Anti-Japanese War: When I get promoted, the system will explode with soldiers

Li Shaoyi had heard of this patriotic President Chen a long time ago, and in his previous school textbooks, President Chen was introduced in detail for a while. He was simply a model of patriotic overseas Chinese of this era.

After coming into this world, Li Shaoyi became more aware of the influence of Chairman Chen. Whenever there was a disaster or human misfortune in the country, the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce led by Chairman Chen would generously donate money to help the victims. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in addition to donating money, they also sent their own children back to the country to participate in the war.

Take the 72nd Army founded by Li Shaoyi as an example. It also received many donations from the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, with a total amount of more than 3 million taels, including 700,000 taels of personal donations from President Chen.

"He's a good man. What's going on with him?"

Li Shaoyi had thought before that he should take care of these big donors if he could. After all, they also have a patriotic heart. He cannot always take their money. He should also help those who should be helped.

"It's all about the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. They have a horrible low status in the entire Southeast Asia region. Apart from money, they have nothing else. The colonial power bullies them, and the local natives bully them too. Their lives can be said to be extremely miserable. Some time ago, under the instigation of the colonists from the Windmill Country, the local natives once again robbed their property. Over 2,000 overseas Chinese children alone were killed or injured."

Speaking of this matter, Chief of Staff Cui was so angry that he slammed the table, but there was nothing he could do because Southeast Asia was too far away from us. We couldn't even figure out such things in China, let alone Southeast Asia.

In the past, it was quite difficult to publish an article in the country to condemn it, but unfortunately, the people of Windmill Country did not take this seriously at all. In their eyes, we are just a common colony of the major empires. What qualifications do we have to criticize them?

Chinese and overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia have been donating money to China, hoping that our country can become stronger quickly, but how can such a thing happen quickly?

"President Chen, don't you want our fleet to go there?"

Before Chief of Staff Cui said the content of the telegram, Li Shaoyi immediately thought of what the other party wanted.

In the past, no matter how powerful the domestic warlords were, they could not interfere with the situation in Southeast Asia. After all, there was a sea between them. Our navy was not even a near-shore fleet, let alone ocean affairs.

But things were different after Li Shaoyi's Fifth Fleet was established. Although the Japanese aircraft carrier was sunk by land-based aircraft, it was still a navy that could be counted after all.

During this period, Li Shaoyi continued to add new warships, and now has formed four squadrons.

Each squadron consists of a light cruiser, three destroyers, and two submarines at the front.

In the eyes of Western powers, such a fleet size can only be regarded as kindergarten standard. However, if such a squadron were to reach Southeast Asia, it would be powerless against other powers. But if it were just the Windmill Country...

The Windmill Kingdom is just a small country in Europe. It developed by relying on the previous maritime trade. After occupying a large area of ​​islands in Southeast Asia, it gradually became rich. However, after entering the 20th century, the entire country declined sharply, and now there are not many troops stationed in Southeast Asia.

Normally, a country like this, controlling such a large piece of land, would have been swallowed up by others long ago. However, the upper class of the Windmill Kingdom is relatively good at dealing with people and has good relations with several other major European empires. In addition, they are diligent in giving money, so the other major empires do not pay attention to them. After all, occupying this place may not necessarily bring in that much money.

And most of the money they sent was earned by exploiting the Chinese.

"That's exactly what I meant. It's useless to say anything else now. Only military force has power. If possible, our fleet should go to Southeast Asia for a tour. This will not only support our Chinese brothers, but also showcase our navy. And most importantly, if we can scare the Windmill Kingdom with this trip, don't you want to build an entire naval base there?"

Chief of Staff Cui said with a smile, "We have already reached Siberia in the north, so we can't go south to Guangdong and Guangxi, right?"

"The Chief of Staff has a pretty big appetite. We just talked about shrinking our defenses. Does that mean we're going to extend our reach into Southeast Asia?"

Although Li Shaoyi was asking a question, it was obvious from the expression on his face that he had this idea. No one knew better than Li Shaoyi how important the strategic position of Southeast Asia was, especially the Strait of Malacca.

"I've already thoroughly investigated the situation in Windmill Country. Although they have two cruisers and a fleet of seven or eight other ships, the youngest is twenty years old. They're no match for us. Furthermore, we have good relations with Western countries. We should take this opportunity to intimidate them and station a few warships there to ensure the safety of the Chinese community. I can guarantee you one thing: as long as you can bring safety to the local Chinese community, your annual donation alone will be no less than this amount."

The chief of staff held up three fingers. Li Shaoyi certainly wasn't naive enough to think it meant three million dollars.

"Isn't this a bit too much? Protecting overseas Chinese is our responsibility. How can we ask for money?"

Hearing Li Shaoyi say this, the chief of staff looked at him with disdain and asked, "Why don't you ask for money?"

"This is all for the future. You stand in front and maintain a positive image. I'll discuss this kind of issue. Anyway, it won't be a loss. Just tell me if it's okay or not, okay?"

Hearing what the chief of staff said, Li Shaoyi's face looked a little unnatural. Since we have the ability, we should help the overseas Chinese who have made contributions to the country. What's more, a country like the Windmill Country has long been left behind among the colonial empires. It is not a loss to pick on a weak opponent and get a lot of money.

"That's fine with me, but I need to ask the navy how many warships they can mobilize. They also need to have actual combat capability. If things really get out of hand, we can't rule out the possibility of a war. We need to prepare them mentally."

The navy’s deterrence at sea is not just a stroll there. What if the windmill country does not comply? Will you be intimidated?

At that time we will have to fight, otherwise, an outdated empire will bully our emerging navy, and we, Old Li, can't afford to lose face!