Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 183: White People's Arrogance
Sometimes, Zheng Yi couldn't tell whether these British elites were pretending to be confused or were really confused.

Just like Phelps in front of him, he couldn't tell whether he was really confused or just pretending to be confused.

The deterrent fleet? Actually, you can tell from the name that it is meant to scare people.

Japan's navy learned from Britain in all aspects. At first, it purchased and later imitated. Therefore, when the British Navy faced the Japanese Navy, it really felt like a teacher beating a student. From top to bottom, there was a sense of contempt from the bottom of their hearts.

In fact, if we only talk about Japan's navy, it is indeed difficult to compare with the British army.

However, Britain's hard power had actually declined seriously after World War I. Historically, even before the start of World War II, it had proposed to the United States to borrow a fleet from the United States to protect its Far East colonies.

The upper elites actually knew very well that it would be difficult for them to send extra forces to compete with Japan in the Far East.

I just don’t know if this upper level includes the fat guy who knows a lot about the navy.

But it is just like what is happening now. As long as they send out troops, they feel that they are invincible and that they can scare the Japanese into not moving just by sending out a few fleets.

It's ridiculous.

But at the same time, this is actually a kind of deception. Perhaps the arrogance is shown to the Japanese.

Who knows if there was a strategic deception or intimidation bureau behind the actions of the British during this period?
It is possible that the British high-ranking officials actually knew very well that they could not defeat the Japanese in the Far East no matter how hard they fought, but with the reputation of the British Empire, they might still be able to scare them.

As long as they act as if they don't take the Japanese army seriously, Japan will probably not dare to fight them easily.

Maybe we can scare the Japanese army?

After all, time is on the side of Britain and the United States, especially the United States, whose industrial foundation far exceeds that of Japan by many times. As long as the United States is given a few years to concentrate on development, Japan will not be a concern at all.

In fact, these British people almost succeeded. In history, the Japanese did have a strong sense of racial inferiority towards white people until the beginning of World War II. Many people really felt that they, the yellow race, could not defeat the white people.

You have to know that existing impressions are difficult to overcome. Just like in the world before Zheng Yi traveled through time, he didn't know what pillar industries Britain could still come up with, but it still did not affect the fact that a large number of ordinary people around the world believed that Britain was still a world-class superpower.

Many people even really think that the UK is stronger than the University of Tokyo.

It is not even ruled out that some local people at the University of Tokyo think so too.

Britain still has such a great reputation in the 21st century, let alone before World War II?

In fact, the only thing Britain can boast of now is this reputation.

But no matter whether they are truly arrogant or just pretending to be arrogant, the result is the same to Zheng Yi.

After all, if they are really so arrogant, then there is nothing to say, they will definitely die.

But if they are pretending to be arrogant, then to put it bluntly, they want to use strategic intimidation to deter the Japanese from taking action.

There was nothing to say about that, because Zheng Yi knew that the Japanese would definitely take action.

However, as an ally, especially since he is the protected party, Zheng Yi naturally has to do what he can.

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Yi said, "Lieutenant General Phelps, when can we conduct a coordinated aerial exercise?"

"The United States has about 400 aircraft in Manila, but as far as I know, only about 200 of these 400 can take off at any time."

"In Penang, the US Air Force has over 270 aircraft. Although most of them are training aircraft, they are still usable.

Add to that the over 170 aircraft we have in Penang, and as long as the three of us can provide good support and coordination with each other, we should be able to barely compete with the Japanese Air Force."

Unexpectedly, Phelps burst into laughter upon hearing this and said, "Does Japan's air force really need any exercises between the three of us?"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

After a moment's thought, Zheng Yi patiently explained, "According to our intelligence analysis, the Japanese military has approximately 1000 aircraft deployed at bases in Hainan, Formosa, French North India, and even Thailand, ready to engage in combat with us in Southeast Asia."

"With only 350 planes in your hands..."

Phelps said disdainfully, "Mr. Zheng, you're overthinking it. I've heard from your partners that you were scared out of your wits by the Japanese. Now it seems to be true. Of course, this isn't surprising, after all, you're all Asian."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi couldn't help but frown no matter how good his temper was.

This is a standard racist remark. As far as I can remember, no one has spoken to him like this in many years.

You are just a lieutenant general, who are you talking to?
Zheng Yi snorted coldly, "Really? But as far as I know, of your country's 350 aircraft, nearly half are old models like the 'Brute Buffalo'. Even in the United States, this type of aircraft has been retired."

"There are also Hudson bombers, Catalina seaplanes, and Blingheim light bombers. Not to mention their age, their aerial combat capabilities are almost zero."

"After all, they're just junk discarded from the European battlefield. I honestly don't know where you get the confidence to think one British plane can take on at least two Japanese planes."

"Let alone comparing them to Japanese planes, dare we have a duel? You send out ten planes, and we from Penang send out ten planes. Let's see who can kill the other first? You are a bunch of junks that can't even match the Penang Air Force. Who gave you the courage to look down on the Japanese like that?"

"It's still fucking racism. There's no logical basis for it other than the Japanese are yellow."

"One British Air Force can fight at least two Japanese Air Forces? Go to hell with you, you damn cats and dogs, you dare to pretend to be me? With your ragtag air force, one Japanese plane should be able to fight at least two of you."

As he said this, he turned his head and questioned Bonar, "Can't Fatty Qiu send someone with brains to cooperate with me?"

Zheng Yi spoke loudly on purpose.

On the one hand, I do feel unhappy seeing this guy.

Who does he think he is?

Who does he think I am?

But on the other hand, Zheng Yi also had intentions and wanted to make the matter bigger, hoping that their argument, at least it could spread a little, so that at least the grassroots British soldiers would know about their discussion.

Maybe it can play a role?

However, what he said naturally made Phelps feel embarrassed again. He became furious for a moment, his face flushed and he started cursing.

"Fuck! Fuck! You rude yellow monkey! How dare you humiliate a noble British aristocrat like this? I challenge you to a duel!" Zheng Yi: "Really? Do you really want a duel?"

Seeing that the two of them were talking about a duel in just a few words, Bonnar finally couldn't sit still anymore. He quickly intervened, tried to smooth things over, and stopped the two of them. Relying on his seniority, he scolded Phelps.

"Phelps, Mr. Zheng is the most important and respected friend of the Empire, far more so than any other Asian. I command you to apologize to Mr. Zheng immediately, right now!"

"I……"

"This is an order!!"

"Ok."

Phelps took a deep breath and said reluctantly, "Mr. Zheng, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I absolutely didn't mean to discriminate against you. You misunderstood."

Actually, what Bonnar said just now is obviously problematic. What does "different from ordinary Asians" mean?

Doesn't it mean that all other Asians except Zheng Yi are yellow monkeys?
But given Zheng Yi's identity, since he had already vented his anger, it would be inappropriate for him to continue to insist on it. He snorted coldly and did not continue to argue with them about this matter.

Bonar then said to Mr. Zheng, "Mr. Zheng, you may not know this, but Phelps wasn't completely underestimating the enemy. You may have slightly overestimated the Japanese air force's strength."

"I've been in Singapore for years, so how could I not know how powerful Penang's air force is? It's just that Mr. Zheng, most of your aircraft were purchased directly from the United States. Of course, they are all excellent aircraft."

"But how could the Japanese planes be as good as the Penang ones? Your planes have never fought against the Japanese either."

"You may not know that Japan, whether in the navy or the air force, has no unique technology of its own. They are just poor imitations of our British weapons."

On the side, because the noise here was a little loud, other officers nearby also looked over, including the commander who had just come with Phelps, Air Chief Marshal Sir Brooke Popham, Army Major General Bond and others.

"Mr. Zheng, the Japanese planes are just imitations. I heard from my friends at the aircraft factory that when the Japanese buy planes, they always buy only one, then take it back to Japan and disassemble it to make a copy."

"Yeah, there's always been a joke in the aircraft industry: if the Japanese can buy two planes at once, the sun will surely rise from the west, hahahahahahaha."

"Mr. Zheng, I am the Empire's ace pilot. I promise you that in an air battle, we will be able to destroy all the Japanese planes with great fanfare. Compared to the planes of our British Empire, they are like the comparison between a Rolls-Royce and a Datsun."

Datsun is a Japanese car brand from before World War II, known for its poor quality and easy damage.

It can be seen that these pilots who came to mediate were very serious. They might even sincerely feel that Zheng Yi was worrying too much and not just lobbying for multinational companies such as Shell Oil.

Europeans and Americans seem to easily fall into this misunderstanding, believing that imitations must be inferior to the originals.

It is believed that automobile production capacity is equivalent to the production capacity of military products such as aircraft and tanks.

It's very confusing.

Seeing this, Bonar said as if to make a final decision: "Mr. Zheng, please don't misunderstand me. We are not saying that the Japanese weapons are inferior. It's just that, relatively speaking, they are definitely inferior to our British army."

"Not bad, not bad. I think the Japanese air force is slightly inferior to the Italian one."

"Exactly, absolutely. Even if we underestimate the enemy and try to match the Italian Air Force, that's the best we can do."

For a moment, Zheng Yi didn't know what to say.

He especially wanted to ask a question: You have never fought against the Italian Air Force, nor have you fought against the Japanese Air Force. How the hell did you come to the conclusion that the Japanese Air Force should be slightly weaker than the Italian Air Force?

Forget it.

Arrogance and prejudice are mountains in people's hearts, and they cannot be moved by words alone.

People won't learn something even if they are taught a hundred times, but they will learn it once they are taught. To some extent, letting the Japanese destroy them may not be a bad thing for Asians.

If the Japanese had not slapped them in the face to wake them up, I don’t know when they would have woken up from their absurd dream that only white people are human beings.

"Mr. Zheng, please, please accompany me to visit the pride of the British Empire, the Prince of Wales."

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly tense, Bonnard quickly changed the subject and invited Zheng Yi to go on board with him for a tour and a chat.

"it is good."

Zheng Yi didn't want to continue the topic of the Air Force, so he simply got on the boat with them.

"Including the HMS Prince of Wales, our Invincible Armada has a total of seven battleships. Hahahaha, Mr. Zheng, even if the Japanese air force is not weaker than ours, but in terms of ships, hahahaha, our British Empire is still the best in the world."

"Look at this ship! It's so majestic and magnificent! It's the pride of our British Empire, proof that the British Empire is still strong. It's an unsinkable mobile fortress on the sea."

Zheng Yi: “Hmm…”

For a moment, he was really at a loss for words.

[It would be great if all of these naval guns could be dismantled and used as coastal defense guns.]

No matter how little Zheng Yi knows about military affairs, he doesn't need to be a military fan to understand that the era of big ships and big guns is actually over.

Whether it was Japan, the United States, Britain, or Germany, all the heavy battleships that were highly expected in the battlefields of World War II basically did not play any significant role.

Whether it is the British Prince of Wales, the German Bismarck, or the Japanese Yamato, these so-called national treasures that were placed with high hopes seem to have never achieved any decent results.

It's okay to bully an agricultural country like Tokyo that doesn't have strong coastal defense, but if you really want to fight a naval battle, you'll be far behind.

To put it bluntly, the battleship is actually a seriously outdated and unsuitable weapon. The best fate for it is to dismantle its guns and transform it into an aircraft carrier as much as possible.

However, it would be useless for him to say such things. Britain is the biggest supporter of big ships and big guns. It is an old empire and it is like this. After all, the early technological accumulation is there. Whether it is the number of existing battleships, the performance and quality of battleships, or the production capacity, the British are the best in the world.

When the battle really started, even before the sinking of the Prince of Wales, how could they admit that battleships had become obsolete?
Fortunately, Japan also learned from Britain, and its shipbuilding capabilities were almost entirely learned from Britain. The systems are also similar, so the Japanese naval philosophy also advocates large ships and large guns.

Their Yamato should be launched soon, so there is no need to point out this issue.

He wasn't concerned about the battleships, but instead asked, "I heard that Singapore's fortifications seem to have been under construction for decades. I wonder if they're finished now? If the enemy lands in the Johor Strait, how will you respond?"

(End of this chapter)