Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 208 Japanese residents also want to go to the battlefield

"Boom~"

In the early morning, thick fog blocked the view, and the sudden and loud sound of artillery broke the original tranquility of Penang. A fortress on the coast was destroyed to pieces by a precise artillery shot.

"Damn it, it's an enemy attack! It's a freaking naval gun!"

The huge roar made people's ears buzz, as if countless bells were shaking wildly in their ears, causing temporary deafness.

"Damn those little Japanese, they won't let me sleep so early in the morning."

"Look, that ship is about to fire again."

"Why does that ship look so big? What kind of ship is that?"

"That should be the Yamato, it seems to be some kind of national treasure."

"Fight back!"

"They're firing again."

"Oh shit, another fortress? They've already hit the coastal artillery over there."

"Damn it! Hit the target every time? How do they know the location of our coastal artillery so well?"

"It must be those damned Japanese immigrants! I told you they were all spies and should be thrown into concentration camps."

"Hey, plane! Our plane is taking off. Good job, let's blow up those damn Jap devils!"

"Invincible!! Our SAAF planes are invincible!"

"Long live the Southern Alliance! Long live America, the great light of humanity~!"

Buzz, buzz.

Countless planes flew over their heads and began to frantically drop bombs on the Yamato and its affiliated fleet, forcing them to flee in a panic and slowly disappear from the sight of the Coast Guard.

The sudden bombardment completely announced the coming of war to all the people in Penang. Penang is a coastal city with no front or rear. The whole city became slightly panicked and nervous because of these two inexplicable naval gunshots.

The battle lasted less than five minutes in total, but it caused chaos in Penang for the entire morning.

Because Zheng Yi was away, he went to Alor Setar in person two days ago to boost morale. All matters fell into the hands of Mr. Tan Kah Kee.

"According to the air force intelligence that came back, the Japanese fleet probably just passed by Penang and fired two shots at it. Their target is the Andaman Islands."

"Andaman Islands? They're heading for Rangoon... Then they risked being bombed by the air force and even dispatched the Yamato, just to fire a few shots and then leave? This...this move, is it really that shameless?"

For a moment, Chen Jiageng really couldn't understand the Japanese army's way of thinking.

Just two shots, what use can they be?

"Have you reported it to Mr. Zheng?"

"I've reported it. Mr. Zheng has received it and ordered the Air Force to keep close watch."

The Andaman Islands are located between the Burmese Sea and the Bay of Bengal. To the north, they can attack Yangon, and to the west, they can serve as a bridgehead for attacking India.

It’s not too far from Penang.

"Mayor, although the Japanese army... although they only fired two shots, both shots were very accurate and just happened to destroy two of our coastal artillery bases."

Tan Kah Kee: "Does that mean... the Japanese army has intelligence?"

"It's more than just intelligence; it's extremely accurate intelligence, like a hand-coordinated message. If it weren't for targeted practice, they wouldn't be able to hit the target so accurately. Over on the west coast, the coastal defense troops are now filled with righteous indignation, clamoring to put all the Japanese in Penang in concentration camps."

"What? Nonsense! How does Chen Ce lead his troops? Give him a warning."

"Yes."

After hearing this, Chen Jiageng seemed to know why the Japanese came.

They are using their Penang coastal defense guns to test fire on the Yamato.

Of course, what is more important is to alienate the people in Penang and the Japanese people in the Japanese community.

It goes without saying that among the more than 300,000 Japanese in Penang, there must be a large number of Japanese spies. There are also 500,000 to 600,000 Japanese in Yangon, and there must be a large number of spies as well.

Since the decision was made to accept Japanese residents, everyone was naturally prepared to coexist with spies.

They are just two coastal defense guns. If they are fired, it is not a big deal. They will probably still be usable after some repairs.

This is clearly psychological warfare, and it is clear that they don't want to give those Japanese residents a chance to survive.

Of course, these two shots are more of a catalyst.

Populism has always been irrational. The upper echelons are naturally well aware that these Japanese expatriates are also an important part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, not to mention the important role Toyota Textile played in the economic war against Japan.

Japanese precision now not only makes watches for soldiers on the front lines, but in fact, the firing pins of rockets and the firing devices of mortars are also made by these Japanese companies.

Not to mention the role these Japanese expatriates can play in their infiltration of Japan.

Objectively speaking, the Japanese in Southeast Asia were originally the lower class in Japanese society and victims of militarism, so they were quite pitiful.

What's the point of taking your anger out on your own people?

Besides, in fact, these Japanese in Penang have been severely discriminated against.

Although they were not imprisoned in concentration camps, the Japanese community was actually under blockade.

People in Penang are free to carry guns and are even encouraged to carry guns, but only the Japanese are not allowed to carry guns.

The entire Japanese community is surrounded by a whole battalion of police forces, and the entire Penang is in a state of captivity. From time to time, powered trikes fly in the sky for surveillance.

Anyone who left the Japanese community would be strictly interrogated about what they were doing. Every Penangite looked at the Japanese with a cautious look instead of a friendly one.

In fact, apart from going to work, these Japanese are now reluctant to leave the Japanese community.

Materially, Penang did not treat them unfairly, and their lives were much better than those of the Japanese in mainland Japan, but there was still mental bullying.

Especially for Japanese women, there have been many rape cases against them in recent times, almost every day.

The original Penangites, who had been living with these Japanese immigrants for a long time, did not discriminate against them much and were also aware of their contributions to Penang's economy.

To put it bluntly, no matter how much national hatred or family feuds there are, if they live together for a period of time and there is no actual harm to their interests, everyone will get along as friendly as possible. Moreover, Zheng Yi has always emphasized that the Japanese and Japanese militarism should be treated separately.

Industrialization cannot be achieved overnight. If Nanyang wants to achieve industrialization, it has to absorb Japanese workers and technology.

It’s just that recently, there have been a lot of Chinese people coming from Hong Kong Island, Singapore and other places, and these people have no good feelings towards all Japanese.

This was especially true for Chen Ce's side, as the coastal defense forces there were all members of the Huaji Group recruited by Du Yuesheng, and many of them had escaped from Hong Kong Island, so naturally they would have much more opinions.

"These damned little Japanese devils are really vicious in their actions."

Just as he was speaking, a secretary came in and reported: "Mayor, Mr. Toyota is here."

"Please."

It was not surprising that Toyota Risaburo would come, and Chen Jiageng quickly invited him to sit on the sofa.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Toyota. There have been a lot of foreigners coming to Penang recently. And it's not just Chinese, there are also Australians, British, and Americans. I heard about what's going on with the Coast Guard. Mr. Zheng is away, and some people want to cause trouble. Don't worry, I'm here in Penang. I've already ordered them to be reprimanded."

"Ah~"

Toyota Risaburo sighed deeply, sat down, and said with a wry smile, "We can understand the opinions of the Coast Guard. The Yamato destroyed two fortresses with two naval guns. It would be a miracle if there were no spies here."

"I came to see you to make my position clear. After we return, we will conduct self-examination. We also know that there are spies among us, and I will do my best to find them."

"No matter who is the spy, even if it's my own son, please believe me, I will make him pay with his life."

Upon hearing this, Tan Kah Kee waved his hand and said, "That's not necessary. Having spies is a very normal thing. To put it bluntly, among us Chinese, there are many who voluntarily serve as traitors to Japanese militarism. There may even be more spies than among you Japanese residents."

"It's just the detailed location of two coastal defense guns. Maybe it wasn't you Japanese who did it, but the traitors among us Chinese?
Mr. Toyota is well aware of Penang's military capabilities. Even if the Japanese really attacked, they would only be courting their own destruction, let alone two coastal defense guns.

"Given Penang's gun ownership rate, training rate, building density, and the strength of the tunnels, a million enemy troops landing would be wasted if they engaged in street fighting."

"The Japanese army's actions are clearly intended to alienate us. How could I be fooled?"

Hearing this, Toyota Risaburo also obviously relaxed a little.

In fact, for the vast majority of Japanese, they had no choice at all, except for a small number of spies. They all knew very well that once the Japanese army attacked and occupied Penang, the Chinese might not die, but none of them, the Japanese, would survive.

People hate traitors more than enemies.

Although these Japanese residents do not think they are traitors.

In fact, in recent times, all the Japanese in Penang have been living in panic. Although because Zheng Yi often gives speeches, they can actually see clearly that Japan will definitely lose.

They had all watched with their own eyes as Penang's air force grew from being almost nothing to being able to achieve air superiority over Japan.

And this is not even the full strength of the Americans.

This is so scary.

As for the Japanese immigrants in Southeast Asia, their horizons will naturally be broader. Especially if they have stayed in Penang for a long time, they will have more contact with Americans and will naturally see things more clearly.

They also knew that all Japanese residents in the United States were imprisoned in concentration camps.

"Mr. Chen, I heard that there will be a battle in Alor Setar soon. This is the decisive battle between our Southern Alliance and Japanese militarism. All the people of Penang are contributing, even the women. I heard that they will be organized into art soldiers and medical soldiers. But can we Japanese immigrants still stay in Penang and do nothing all day?"

"Mr. Chen, I came to you this time because I also want to contribute to the overall anti-Japanese cause. There are millions of Japanese residents in Penang and Yangon combined. The men among us can also fight guns, and the women among us can also serve as medical soldiers or art soldiers."

"Ah this..."

Tan Kah Kee was also in a dilemma for a while.

But I couldn't help but complain in my heart: Why didn't you go to Mr. Zheng to talk about these things when Mr. Zheng was here, but instead told me about them when Mr. Zheng was not here?
"Mr. Chen, if you're really worried about us carrying guns, why not give us a shovel and let us go to Alor Setar to dig trenches?"

"Mr. Toyota, please don't get excited. That's not what we meant."

"Then what do you mean? I heard that even the Americans have formed a special Japanese army. We in the Southern Alliance keep saying that we are all one family. Do they trust us less than the Americans?"

"Mr. Chen, as far as I know, there are only Japanese residents in Penang now, but no Japanese nationals. Almost, no, not almost, but all of the Japanese residents have given up their Japanese nationality. Strictly speaking, we are not Japanese."

Tan Kah Kee: “…………”

Toyoda Risaburo said this with confidence, after all, the United States did organize a Japanese overseas Chinese army.

Of course, most of the parents of the Japanese soldiers in the United States were still imprisoned in concentration camps.

But this question really stumped Chen Jiageng for a moment.

In fact, Tan Kah Kee could understand Zheng Yi's thoughts.

To put it bluntly, the reason why Americans were able to put all the Japanese into concentration camps to vent their anger was certainly because they lacked a culture of tolerance.

Americans are a typical group of people who talk about tolerance, but in fact they are the most racist group at heart and have never been truly tolerant.

On the other hand, to put it bluntly, Americans are more industrialized than Japanese.

Everyone has different needs for the Japanese.

To be honest, do the people in Penang, including Mr. Zheng himself, really have no dark thoughts in their hearts to send all these Japanese to concentration camps and kill them?
How is that possible!

It’s just that the Chinese have a low level of industrialization and education, and lack high-level technicians. Whether now or in the future, if they want to develop industrialization rapidly, their only chance is to absorb and annex Japanese technicians.

It is not that the Chinese in Southeast Asia are really so sensible, so clear about gratitude and resentment, and can distinguish between ordinary Japanese people and Japanese militarism.

There is no other way.

But if these people were really asked to take up guns and go to the front line to fight the Japanese.

Regardless of whether the muzzle of the gun will be facing inward, the probability is that it will not.

But everyone will definitely still feel uncomfortable in their hearts.

In fact, Zheng Yi had thought about going to Europe and Germany to look for it after the end of World War II. Wasn't Germany also a defeated country?

However, I gave up after just a little thought.

White people look down on yellow people in their bones. Not to mention now, even after the war, if you hire white people as engineers, you may not be sure whether they will do their job well. In a few years, when the economy in Germany recovers, these people will definitely leave.

And they will definitely not teach the real technical skills to the Chinese.

Caucasians are always outsiders in Penang.

It's different for the Japanese. As long as they learn Chinese, they are actually Chinese. When they have children and their children go to school, these children will most likely be no different from Chinese.

There is no racial conflict.

"How about this, Mr. Toyota? Don't complain about this. When we get back, let's catch the spies first. If we can't catch them, don't dwell on it. I'll ask Mr. Zheng for his opinion on this matter. What do you think?"

Toyota Risaburo nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Chen."

(End of this chapter)