The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

The waves of the Strait of Malacca beat against the long coastline of the Malay Peninsula.

Johor Bahru, the capital of Johor, a city dominated by Chinese, is undergoing a difficult recovery after the war.

The smoke of war seems to have completely dissipated, and a new order, a "Nanyang Order" built of steel and will, is reshaping this land with an unprecedented tough attitude.

In the Johor State Education Department building, a building with a strong colonial style, a meeting on how to allocate education funds is taking place in the conference room.

Sitting around the long oval table were officials from the State Education Department at all levels, including Chinese, Malays, and a few European consultants left over from the former colonial government.

Their eyes were all focused on the young figure at the end of the long table - Li Kuanyue.

Li Kuanyue, only 22 years old this year, wasn't tall, but he stood straight. His face held the sharpness of youth, but his eyes were unusually bright, gleaming with a nearly cold insight and determination that belied his age.

He was wearing a well-tailored dark gray Mao suit with a small dragon badge on his chest - the symbol of Lord Zhang Chi's core followers.

He has just been appointed as the director of the "No Directorate" department of the Johor State Education Department.

"No Matter What" is a name that sounds a bit strange and even contradictory.

But in this newly formed Nanyang Federation structure, it is an existence that all departments are secretly wary of.

Low position, but powerful!

It is like a sharp scalpel embedded in the bureaucratic system. In name, it "doesn't care", but in fact it "cares about everything".

For example, if the Education Bureau does not have any authority over the department, then the department director can interfere in any aspect, including teaching quality, funding flow, teacher qualifications, textbook review, ideological trends...

It has the power to investigate, question and even recommend penalties across departments.

This was Zhang Chi's unique design to break the old rules, place his confidants in positions of power, train new talents, and ensure that the "Nanyang Order" was implemented without fail.

Li Kuanyue, who dropped out of Raffles Institution's high school department due to the Japanese invasion and did not even have a university diploma, but rose to prominence through the connections of Boss Chen, is precisely this newly sharpened knife.

At this moment, Li Kuanyue's fingers were tapping lightly on a thick stack of books with different covers on the table.

The ambition to do something big was stirring in his heart.

Today, he is going to make a big splash!

His voice was not loud, but it clearly penetrated the dull atmosphere of the conference room, carrying an undeniable sharpness:

"Ladies and gentlemen, before we begin discussing the allocation of education funds for this quarter, I have a more pressing matter that concerns the future of our nation and even the entire Nanyang region, and I must bring it to your attention."

He paused, and his sharp eyes swept across the faces of everyone present, especially lingering for a moment on the faces of several senior Malay officials.

"I suspect that within the education system of our Johor state, and indeed of all the Malay states—" his voice suddenly became heavier, "there is a secret group hidden there that intends to oppose His Excellency Zhang Chi and undermine the 'Nanyang Order'!"

"Wow—" The conference room was suddenly in an uproar.

"Director Li, what do you mean?"

Deputy Director Chen Wenli, a white-haired and gold-rimmed Chinese man, stood up abruptly. A civil servant from the former colonial era, he was known for his gentleness and steadiness. "This accusation is extremely serious. Where is the evidence? How can this be just pure conjecture?"

"Speculation?" Li Kuanyue's lips curled up in a cold arc. There was no smile in that arc, only a biting chill. "Deputy Director Chen, you are too naive."

"The enemy won't wear the word 'opposition' on their faces. They will simply, like termites, silently erode our foundations. This secret group is by no means new; it has long existed, and we have only just discovered the tip of the iceberg."

He suddenly picked up the thick book on top, which was in an ancient binding and written in Malay, and slammed it on the table!

"The Malay Annals," Li Kuanyue said in a high-pitched voice, "Look, everyone, what is written here? It openly declares that the Malacca Sultan had 'clearly rejected' the Ming Dynasty's request for tribute, claiming that 'Malay and the Central Plains dynasties are equal.'

How absurd and arrogant this is."

He flipped open the book, pointed to a passage, and read it aloud in fluent Malay and Chinese, his tone full of sarcasm:

"'The Ming envoy knelt before the Sultan's throne, presented his credentials, and begged for peace... The Sultan replied: Our country is not your vassal state, and we should treat each other as equals...' Humph! This is nonsense."

After reading, he closed the book with a snap:

“However, China’s glorious history clearly records that Malacca accepted the title bestowed by the Ming Dynasty since its founding.

During Zheng He's seven voyages to the West, Malacca was his important base and transit point, and the relationship between the two sides was a clear vassal relationship.

Zheng He represented the majesty of the Celestial Empire. How could he have ever "knelt down" to a mere Sultan?

This is simply a distortion of history, a distortion of right and wrong, a deliberate attempt to belittle China and elevate the local kings. Their hearts are to be condemned."

Before everyone could digest this shock, Li Kuanyue picked up another colorful picture book that seemed to be for children:

"Look at this. 'The Divine Craftsman Bule Besnokha and Angkor Wat', a Khmer legend, is circulating in our school libraries in Johor.

What story does it tell? Angkor Wat was built by a master craftsman from the Central Plains. However, he had a dispute with the Khmer king and returned to the Central Plains in anger, causing the central spire of Angkor Wat to tilt.

"Huh?" He uttered a short, cold laugh.

“This may seem like a myth, but it actually harbors evil intentions.

What does it imply? Does it imply that the Chinese artisans were highly skilled but narrow-minded? Does it imply that the Khmer king was so wise and powerful that he could drive the Chinese master craftsmen away in anger? This is a subtle attempt to belittle Chinese civilization and to elevate the "independence" and "superiority" of the local kings.

The sinister nature of his intentions is clear as day."

He picked up book after book, each one serving as strong evidence for Li Kuanyue's accusation:

"The History of the Glass Palace, the 'official' history of the Pegu Konbaung Dynasty.

It was written in black and white that the Yuan Dynasty emperor sent an army of 2600 million to attack Pegu, but was defeated by the 40 brave Pegu army. The Chinese side was forced to offer three princesses and 108 pearls in exchange for peace.

2600 million troops? Ladies and gentlemen, that many people could have drowned the Konbaung Dynasty with just one spit. This is simply ridiculous, a blatant historical fabrication, and an extreme insult and contempt for the military strength and dignity of the Chinese people.

Li Kuanyue's voice became increasingly high-pitched, carrying with it a youthful, almost fanatical sense of mission, as well as the iron-blooded ruthlessness of a cruel official:

"These are just the tip of the iceberg of what I've stumbled upon in several school libraries and even in classrooms. Think about it, how many more poisonous weeds are growing and spreading in places we can't see, under the guise of 'protecting traditional culture' and 'respecting local history'? Are they poisoning the minds of our next generation?"