manpower to assist."

Singapore.

Zheng Yi continued to talk to General Bonnar about the Japanese threat theory and the necessity of sending troops to Siam.

Ever since he chatted with Generals Long and Tao that day, Zheng Yi has been performing his duties as chief of staff.

If you have time, come to Singapore and give some advice.

Not only in Singapore, he even went to London and Washington to give speeches in Congress.

In addition to buying planes and asking Britain and the United States to help him build an air force, he talked about the Japanese threat theory with everyone he met.

It is said that he has been listed as the number one enemy by Japan, and even a special operations team has been set up to assassinate him.

According to Yang Shaomin, they did solve several so-called assassination cases, but Zheng Yi didn't feel anything at all. If Yang Shaomin didn't tell him, he wouldn't know, so it didn't matter.

The Japanese wanted to assassinate him in Penang, but it would be more reliable to send bombers to bomb his house directly.

Not to mention the United States for now, the anti-war sentiment in the country is still quite intense. In the eyes of those Americans, Zheng Yi is purely acting for his own country and is a bad guy who is trying to drag them into the quagmire of war.

But in the UK, there are still many supporters of Zheng Yi.

"Zheng, you know that Britain and Siam signed the Treaty of Bangkok as early as 1909. The treaty clearly ceded the four states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Terengganu from Siam.

Britain will no longer pursue Siam's other territorial claims. "You are asking us to send troops to Pattani now. Isn't this a betrayal and a betrayal of our promise?"

"Damn it, 1909, that was over years ago. Treaties are signed to be torn up, right? Besides, it's a different time now. Who made Siam pro-Japanese?"

"Think about it, Japan has attacked our British merchant ships. What if Siam agrees to allow Japan to pass through one day?"

"This... Zheng, this reason is still too far-fetched. Congress is still discussing it. You know, I can't make the decision on such a big matter."

"Okay, but General Bonnar, please make sure to emphasize to Congress the importance of conquering Siam!"

In fact, the strategy of attacking Siam and relying on the terrain advantage of the Kra Isthmus to defend against Japan was not a very clever military deployment in itself. The British had also proposed it in history and almost implemented it.

Although the British people are still extremely arrogant, there are actually capable people among their elites.

Long before the outbreak of the Malayan War, senior British military officials believed that in order to ensure that Britain's interests in Malaya and the entire Far East would not be violated by Japan, it was necessary to choose offensive defense, that is, to actively attack Siam to the north and set up the defense line within Siam.

In this way, the British army has depth and fortresses on land, and only needs to focus on defending the southern Thailand area and guarding Singapore at sea to stop the Japanese.

Just to achieve this strategic goal, London must allocate military funds to the Malayan garrison, increase weapons maintenance, training, anti-corruption, and also require a certain number of tanks.

Simply put, it costs money.

In the end, after research by London, they concluded that the Japanese would not dare to attack Southeast Asia, so there was no need to increase military spending.

Even though Japan's intention to invade Southeast Asia was already obvious, the research conclusion given by British senior officials was still:

Even if the Japanese army were to attack Southeast Asia from land, Siam's military strength would be enough to stop Japan. When Siam goes to war with Japan and can no longer stop it, it will not be too late for us to strengthen the construction of the Malayan Army.

The result was that Siam surrendered directly and announced a military alliance with Japan without even fighting.

By the time the Malayan War broke out, the British had been building the Singapore military fort for over a decade and it was still not finished.

When Japan passed through Siam and directly entered the Malay Peninsula, and swept across the entire Malay Peninsula at lightning speed, and finally crossed the sea from land to Singapore in Johor, completely bypassing the British coastal defense, the British army was directly stunned.

In close combat, the morale of the Indians and Malays in the British army collapsed completely when faced with the fearless Japanese army who dared to fight hand-to-hand, which ultimately led to this super defeat known as the "shame of the empire".

Arrogance was undoubtedly the main reason for Britain's defeat.

But many times, arrogance is just a fig leaf for lack of strength.

Lack of money and insufficient resources to invest in Malaya was the root cause behind the arrogance.

To put it bluntly, if it were the British army in the 19th century, even for the sake of preventing any disaster, they would have occupied all the territories that Siam could occupy before the war started.

However, Britain has no money, but Zheng Yi has money.

Moreover, historically, Britain did not pay enough attention to Southeast Asia because its colonies in Southeast Asia had always been losing money.

With Zheng Yi in this time and space, Malaya and even the entire Nanyang are actually making money, so Britain naturally has to pay more attention to it.

Moreover, Zheng Yi even offered to bear the military expenses of this military operation.

To be honest, if the British army really took action, it would be a question whether Siam would have the courage to resist.

The reason why this place was not colonized was that it was essentially a buffer zone deliberately left between Britain and France. Although Britain had pulled away after World War I, France was completely crippled.

Zheng Yi felt that as long as he persisted, and as Japan's economy continued to deteriorate, it would certainly do more aggressive things to prove his theory of the Japanese threat.

Within one or two years, there is a high possibility that Britain will adopt his suggestion and send troops to Siam.

Another half year passed in a flash, and Zheng Yi was not idle during this half year. The textile war was in full swing, the military factories in Yangon and Penang were expanded again and again, and the tunnels in Penang had reached a considerable scale.

Due to the shortage of land resources, Zheng Yi has begun to try to move the bullet factory and artillery factory underground for production. If the power supply is not a problem, he plans to move the rifle factory, mortar factory, and power plant underground.

The highlight is prevention.

Penang's air force was also being formed. All the planes were purchased from the United States, the instructors were American, and even the commander was American. It looked like a colony. Zheng Yi even sent a telegram to Wang Qiaoyun, hoping that she could come back.

Some even wanted to put her in charge of the Penang Air Force.

As a result, the woman didn't appreciate it at all. Instead, she asked him for a plane, saying that there was a severe shortage of planes in the country and she needed his help.

The two were chatting and flirting via telegram when suddenly, Li Lili burst in without even knocking, her face filled with panic. "Sir, something's happened."

"Something happened? What happened?"

"Mr. Yi Guangyan is dead."

"Ah? Mr. Ant? How did he die?"

"In Siam, while collecting donations for the anti-Japanese war, he was assassinated. The bomb killed most of his twenty bodyguards and secretaries. Only two bodyguards were seriously injured and are currently being treated."

"what??"

Zheng Yiteng stood up in an instant, his face flushed red.

"Where's the murderer? Has he been caught?"

"No, we..."

"Grass!"

Zheng Yi was also furious. He stood up and walked out while ordering, "Come with me to the Yi family and inform the presidents of the major chambers of commerce that the Penang municipal government will hold a meeting in three hours."

"Yes."

………………

Yi Guangyan is no ordinary wealthy businessman. He has shares in Penang Petrochemical and is one of the founders of Penang!
Long before Zheng Yi traveled through time, he was the president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Siam. He later founded the Chaozhou Association and was the head of the Chaozhou overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. The Chaozhou people are almost the second largest gang in Southeast Asia after the Xiamen people.

This person has a very high prestige among the Chaozhou people. He started from scratch and came from a poor family. In addition to providing financial aid to students in Nanyang, he also founded Chenghai Middle School, Chaoyang Xiguan School and Shantou Haibin Middle School in his hometown.

In the 22 Guangdong typhoon disaster and the 31 Yellow River flood, Yi Guangyan called on the Chaoshan Gang to donate a large amount of money and transported a large amount of rice from Siam to Guangdong.
After 918, it was the Chaozhou gang in Siam that fired the first shot in boycotting Japanese goods, which reduced the trade volume between Japan and Thailand by more than half that year.

Of course, it was also because of this that Siam staged a coup in 32, and after that became unfriendly to the Chinese.

After Zheng Yi came to Southeast Asia, Mr. Yi Guangyan always supported his career. Although the two had disputes over issues such as opium, Zheng Yi generally respected this overseas Chinese predecessor very much.

In fact, since Penang was taken over, Yi Guangyan has been living and working in Penang. He is engaged in shipping and has shares in the Penang shipyard. He is also responsible for Penang's shipping business and rice import business to Siam.

In the whole of Penang, Yi Guangyan is definitely one of the top ten people.

The reason for returning to Siam was not only to raise funds for the anti-Japanese war, but also to implement Zheng Yi's basic policy of "economic warfare", which was to buy up Siam's new rice this year and not leave a single pound for Japan.

Japan is now in urgent need of foreign exchange. Even if it is just raising the price, it can be regarded as a contribution to the anti-Japanese cause.

Who would have thought that I would encounter such a thing.

(Historically, he died in 1939, assassinated by the Wang Puppet Government)

When Zheng Yi arrived at their house, his wife was already crying inconsolably. Zheng Yi could not give her anything except some superficial comfort. He didn't even know what he should say at this time, and he couldn't communicate at all.

It was Yi Guangyan's son, Yi Jinzhong, who took him upstairs to rest, and stayed alone to entertain Zheng Yi. He even asked the servants to make tea for Zheng Yi and apologized:

"My mother was so heartbroken upon hearing the tragic news that I hope Mr. Zheng will not blame me for any impoliteness or neglect."

"Hey~, my condolences, brother."

Zheng Yi is about the same age as Yi Jinzhong, and he feels embarrassed to call him nephew.

"I will have Siam bring Mr. Ant's body back as soon as possible. He was the founder of Penang. I mean that Penang should handle his funeral.
He sacrificed his life for the cause of resisting the Japanese. Do you think he should be buried on Flagstaff Hill, or should his ashes be cremated and preserved for the time being, and then returned to the martyrs' cemetery in his hometown of Shantou after victory in the war?

Yi Jinzhong: "As the saying goes, when a person dies, all matters end. Since the person is gone, it doesn't matter where they are buried. Mr. Zheng, you can arrange it. My father actually thought about this day. Long before he got into trouble, someone in Siam contacted him."

"What do you mean? Where are you from?"

"The Wang Puppet regime's tactics are nothing more than coercion and bribery. Siam is pro-Japanese after all. The Japanese have great influence in Siam, and with the Wang Puppet regime helping them, my father knows that it is difficult to guarantee his safety in Siam."

"But my father said, those who resisted the Japanese fought to save the country from subversion and the nation from extinction. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers shed their blood on the battlefield, and millions, if not tens of millions, of people lost their homes. The front lines and the rear were both battlefields. To save the nation from peril, my generation had no choice but to fight to the death."

After hearing this, Zheng Yi also sighed deeply, feeling both respect and sadness in his heart.

"Mr. Yi, this means there's someone to take over. Your Yi family's business will be handed over to you from now on. If you need any help, just let me know. There will be a meeting at the city hall soon, and you can attend on behalf of your father."

Yi Jinzhong said, "Mr. Zheng, my father died for a great cause. I want to know if his death was in vain."

Zheng Yi: "No, I promise you, your father's death will not be in vain. Every person and force involved will pay the price."

Yi Guangyan is the leader of the Chaozhou gang. As we all know, Chaozhou people are almost the most united among the overseas Chinese community.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, before the meeting of the city hall was about to start, the huge city hall was surrounded by people inside and outside.

At least tens of thousands of Chaozhou gang members surrounded the entire city hall, and each of them had a white belt tied around their waist.

The leader was Chen Jingchuan, the vice president of the Chaozhou Association. He was shirtless and only wore a vest with open pockets on both sides, each with a short knife inserted. The people around him were dressed the same as him, which was called "stabbing a knife in the ribs".

After Zheng Yi arrived, the crowd immediately made way for him. Zheng Yi walked straight up to him, his expression serious, and asked, "Vice President Chen, what is the purpose of the Chaozhou Chamber of Commerce's grand display?"

"Mr. Zheng!"

Chen Jingchuan shouted loudly, and then he half-knelt and held three and a half sticks of incense in his hand. He shouted, "Mr. Zheng is the Great Dragon Head of the Land and Water Sect. Today, the Lord of Chaozhou Mountain has been harmed by a villain. I dare to ask the Great Dragon Head, how can this matter be resolved?"

This is to talk to Zheng Yi in the capacity of a Hongmen member and talk to him about the underworld.

These wealthy businessmen in Nanyang may look like they are all dressed in suits, wearing glasses and look polite, but in fact, almost all of them have made their fortunes through hardship and suffering.
When they have nothing to do, they try their best to act like gentlemen and intellectuals, but once something big happens, their true colors as gangsters are exposed.

Seeing this, Zheng Yi returned the favor with a few incense sticks and said, "Mr. Yi's leather strap is mine, and so is Penang. I will never rest until I have my revenge."

(End of this chapter)