Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 130 Is Zheng Yi a god?

Of course, Kiichiro Toyoda came to withdraw his investment.

As the saying goes, a duck knows first when the river water is warm in spring. As an outstanding entrepreneur, a top figure in Japan's business community, and the founder of the world's largest automobile group in the future, Kiichiro Toyoda naturally has an extremely strong and keen sense of smell.

He had realized that the contradiction between the Imperial Way Faction and the Control Faction was difficult to suppress. Once those beasts of the Imperial Way Faction succeeded in coming to power, the entire Japanese society would go crazy, and the army would inevitably launch an invasion and all-out war against China.

Penang is, after all, a Chinese city.

His investment in Penang was too large, so he naturally wanted to withdraw before the Sino-Japanese conflict broke out. After all, who knew what Zheng Yi's attitude would be? He knew that the Nanyang Chinese were all Chinese citizens.

What was somewhat unexpected was that Zheng Yi's understanding of Japanese domestic politics was no less than that of him, the president of the Japan Textile Association.

He had even prepared for this.

It was this way of dealing with the matter and the decision he made that surprised him.

He actually wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to win him over!

he,
Kiichiro Toyoda.

Chairman of the Japan Textile Association.

Treason?

Isn't this funny?
It was not until this moment that Kiichiro Toyoda realized that he had always underestimated his partner.

This guy, at least, is more than just a scientist.

And for Zheng Yi.

It is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early, because Kiichiro Toyoda arrived on February 2th.

There is only one day left until 226, so he must wait until after 226 to talk to Mr. Toyota.

Zheng Yi, after all, is a time traveler, and he experienced the honeymoon period between China and Japan when he was young. Therefore, from the education he received since childhood and his calm historical perspective as a later generation looking back on history, he certainly knows that Japan is divided into left and right wings.

The bad ones are actually the right wing.

Some left-wingers are even worth winning over.

His hatred for Japan would naturally be more unworldly, and he also knew very well that Kiichiro Toyoda was an object that could be won over.

just in case.

He meant that if he could really convince Kiichiro Toyoda to move the entire Toyota Group to Penang, wouldn’t that be equivalent to directly cutting off an arm of Japanese militarism?

At least half a palm.

There is also the Yasuda Group.

The Yasuda Zaibatsu, one of the four major zaibatsu, had its founders killed by radicals. The entire zaibatsu was left ownerless, without even an heir. No one knew who was at the helm of such a large zaibatsu.

Although they were also a criminal group that produced a large amount of military products for militarism during World War II, by analogy, this is equivalent to someone killing Zheng Yi and the entire Li family.
Then they forced Taiyou Machinery to stop producing juicers and switch to producing guns, ammunition and bullets to supply the army, and they didn't even give them any money.

Why is he so unconvinced that the cooperation between the Yasuda Group and those imperial factions will be easy and pleasant?

In fact, the entire Japanese business community has been living in terrorism in recent years, not to mention civilian groups such as Yasuda and Toyota.

As a legitimate military-industrial group with a good reputation, Mitsui is already a right-wing enterprise. Wasn't its president killed just because he was not resolute enough in expanding production?
Not being completely right-wing means not being right-wing at all.

Which fucking capitalist would be willing to work in such a country and such a society?
This also made Zheng Yi believe that he and these Japanese private business circles and chaebols may not actually have no basis for cooperation.

After leaving the Japanese restaurant, Zheng Yi calmly instructed his second apprentice, Lin Shaoliang, "Tomorrow will be a test for you. There will be major changes in Japan, and there is a high probability of unrest in the Japanese community in Penang. You must maintain order."

"Yes, Master."

Lin Shaoliang didn't know why Zheng Yi said that, but anyway, it was rare for his master to ask him to do something, so he should agree to it first.

Zheng Yi reached out and patted his shoulder, then suddenly smiled and said, "You've grown a lot taller in the past two years. You look like a big kid now. You must have suffered a lot in the past two years."

Lin Shaoliang smiled shyly upon hearing this and said, "It's okay. I don't feel wronged at all. As long as Master needs me, I will go through fire and water for you."

Zheng Yi: "I don't have many relatives at home, and I don't have any children yet. I only have you two apprentices. The reason I didn't let you become senior executives in Penang is mainly because you are still young and need to be honed."

Lin Shaoliang: "Yes, Master, we all know how good you are to us. My brother often says that you are his relative. I lost both my parents when I was young, so to me, you are my father!"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

In fact, he is not much older than Lin Shaoliang.

"Your senior brother will inherit my skills in the future. The biggest reason your master has been able to get to where he is today is because of this skill. This is the foundation of me, and of all of Penang."

"You were too old when you came to me, and your foundation was too weak. If you came to learn the techniques, it would be too late. It would be too late."

Lin Shaoliang smiled and said, "People say that Master, you are the world's number one scientist. I heard that the Nobel Prize is going to be awarded to you this year. I have never been good at studying since I was young. Even if you teach me such advanced technology, I can't learn it."

"Hmm~"

Zheng Yi nodded and said, "So, as my apprentice, what I want to teach you is my business experience.
In the future, I want you to inherit my business legacy. You've done very well in the past two years, and I'm very optimistic about you."

To put it bluntly, Lin Shaoliang's main job in the past two years has been to be a lackey for the Japanese, and he has done a very good job.

Penang now has a special Japanese community, with about 100,000 Japanese people, mainly those brought by Toyota, but not just Toyota.

Although Kiichiro Toyoda was the chairman of the Textile Association, he was, after all, a textile machine manufacturer, not a cloth weaver. In many cases, he could only act as a matchmaker, and the people of Penang still had to do the work themselves.

What's more, the Japanese working in Penang today are not just in the textile industry. Taiyou Machinery is the absolute main force in absorbing Japanese expatriates.

Many Japanese employees of Taiyou Machinery used to work for companies under the Yasuda Group, such as Seiko, Nissan, and Nissan.

After Zenjiro Yasuda was assassinated, the Yasuda Zaibatsu has been without a helmsman, and many of its large companies are operating independently and in a state of disarray.

Naturally, everyone was in a panic, and this gave Lin Shaoliang the opportunity to take advantage of them.

Liem Sioe Liong has made great contributions to the current scale of the Japanese community in Penang.

However, objectively speaking, Zheng Yi had no good intentions in accepting Lin Shaoliang as his apprentice. This was definitely not a good job in this era.

In the past two years, there have been a lot of people calling him a traitor behind his back.

Now, no one in Penang, Southeast Asia, or even in China dares to call Zheng Yi a traitor.

But there are still many people who dare to curse Lin Shaoliang secretly.

Especially domestically.

Zheng Yi and the Nanjing side were almost at odds with each other, but the Nanjing side did not dare to humiliate Zheng Yi too much. After all, his prestige was there. So all the spearheads were naturally directed at Lin Shaoliang, which was Zheng Yi's biggest weakness.

As for those fucking government sycophants and so-called public intellectuals, they all know shit.

Historically, after Japan's 226 Incident, the so-called public intellectuals applauded and gloated over the misfortune, and some even made serious and comprehensive arguments that Japan was about to be finished.

Few people realized that this was a signal that Japan was going to enter a full-scale war mode and start a complete fight with China.

What level of stuff is this? They all come out to act like public intellectuals.

Zheng Yi said, "I know you've been wronged these past few years, but after tomorrow, you might feel even more wronged, and there will be even more people scolding you. You need to be prepared."

"Master, don't worry. I'm not afraid of being scolded. I know that I'm not a traitor. On the contrary, I'm a hero who fought against the Japanese.
Most of the Japanese we have brought into Penang are skilled workers. Every time we employ one more Japanese worker, Japanese imperialism employs one less Japanese worker."

"Now, there are 100,000 Japanese in Penang, of whom at least 50,000 are skilled workers. If the Japanese lose these 50,000 skilled workers, the effect may not be less than annihilating 50,000 soldiers on the battlefield.
Those who scolded me were all stupid, evil, and short-sighted people. Even if I die in the grave, I can still hold my head high and face my ancestors without bringing shame to them."

Zheng Yi laughed out loud when he heard this, and patted his shoulders repeatedly: "Good disciple, well said, well said!"

"A man who can endure shame and humiliation is a true man. A good man's heart is expanded by grievances. You, boy, are really good, really good."

"But after tomorrow, I'll have to increase your intensity."

"Master, please tell me."

"I plan to set up a business investment agency in Penang. You will be the director. We will expand the staff and increase the number of civil servants. The main target of investment will be the Japanese."

"Also, after tomorrow, there will definitely be a large number of Japanese expatriates who want to go home. I don't care what means you use to keep them.

In the past, I could tolerate these Japanese coming and going freely between Penang and Japan, but from now on, whether it is money or people, only in, not out. "

"Not a single person or a single cent is allowed to flow back to Japan. Every dollar that does flow back will become a bullet used by the Japanese to attack us Chinese."

"However, if you can be gentle, you should try your best to be gentle, and if you can be kind, you should try your best to treat these Japanese. In particular, you should be careful not to let other Chinese bully these Japanese.

You know, Penang used to be a Hongmen city, and all the men were members of the Hongmen. If there is another conflict between China and Japan, they will probably take their anger out on the Japanese."

"We must protect the Japanese expatriates and ensure their lives remain the same as before, or even better."

"In short, our goal is to make these Japanese work for us and produce industrial products for us.
At the same time, we should provide them with generous treatment and a good life, so as to attract other Japanese expatriates, especially skilled workers, to come and live in Penang.”

"We are not limited to mechanical technicians and textile technicians. As long as there are workers with special skills, even construction workers and plumbers, we want them.

As long as they don't want to return home and don't send money back home, we will definitely guarantee their livelihood."

"Those who insist on returning to their country, who are loyal to their country's emperor and cannot be stopped, should be killed, but as secretly as possible."

"My disciple, Japan and China are about to go to war, and it will be a full-scale war in which all the people will be soldiers.
What you just said is quite right. Every skilled worker Penang absorbs is equivalent to killing one, or even ten, ordinary soldiers on the battlefield. "You are not a traitor, but a national hero."

As he spoke, Zheng Yi also helped Lin Shaoliang straighten his collar.

"After tomorrow, with your intelligence, you should be able to understand everything."

………………

Kiichiro Toyoda refused to move into the luxurious Penang Hotel and instead chose to stay in the Japanese community and lived in a small Japanese-style hotel run by Japanese.

This is also the only Japanese-style hotel in Penang. Here, Kiichiro Toyoda can talk to people in Japanese. Although it is not prosperous, it is more relaxed and comfortable.

When he had nothing to do, he chatted with the boss's wife.

"Big sister, how did you end up running a hotel in Penang?"

“To answer the guest, I came here with my husband. He used to be a skilled worker at Seiko in Japan. After coming to Penang, he started working at Thai Machinery.”

"Oh, is everything going well?"

The boss lady smiled bitterly and shook her head, saying, "No, he died in a production accident last year."

"Ah, this... I'm so sorry, but your life..."

"Luckily, Chairman Li is a good person. After my husband died, he gave me a large pension. City Lord Zheng even came to apologize in person. I used the money to open a shop like this one, which is enough to make a living."

"I see. Then... have you ever thought about returning home?"

"Return home? Why? I'm not from Edo. Look, my life is pretty good now, isn't it?

We often joked that living in Penang, with food, drink, clothes and everything else, was just like the nobles in Edo Castle.

"As for me, I'm planning to bring my family and my husband's family over from Japan."

As she spoke, the lady boss added mysteriously, "I heard that Penang recently enacted a new law called the Labor Law."

"Labor law? Is it a law that requires people to work?"

"Of course not. It is a law that stipulates the minimum hourly wage and working hours. I heard that bosses in Penang will only be able to let their employees work a maximum of 60 hours a week.

For any hours over 60, overtime pay must be at least double the hourly wage, hahaha."

As she spoke, the proprietress was actually smiling, as if she was particularly happy.

“How could there be such a law?”

"Who says it's not true? Who lived like this back in Japan? My husband is a technician, and his salary is already high, but he works more than twelve hours a day, and when does he ever have a day off?"

"Forget about overtime pay. His salary is so meager that he can't even save a single cent after spending on food, supporting his parents, and sending his children to school. He can't even afford to eat enough rice every day, and he can't even eat meat for several months. Hehe."

Kiichiro Toyoda said curiously, "This labor law...seems to only protect the interests of workers. Miss, since you run a hotel yourself, I'm afraid not only are you not protected by this labor law, but you're actually subject to its restrictions."

The proprietress said proudly, "That's why I'm happy too. Besides, everyone has some change in their pockets, and most importantly, their working hours have been shortened, giving them more free time. Only then can they come to my tavern to drink, and my business will also improve."

Kiichiro Toyota: "Haha, Madam Boss, you are quite clever. That's right, that's indeed the truth."

The proprietress said, "Ever since I came to Penang, I've felt that life has suddenly gotten better. Let me tell you a secret: all of us expatriates living in Penang think that Mr. Zheng, the city lord, is much better than the emperor."

"I have been working hard to learn Chinese and strive to obtain Penang household registration as soon as possible. Mr. Zheng has special care for us Japanese.

As long as you learn 200 Chinese characters, can speak a few simple Chinese sentences, and voluntarily give up your Japanese citizenship, you can immediately become a Penang citizen without having to queue up.

"Give up your Japanese citizenship?"

Kiichiro Toyoda was shocked: "Don't the Chinese recognize dual citizenship?"

The proprietress said indifferently: "This is Penang, not China. Besides, the Japanese are special after all. The Imperial Way sent those bastards to invade Northeast China and destroy Sino-Japanese relations.
As a Chinese, the city lord is willing to be so kind to us Japanese, asking you to give up your Japanese citizenship while becoming a Penang resident. Isn't that only natural?"

Kiichiro Toyoda: "But giving up Japanese nationality is tantamount to betraying His Majesty the Emperor!"

"The Emperor of Bakayalū, what has he ever done for me? Why should I be loyal to him?"

Kiichiro Toyoda: "…………"

"Hey~, customer, this isn't mainland Japan, why are you so nervous?"

Kiichiro Toyoda: "But if you give up your Japanese nationality, you will no longer be Japanese. If you abandon your own nation, won't you become a rootless duckweed?"

The female boss said proudly: "My child is already in a Chinese school. Chinese and Japanese look the same. As long as I get the native place of Penang,

When the time comes, I will send my daughter to work and live outside the Japanese community. As long as she doesn't speak Japanese, no one will know she is Japanese. And when my daughter gives birth to a child, who will know my grandson is not Chinese?

Kiichiro Toyoda: "…………"

“I don’t know what life is like in China, but I know that life in Penang is much better than in Japan.

Leaving Japan will bring happiness to my daughter. If betraying the Emperor really has a price, even if it means going to hell, as long as it brings happiness to my daughter, I will gladly accept it."

Kiichiro Toyoda knew that these words would never be heard in Japan. In Japan, everyone would always show a loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor that was close to faith.

He had never expected that once he left Japan, he would hear such outrageous words.

Kiichiro Toyoda was not discouraged and went out to chat with other Japanese in the Japanese community.

I was surprised to find that among the Japanese in Penang, many had the same idea as the boss lady, and in fact, the majority.

Although many Japanese still live in the Japanese community and speak Japanese, once they take out their ID cards, they are already registered in Penang.

After all, Zheng Yi’s requirements for Japanese naturalization are low.

And objectively speaking, it is really easy for Japanese people to learn Chinese characters. Many Japanese characters and Chinese characters look the same, and after eliminating those foreign Western words in the Japanese language.

Japanese can really be considered a dialect of Chinese.

It's not much harder for Japanese people to learn Chinese than it is for people from Fuqing to learn Mandarin.

These naturalized Japanese are all waiting for welfare housing.

And without exception, all the children attend Chinese schools.

There are no day schools in Penang either.

No, if you become a Penang citizen you must give up your Japanese citizenship.

Are they still Japanese?

Chinese living in the Japanese community?

There is one thing the female boss said that makes sense, that is, Japanese and Chinese people are really indistinguishable in appearance.

It is much easier for these two ethnic groups to integrate with each other than for Asians and Europeans to integrate with each other.

The two ethnic groups even have a lot of similarities in their lifestyles and cultural habits. To be more serious, it is very likely that in the future a Chinese and a Japanese person in Penang will fall in love and not know that their significant other is Japanese until they get married and get a marriage certificate.

Japanese nationality, is it so... not worth cherishing at all?
Aren’t you patriotic?

Why not be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor?
Hey ~
Silent all night.

The next day, February 2, at 26: in the morning, Kiichiro Toyoda was woken up by his subordinates and asked to read the telegram.

Then he received first-hand news via telegram: the Imperial Way Faction, those crazy people on the extreme right, had staged a military coup.

For a moment, Kiichiro Toyoda felt like he was stupid. His head was buzzing, his eyes were blurry, and his ears were not able to hear clearly.

But then he suddenly thought that Zheng Yi obviously had something to tell him, but he insisted on waiting until tomorrow, the 27th to talk about it.

Doesn’t this mean that…

Did he already know that there would be a military coup in Japan today?

How the hell is this possible???
Even a big Japanese capitalist didn’t know this news, so how did he, a Chinese, know it?
Although Kiichiro Toyoda had long sensed the increasingly tense atmosphere in Japan's military and political circles in recent times, he also had a premonition that something big might happen in Japan's political arena in the near future.

However, at most he wondered whether the Imperial Way Faction and the Blood Alliance were going to kill someone again. He did not dare to think directly in the direction of a military coup, and it was impossible for him to accurately determine that the incident would happen on February 2.

Military coup!
How confidential is this matter?
Kiichiro Toyoda was a bit confused for a moment, and couldn't help but wonder: "Could it be that this coup... is this Zheng Yi involved? Did he secretly give money to the soldiers of the Imperial Way faction?"

For a moment, Kiichiro Toyota could not find any other reason except this seemingly ridiculous reason.

[No way...then what is he trying to achieve?]

Could it be that he is aiming for a Sino-Japanese war?
It is not impossible. After all, Penang is not China. Although Zheng Yi still holds Chinese nationality, no one can deny that he is unlikely to be regarded as a Chinese.

Do you think Chiang Kai-shek can control him?

Want to suck China's blood through war?

Is it so cruel?
But the question is, even if Zheng Yi is really that cruel, will those crazy people in the Royal Way Sect accept money from the Chinese?
They want to kill anyone who is pro-China. If the Prime Minister dares to discuss a peace agreement with China, they will kill him as well. They are a bunch of pure lunatics.

Could it be calculated?
Wouldn’t Zheng Yi become a god then?
(End of this chapter)