Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

From luring and capturing the Yang family to forcing Luo Xinghan to surrender, Myanmar has been gradually striking and harassing the region for over a decade. Most of Shan State has become under Myanmar's control, leaving only Peng Jiasheng, barely surviving in the northeastern corner, and drug trafficker Zhang Qifu in the west.

This year, the situation changed drastically. First, Lo Hsing Han captured Kengtung and then fought all the way along the highway to Lai Lin. Then, small-scale conflicts continued for several months. The Burmese army could not get through, and Lo Hsing Han could not fight his way through, so the two sides finally stopped fighting.

While the Shan State Army of Myanmar was still thinking about negotiating if they couldn't win, and continuing to slowly erode Lo Hsing Han's power through economic means, Peng Jiasheng started causing trouble again.

According to information from Yangon, Peng Jiasheng only had 3000 armed men, without heavy weapons such as tanks, armored vehicles, or heavy artillery. He believed that taking Kunlong by surprise attack and exhausting his resources would be the limit. However, the news from the front line was a complete slap in the face.

Not only was the important thoroughfare city of Mupang captured, but Lashio was also lost!

"Damn it, how did they even fight? The Northeast Army had 12000 men, fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery, and they even defended the city like that, yet it was captured in less than a day!" Zhu Xi Naiwen slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Even 12000 pigs couldn't catch them all in a day!"

At this time, Myanmar's total military strength was 15, comprising 10 military regions:
Northern Military Region, Northeast Military Region, Eastern Military Region, Central Military Region, Northwest Military Region, Western Military Region, Southwest Military Region, Southern Military Region, Southeast Military Region, and Coastal Military Region.

Northern Military Region (Kachin State): 1.5 personnel, responsible for suppressing the main force of the Kachin Independence Army, with its forces concentrated in Myitkyina.

Northeast Military Region (Northern Shan State): 1.2 personnel, responsible for suppressing Peng Jiasheng and local Shan armed forces, with troops concentrated in Lashio, Kyaukme and other places.

Eastern Military Region (Southern Shan State and Kayah State): 1.8 personnel, the largest military region, equipped with light infantry divisions and artillery units, suppressing Lo Hsin Han, Chang Chi Fu, and the Kayah Independent Army, with its forces concentrated in Taunggyi and Loikyu.

Central Military District (Mandalay District): 1.2 people, responsible for security and traffic control in the central plains, with its headquarters in Mandalay serving as a military logistics hub.

In the Battle of Kengtung, the Eastern Military Region suffered heavy losses, with approximately 3000 casualties.

In the Battle of Lashio, the Northeast Army was wiped out entirely, leaving only one branch of the Guigai Army, with approximately 4000 men.

Now, it's impossible to hold anyone accountable for this. The leaders' ashes have all been scattered, and those adversaries can't very well criticize a bunch of dead people, because no matter what, the dead are the greatest.

Besides, the conflict arose from conflicting interests. Now that the person is dead and the position has been vacated, the hatred is gone.

I know these temperature-resistant properties, but it's still uncomfortable to keep my anger bottled up inside.

After venting his frustration, he asked with a dark face, "How exactly did we lose? What did those idiots who escaped say?"

"The rebel leader Peng Jiasheng somehow acquired four transport planes, loaded them with explosives, and swooped them down, killing them all instantly," the chief of staff said in a deep voice.

Naiwen slowly turned his head to look, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Say that again!"

“Peng Jiasheng…”

Naiwen forced himself not to gasp, but his tightly furrowed brows still revealed just how shocked he was.

Peng Jiasheng has gone mad!

In a normal war, if you have missiles, it's normal for you to fire a few, but you can use transport planes...

Longer flight range, larger payload, and precise terminal guidance...

This technology is terrifying even to old Chinese people!
This is going too far; this is downright terrorism!
Of course, this is because Myanmar's radar system cannot cover the entire airspace; otherwise, any unidentified aircraft without a request for passage would be detected immediately upon entering, and fighter jets from all sides would then take off.

If there were fighter jets.

"Where did he get this transport plane?" Nevin asked, his face darkening. "Don't tell me it's also American stuff left over from the Vietnam War!"

"This..." The chief of staff hesitated.

"Speak!" Naiwen shouted.

How can he sleep if he doesn't figure things out?
Although the airspace near Yangon is covered by radar and can provide early warnings at any time, and there are also airports and fighter jets, we are only clear about our own situation.

The military government implemented the "nationalization law," transferring the lifeline of industry and commerce from capitalists and foreigners back to the country without compensation. Subsequently, it was subject to international sanctions due to human rights, democracy, and drug production issues. Although there was no military embargo, it did not receive anything of value.

"According to news from Lashio, Peng Jiasheng has a Hong Kong businessman named Wang Yaotang who holds a high position and Peng Jiasheng treats him with great respect. In addition, news from Kengtung indicates that Luo Xinghan has undertaken many projects in recent months and purchased a lot of vehicles, fuel, and industrial equipment, all of which were procured from Wang Yaotang."

"There is another unconfirmed report that Luo and Peng also purchased their weapons from Wang Yaotang, and it seems that Zhang Qifu obtained even more."

Naiwen's eyes were practically spitting fire. "Wang Yaotang, a Hong Konger? What kind of equipment does he sell?"

"Old Chinese."

The fire in Naiwen's eyes froze, his expression shifting from anger to confusion, and finally to a grave look. "Are you sure it's a Hong Konger and not a Chinese? How dare a Hong Konger sell these things!"

"It's definitely a Hong Konger. He used to be a street thug, but he rose to prominence in the last four years. Now he's a very famous and wealthy man in Hong Kong, with assets reportedly no less than $7 million," the chief of staff said in a deep voice.

Naiwen scoffed, "Going from a street thug to one of Hong Kong's richest men in just four years? Could you do that? Or are you guys the ones who can? You actually believe that!"

Everyone in the room shook their heads.

"How can it be!"

"The Chinese must be behind this."

"It just so happens that China and Britain were negotiating these past few years, that a super-rich tycoon suddenly appeared, and that he was able to get goods from China—there are just too many coincidences!"

"It's for Hong Kong people to see, to show that following them will bring benefits."

Nationalization in Myanmar has not led to much growth in national strength. The economy is in a mess, and the Myanmar kyat is worthless. All the big companies have long been divided up by these high-ranking officials, and their relatives are running them and making money.

How can they believe that someone who has been frantically making money for over a decade still has assets that can't compare to Wang Yaotang's?
If this is true, then it means that the most elite people in Myanmar, who lead the highest levels of the country, are not as good as a thug!
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
"Could it be that the Chinese are expressing their dissatisfaction?"

"No way, we didn't do anything to them..."

The group of people were talking, and their voices gradually grew softer and softer.

Over the years, China and Laos have provided one-way assistance in the construction of projects such as the rice mill in 80 and the national stadium in 82, covering many fields such as energy, transportation, and industry. Myanmar has never provided any funding.

The Lao-Chinese alliance's goal is to stabilize the situation in Myanmar and avoid putting pressure on the border, and also to address the issue of opium smuggling across the border.

However, the military government's top brass amassed wealth, leaving the economy in a terrible state. They then intentionally or unintentionally promoted the issue of "dependence on the Chinese" to divert attention from other problems, and secretly caused a lot of trouble.

He'll cause trouble if you don't give him money...

"Hmph, they must have been secretly supporting them. Let's protest to them!"

"Yes, protest!"

Whether the temperature resistance is good or bad, demanding money through rioting and suppressing others are all normal tactics. However, it wouldn't hurt to file a complaint; what if it works?

……

"Okay, we understand your demands. We need to investigate the specific issues and give you a reply in a week." As soon as the Minister of State Ceremonies heard the name Wang Yaotang, he understood the gist of the matter. This guy had stirred up a lot of trouble in Southeast Asia.

Without asking Wang Yaotang, the Honglu Temple first contacted the Beijing Institute of Technology to inquire about the sales situation. There were two large orders totaling more than 4000 million US dollars, not including the cost of buying old ships directly from the South China Sea and placing conversion orders. They were major clients with independent files.

Two days later, the Honglu Temple held its routine morning meeting.

"Beigong said they never sold it to Wang Yaotang," the clerk in charge of the matter reported with a smile.

"Then where did he get so many military supplies?" asked the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies.

"Beigong said that the only major orders recently were from Somalia, including those two 0 ships, which were also sold to Somalia. The orders were signed by the Somali envoy, and the funds were also transferred from there." The chief clerk said with a smile, "Later I found out that the Somali envoy's financial support has been coming from a company in Hong Kong for the past year."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

It's clearly a case of false advertising. Given the state of Somalia, where would they get so much money to buy military supplies?

However, the transaction itself was completely legal and compliant. If there was any problem, it was Somalia's problem. Whether it was resale or resale, it had nothing to do with the Chinese.

As for the idea that military equipment represents politics, that's bullshit. People in the Middle East are fighting tooth and nail. People from Iran and Iraq live on opposite sides of Shijiazhuang, sending tanks out one after another, and sharing all kinds of ammunition equally. And they're doing just fine now.

Do you even understand what the spirit of contract means?
Do you even know what neutrality means?
“Alright, let’s reply to them like this. There are no major problems in Burma, but there are always minor ones. Opium is still legal, and it’s as annoying as fleas. There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s good that someone goes to kill the pests and make them behave properly,” the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies said with a smile.

"okay, I get it."

...Yangon.

After hearing the report, Naiwen's face remained expressionless. He had expected it; the Chinese always made sure to leave no room for error and wouldn't let anyone find any fault with him.

As for Somalia, it's a poor, worthless country, so poor that it's not even worth mentioning.

In Southeast Asia you call me a loser, but what should you call me outside of Southeast Asia?
"Lord Baptist, look..."

"How's Lashio doing lately? Has anything happened?" Naiwen replied, seemingly ignoring the question.

"The people of Lashio are very resistant to the rebels, and business people and politicians have called on the government to regain control of Lashio."

"So everything's stable then?" Nevin asked coldly.

The chief of staff lowered his head and remained silent.

"Have any government personnel in Lashio been recalled?"

"The rebels have detained government personnel."

"So they don't want to come back, a bunch of ungrateful wretches!" Naiwen's face was rather unpleasant.

"What about your Northeast Army? Have they engaged in fighting?"

"nothing now."

"Let them transfer to the Northern Military District."

"Yes!"

"What's the current situation with Jing Dong? Have you got any information about that Mr. Wang's investment?"

“We have invested in a hydroelectric power station, a post and telecommunications company, and a tin mine. Recently, there have been a lot of smuggled cars, home appliances, and daily necessities flowing from Kengtung to Taunggyi.”

"Didn't you buy anything from Taunggyi?" Naiwen asked, frowning.

"Under our strict control, we will absolutely not allow any supplies to flow from Taunggyi to rebel areas," the chief of staff confirmed.

"It's just a damn simple trade deficit!" Naiwen was furious.

"Don't they need steel, coal, timber, and food?"

"The rebels mostly smuggled goods from Siam."

Naiwen took a deep breath and told himself not to get angry. Getting angry was useless. The military government wasn't his sole authority; the people below all had their own interests.

In 89, the northeastern and central regions of Myanmar successively staged uprisings to gain independence, followed by August 815th and October 101st...

"We must cooperate fully with the aid projects currently underway between Laos and China, and not allow any further problems to arise. In addition, we should contact the Lao-Chinese Court of State Ceremonies to jointly combat the opium smuggling problem along the border," Naiwen ordered after thinking for a moment.

The Burmese military government only promulgated the "Law on Prohibition of Plant Cultivation" in 1985. People in several military regions in the north and east have interests in it, so it is not something that can be prohibited at will.

The chief of staff opened his mouth, but finally said loudly, "Yes, sir!"

"Have someone contact that guy surnamed Wang and invite him to invest in Myanmar!"

"Yes!"

With Peng and Luo growing powerful, Zhang Qifu was eyeing them covetously. These few punches almost crippled Myanmar. Since they couldn't send troops to deal with the Wang family, they could only offer them benefits!
We can accept investment, and we can guarantee border security!

……

Hong Kong.

After capturing Lashio, Wang Yaotang flew back to Hong Kong. The place was too backward, and Peng Jiasheng's forces had occupied Lashio through crooked means, so they were incapable of continuing the fight. Peng Jiasheng was currently negotiating with the Burmese army in Guizhou to take them over.

Wang Yaotang neither confirmed nor denied this, saying that the Kuomintang was also corrupt back then, but after surrendering, they became incredibly powerful. Whether they could fight or not depended on the leader.

We still need to wait for news from Myanmar regarding the gold mines in Mandalay.

After being punched so hard twice, Wang Yaotang believed they couldn't possibly have no reaction at all.

If they still don't know what's good for them, then we'll incite Lo Hsing Han to attack Taunggyi!
Anyway, I don't have to put in any effort myself.

As for the series of investments after taking Lashio, my subordinates will take care of that. There's no rush for investments. The main problem is that transportation equipment is too inconvenient. Even going through Yunnan is difficult. We'll talk about it after we've dealt with Myanmar.

Back in Hong Kong, the mining company was working on a share expansion to acquire the Lamma Island mine. The company's current market value is around 20 billion, while the actual market value of the two mines is already over 12 billion.

Unfortunately, the Hong Kong financial market does not favor mining, which involves large investments but low profits. Investors are more focused on stocks in real estate, finance, electronics, and shipping. In addition, his release of information that severely threatened those financial sharks meant that no institutions stepped in to chase after the stock, and the market reaction was lukewarm.

According to Li Menghui's prediction, the company's market value will peak when the news of the successful acquisition of Lamma Island is announced, and it is estimated that it will rise to 30 billion before falling. They are already prepared to short their own stock.

"Yeah, that's good. It's better to short sell ourselves than for outsiders to do it. At least we won't be so ruthless. When the price drops to a certain level, we'll sell off to stabilize the market and prevent unnecessary losses for investors," the four-eyed guy said with a smile.

"Can't you speak properly? We're just trying to stabilize the company's stock price and protect the interests of our shareholders. How can you call that shorting?" Wang Yaotang banged on the table.

The group stared at Wang Yaotang in astonishment. No wonder you're the boss, you're shameless!
"So the shareholders should thank you?" Awei asked, amused.

"You're welcome, it's what I should do!" Wang Yaotang said earnestly.

"Tch!" Several people raised their middle fingers.

"How's it going in Myanmar?" A-Jie asked with a smile. "There's not a single news item in the newspapers."

“Hong Kong citizens only care about the Mark Six lottery, horse racing, and stocks. Most people don’t even know where Myanmar is. Who the hell would read any news from there?”

"Then why did you say that gold mines in Myanmar can boost stock prices?"

“Hong Kong people are not interested in whether the Burmese people die or not, but they are not only interested in the gold mines in Myanmar, but they are also very big,” Wang Yaotang said with a smile. “If you are interested, you can go and have some fun. The exotic atmosphere will give you a royal experience.”

As they were talking about interesting things in Myanmar, the door opened and Wei Tao walked in. "Boss, someone called and said they were from the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce."

"Speak of the devil, and he appears," Awei said.

"I won't allow you to insult Cao Cao like that!" Wang Yaotang laughed and had someone bring him in. "Hello..."

"Okay, okay, it's a great honor to receive the invitation from Myanmar. I'll set a time as soon as possible. Goodbye." Wang Yaotang hung up the phone.

"Is it really from Myanmar? What did you say?" Ah Ji asked.

"Yes, they invited me to visit, hoping I would invest there, and so on."

"Are you going then?"

"of course."

"Will there be any danger?"

“If it were pirates or something, they might turn hostile, but it’s precisely because they’re official that there’s no problem. Do they think the Chinese are pushovers?” Wang Yaotang gave a thumbs up. “We have powerful backers!”

"Of course, if it's Europe or America, they might also turn against each other. Their official bodies are just a makeshift team, and they'll be out of power after four years anyway."

"Hmm, Ah Ji, what's the situation with 0 now?" Wang Yaotang asked. "Going there directly or by private jet or something is too low-class."

"One ship is undergoing missile conversion, and the other is on Po Toi Island."

"As long as it has the appearance after the modification, I'll take it out to show off and bring it back." Wang Yaotang said excitedly, "Then we'll have a missile ship and a gunboat parked at the gates of Yangon, and we'll see if they dare to back down!"

"They can bark at the Chinese, but the Chinese can't stoop to their level. But I, the son of the Grand Secretary, don't care. I'll fight anyone who dares to defy me!" (End of Chapter)