Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 189: Taking Advantage of the British Army
Is the situation on the European battlefield already so severe?

At this time, the air battle between Britain and Germany had already begun on the European battlefield, and the British army was also facing tremendous pressure in the competition for oil resources in North Africa and the Middle East. The cunning desert fox tormented the British army to death in just two months.

In comparison, the importance of the Far East battlefield is naturally far less than that of North Africa and the Middle East.

Seeing Zheng Yi's frown and seemingly worried look, Phelps, who had always been at odds with Zheng Yi, finally spoke impatiently:

"Mr. Zheng, I admit that the Japanese Army's ground forces are indeed quite brave. As for the Air Force, I must also apologize to you. Previously, we may have underestimated them."

"However, no matter what, the navy is the pride of the British Empire. Our maritime power is undoubtedly the best in the world."

"And Japan is nothing more than a civilized country that still believes in witchcraft. They are just a group of seemingly civilized indigenous people."

"The consistent spirit of our British Empire Navy is 'fight every enemy'. Facing a mere Japan that dared to challenge the great British Empire, only an absolute and decisive victory can wash away this shame."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi couldn't help but frown deeply, and his eyes were full of disgust when he looked at Phelps.

"Civilized nations that still believe in witchcraft are nothing more than a group of seemingly civilized natives"? Is this referring to Japan?
When the hell did Japan start believing in witchcraft?

If the Japanese were just seemingly civilized natives in his eyes, then what were the Chinese? Even seemingly uncivilized natives? And what was he, a Chinese, then?
This is typical racist talk.

Of course, discrimination is discrimination. Phelps may not have meant to say this in front of me. Maybe he didn't even realize that his remarks were racist.

But Zheng Yi still heard a strong contempt from his mouth, contempt for Japan, which made him feel very bad.

[It's already this fucking bad, and you're still underestimating the enemy? Where does this arrogance come from?]

"Vice Admiral Phelps, I believe in the strength of your fleet, but if you move the decisive battle north, the Japanese will have a significant advantage in air support during the naval battle. The only air force you can rely on is two light aircraft carriers."

"Isn't this sacrificing one's own strengths?"

Phelps, however, said to Zheng Yi with a hint of mockery, "Mr. Zheng, while your strategic and international political analysis are insightful, you're still an amateur when it comes to specific tactics."

"Oh? Am I an outsider? Then what problems do you think I have with what I said?"

Phelps: "The purpose of this trip is to wait for an opportunity to engage in a decisive battle with the Japanese navy, so that this invincible naval force can be withdrawn from the Far East in time to support the more intense battlefields in North Africa and the Middle East."

"Given the strategic objective, some minor losses are naturally acceptable. Even if the Japanese army has a certain air force advantage, our advantage in battleships is even greater."

"The Kongo, the main battleship of the Japanese army, was purchased from the UK. Construction began in 1911, it was launched in 1912, and delivered in 1913. To be honest, we may have a better understanding of the Kongo's performance than the Japanese army."

"After all, it's an old model from nearly forty years ago. Compared to our great Prince of Wales, hahahaha, the gap is probably even greater than Mr. Zheng's Penang is compared to Hong Kong Island."

"As for those battleships built by the Japanese themselves, haha, Mr. Zheng, I heard that your soldiers once captured the Japanese Yamashiro. Haha, what is that?"

At this point in time, Japan's proud Yamato battleship was still under construction, and it was indeed unable to produce a first-class battleship.

Zheng Yi: "The Japanese battleships may indeed be weaker than the British ones, but the Japanese aircraft..."

Phelps: "Mr. Zheng is worrying too much. Planes are like mosquitoes in front of battleships. Although annoying, they cannot cause any fatal damage to battleships."

Zheng Yi: “…………”

It’s confirmed, there’s no hope.

Before the Pearl Harbor attack, it was understandable that Zheng Yi believed that planes could not hit battleships.

After all, the development of torpedoes and monoplanes is too fast, and they have only been developed in recent years. Traditional battleship design ideas have not taken this into consideration, and they do lack certain actual combat tests.

Perhaps everyone really has no idea whether torpedoes and bombs can sink battleships, or whether anti-aircraft guns can hit monoplanes.

It's like in later generations, as ship-borne missiles can shoot farther and farther, satellite detection becomes more and more accurate, and even armed forces like the Houthis can achieve hypersonic speeds, the question of whether aircraft carriers are still useful and whether it is possible to return to the era of battleships is also being hotly debated online.

But before experiencing actual combat, no one can guarantee that aircraft carriers are really useless. For a major country that is determined to go into the deep blue, even though you know that this thing may be useless, you still have to bite the bullet and build it.

After all, actual combat is the only standard for testing weapons.

But the Battle of Pearl Harbor is over now. All the American battleships in Pearl Harbor have been destroyed. Are you still holding on to the old dream of having giant guns and battleships?
"Alright... let me tell you my conditions? Oh no, it's a request. I hope you can give me some help because we are allies."

However, he had already determined in his heart that there was at least a high probability that the British battleships would be taught a lesson by the Japanese planes and that they would lose the Anglo-Japanese naval battle.

At least the trend should be the same as the beginning of the Pacific War in history.

Since there is a high probability that Britain will lose, he naturally has to think about how to gain more benefits for himself.

Of course, Zheng Yi’s efforts over the years were not in vain. Even if the British army lost, although the general situation would not change much, the specific details would undoubtedly have changed a lot.

No matter what, the British Far East Navy is much stronger than in history. Even if it still loses to the Japanese, the damage it can cause to the Japanese should be greater than in history... right?

Furthermore, if such a fleet really suffered heavy losses in the Far East, the British naval power in the North African and Middle Eastern battlefields would certainly be greatly reduced. Then, in the Middle East and North Africa... I'm afraid that major changes would happen.

You know, Germany and Japan are the same, their weakness lies in oil, and the Middle East and North Africa are both rich in oil.

The United States' naval power has been largely destroyed by Japan. Even if it can be rebuilt in the short term, it will inevitably be invested in the Pacific battlefield first. As for the Middle East battlefield...

If Germany could gain an advantage in the Middle East battlefield and ensure the smooth flow of oil transportation, breaking through the British Navy's oil blockade...

I wipe?

Thinking about it this way, Zheng Yi seemed to really feel that this World War II might be very different.

Even if Britain wins, its power will be much weaker than it was historically. To me... this doesn't seem like a bad thing. Anyway, the US is there to back it up. As long as the US is there, the overall trajectory of the Pacific War should remain unchanged. So, a weaker British army wouldn't be a bad thing.

After all, historically, it was not until the 70s that Britain completely abandoned Asia and finally withdrew its troops from Singapore.

A little-known fact: Singapore has always had the position of president after its independence, and its first president was a British, and was the former Governor of Singapore.

Thinking about it this way...

Why does he feel that even if Singapore falls, it is acceptable?
After thinking for a moment, Zheng Yi said, "The Southern Alliance does bear some responsibility for the fall of Kota Bharu. I will criticize Tao Jun, but the Southern Alliance was established not long ago and lacks strategic depth. We still have a lot of shortcomings in all aspects."

"I hope... to ensure safety, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the entrepot trading companies can be moved to Penang."

"Also, Singapore is now facing a serious threat of war. I suggest that we temporarily move some of Singapore's trade businesses, especially the ship repair and shipbuilding industries, to Penang."

Hearing this, Bonar frowned and said, "How can such a small city like Penang fit in?"

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "We can still squeeze in if we squeeze in. At least trading companies and securities firms don't take up too much space. As for the port, the development of Alor Setar is already showing initial success. The shipyard can be temporarily located in Alor Setar, across the sea from Penang."

"It's all for safety, isn't it? I promise, as soon as the war is over, we'll immediately return these properties to where they came from. Just in case, I mean just in case, if Singapore falls, we won't let the Japanese take advantage of us, don't you agree?"

"Besides, Penang has everything except high-end technical talent, especially in the shipbuilding and naval fields. Of course, we also need talent in weaponry. I just got a loan of several hundred million US dollars from the United States, which allows me to do whatever I want."

"I'm planning to build a, uh... naval force, something that can be used for near-shore operations. This is a small, near-shore navy, primarily composed of light ships. We're mainly concerned about Japanese spies, or small groups of troops bypassing Singapore and infiltrating Penang."

"For Penang's self-preservation and stability, your British shipbuilding technology, industrial capacity, and craftsmanship are far superior to those of the United States. So I absolutely need you. Can you please ask London to lend me some experienced craftsmen? Don't worry, I'll pay for everything."

All of the above are basically nonsense and excuses. Zheng Yi is simply fleecing the British.

Naturally, I have no intention of returning the borrowed items.

Actually, if you think about it, it's better that Singapore fell. Of course, it would be better if it could hold out against the Japanese for a while longer before falling. If it could fall just before the US counterattack, that would be even better.

Many of Zheng Yi's excuses are a bit ridiculous. Take the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, for example. Would war affect stock trading? It's just an office building, not a factory. Why would they need to move ahead?
Besides, even if we move, there is no need to move to Penang.

Penang also has a stock exchange center, and there is a strong overlap between the stock exchanges in Penang and Hong Kong Island.

If we move there, can we really move it back after the war?

Besides, there is no need for this.

As for needing craftsmen and setting up a navy?

What nonsense! Penang is such a small place, how can we have a navy? Besides, the war is about to start, how can we have a navy now? The so-called offshore navy is not as useful as a couple of coastal defense guns.

Penang itself also has a ship repair business, but the factory is small and can't repair large ships. This Singapore factory plus the workers sent from the UK...

That's definitely like throwing meat buns at a dog, there's no way back.

However, the generals all looked at each other in confusion. Faced with such a nonsensical "war demand", they actually started to think about it.

After all, they are not civil servants, so whether these things are moved or not has nothing to do with them. However, if they cannot shift the blame for the unfavorable battle, it will be a big trouble.

More importantly, they suddenly found that this matter was quite suitable for settling accounts.

Although Singapore is touted as a fortress and has indeed been seen for twenty years, what even Zheng Yi does not know is that the entire Singapore is a complete empty shell.

The entire Singapore Far East Fleet was originally supposed to have three destroyers and three cruisers, a total of six warships.

But in fact, these six warships have completely lost their ability to sail long distances and are completely useless ships.

As for the fortress?

In the past 20 years, only one in a hundred dollars has been truly spent in the right place. The reason why Singapore's cannons cannot turn is not as easy as Zheng Yi said. It can only be done by slightly adjusting the design.

Because there aren't many proper coastal defense guns in the whole of Singapore.

If you don’t even have a fucking gun, what’s the point of trying to adjust it?

It would be fine when there is no war, but now that the war has started, it is hard to say when London will seriously check the accounts.

As long as the repair shop moves, these six warships will not be able to sail long distances, and the issue of collecting empty salaries can... be passed on to Zheng Yi, right?
"Mr. Zheng, would you like a coastal defense gun in Penang?"

"Ah? Coastal defense artillery? You, Singapore's coastal defense artillery?"

"Of course, but... there's a slight discrepancy in caliber. Nominally, they're all cannons with a caliber of over 100mm."

"Actually?"

"Should be... 60...right? Is there?"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

Yes... or no...

As a maritime military fortress, you even dare to covet coastal defense artillery?
Zheng Yi didn't even dare to think about it.

(End of this chapter)