Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 191 The Twilight of the British Empire, the End of a Third-Rate Army
It wasn't until Zheng Yi sorted out all the items on the plate and weighed them one by one, accurate to the gram, that he calmly said:

"I remember that during wartime, the food standard in SAARC was one dollar per soldier per day. You also had your own food processing factory. In Perlis, there was land dedicated to rice cultivation, as well as a dedicated military food processing factory."

"Plus, the military itself purchases goods on a large scale, with no tax, labor, or operating costs. If converted, this is roughly equivalent to the cost of a regular restaurant of over two dollars. If converted to food stalls or food stalls, it's almost three or even four dollars per person."

"Four dollars a day for three meals, fifty cents in the morning, two dollars at noon, and one dollar and fifty cents in the evening, right, Lao Tao, am I right?"

"Yes, no, no, that's right."

Zheng Yi: "A two-dollar meal, dollars, two dollars. If you go to a restaurant and spend two dollars on a meal, and the boss gives you this, would you flip the table?"

"Meat and eggs combined don't even make 100 grams. And according to the military logistics standards I mentioned earlier, wartime meat intake per meal must not be less than 150 grams, and eggs must not be less than 50 grams. You're almost half that."

"Besides, it's okay that there's not much meat, but why isn't there any fruit? This is Southeast Asia, aren't there tropical fruits everywhere? Does Pattani only produce rubber and not fruit?"

"Is it because of some transportation problem? If I remember correctly, we cooperated with the British Army to provide logistical support for Patani. Anything we need to purchase can be shipped directly from Singapore. Have you received payment for the British Army's transport ships?"

Zheng Yi picked up the meal he had just eaten and said, "The food in the officers' kitchen is quite good. At least the one I had was quite delicious. It should be a separate stir-fry, but it doesn't matter. I don't intend to pursue it."

"But I think your food and military supplies are indeed a big problem."

"me……"

Tao Jun was also confused for a moment and quickly said, "I, I don't know. No one has ever reported this problem to me. I really don't know, and no one among the soldiers has complained."

After all, it is a Chinese army, especially these officers, most of whom are from the Guangxi clique. In the past, when they were in China, they were lucky to have enough food to eat.

Indeed, no one has ever thought that even if they have meat to eat, they still feel it is not enough.

Zheng Yi said earnestly, "I've always believed that weapons and equipment aren't the most important factor in determining the strength of an army. In the end, any war is fought over people."

"Human initiative and fighting spirit are the decisive factors in determining whether an army is second-rate or third-rate. An army lacking initiative, even if armed with the world's most advanced weapons and operating top-notch tanks and fighter jets, is likely to be defeated by light infantry guerrillas wearing slippers."

"Do you know what the most basic guarantee of fighting spirit is? It's discipline. Discipline isn't just about following orders; it's also about fundamental integrity. The food in the cafeteria is the most direct criterion for judging the quality of an army's discipline."

"I visited you guys when you were stationed in Perak before, and the food was pretty good. Why is it so bad this time? Everyone, from top to bottom, embezzled at least half of the wartime food allowance. During the war, military discipline has actually deteriorated. How can this be acceptable?"

"Call the director of the General Affairs Department."

"Yes."

Zheng Yi was not a soldier in his previous life, so he didn't know how to boost morale or enforce discipline. But he had worked in a state-owned enterprise and often chatted with people, so he more or less knew a little about the methods and ways of enforcing military discipline in later generations.

Among them, the most important focus is the army’s food standards, which must ensure that money can be put into the soldiers’ mouths.

It is said that this is what the domestic military did after 2010. They did this every few days, using a small scale to check, requiring that every item of meat, eggs, milk, vitamins, dietary fiber, etc. must be accurate to the gram, and any difference of even one gram would result in punishment.

It is said that the quality of an army's military discipline can be reflected in its food supply.

A little-known fact is that the per capita food standard of the South Korean military is similar to that in China.

At least in China, at the very least, the worst kitchen can only offer self-service lunch boxes for over 15 yuan, but Han Jun's meal tasted almost like that of the prisoners in prison.

No matter how expensive the food on the peninsula is, it is not that exaggerated. Besides, no country in the world has ever heard of charging tariffs for military supplies. All food is imported with zero tariffs. How expensive can it be?

Of course, it is still better than India. I heard that there are soldiers in the Indian army who are fed pig feed directly before going to the hospital.

Anyway, according to his colleagues who had served in the army in his previous life, if the food in an army can be guaranteed, there will definitely be less bullying in the army, and the discipline will at least not be bad.

On the contrary, the worse the food in the army, the more serious the seniority system and bullying will be, and the worse the military discipline will be.

Zheng Yi actually didn’t understand the reason behind this, but since that’s what people said later, it should make sense. He also heard that after 2010, the military discipline had indeed been greatly improved compared to before.

No matter why, since it is a useful method, he will just follow suit and learn from it.

He doesn't want a second-rate army, he wants a first-rate one.

After a while, the Director of Military Affairs was brought over.

Zheng Yi turned around and asked Tao Jun, "Is he your trusted confidant?"

Tao Jun nodded.

"Then I can't give you this face today."

"clear."

It was obvious that Zheng Yi was sharpening his knife. Not to mention bailing out the person, it would be a blessing if he didn't get implicated.

Zheng Yi repeated the problem of the food being short in weight, and the Director of Military Affairs was immediately frightened to the point of kneeling on the ground, sweating profusely.

But he quickly defended himself, "I, I, I didn't know, Mr. Zheng. These, these were all done behind my back by the people below. I didn't pay much attention to the food issue. Please, please spare me, Mr. Zheng, please spare me."

Zheng Yi said, "I don't know whether what you said is true or not. You know, I'm still very busy and don't have time to ask you about your affairs in detail. I can't tell whether you are really wronged or not."

"But I won't be rude and shoot you down just because there's something wrong with the food money. That's totally inappropriate. After all, you're not a small official. If there's any problem, I'll start with the leader above me.

In the future, everyone will stop doing anything and will definitely be hesitant. This is actually a disguised encouragement of 'the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; and if you do nothing, no mistakes you make.'"

"But now that I've caught him in this matter today, I can't just let it go. It's definitely inappropriate for anyone else to investigate a matter I personally inquired about. You're Lao Tao's confidant, and if I investigate you too harshly, I'll offend him."

On the side, Tao Jun hurriedly shook his head like a rattle.

Zheng Yi continued, "Look over there, someone is recording the entire process. I will inform the entire army about today's incident. All soldiers will know that their food allowances have been withheld."

"Each platoon should vote to elect a representative for the Disciplinary Committee. The Disciplinary Committee will investigate this matter and provide an explanation to all the soldiers."

"The deductions made by your logistics department should have gone to the soldiers' pay, but are you letting the soldiers be your judges? Who deserves the death penalty and who made an unintentional mistake? Who in your department deserves minor punishment and who deserves a major reprimand? This disciplinary committee will decide."

"In the future, the Disciplinary Committee will be a permanent position, and soldiers at the grassroots level will take turns to serve. Even if you are facing Tao Jun, you can still review any issues. The review process and results will be sent directly to the Labor Bureau."

"During the period of the disciplinary committee's investigation into military discipline, they did not need to report to Tao Jun. Instead, they reported directly to my wife, Li Jiazhi from the Labor Bureau."

"In addition to corruption, the disciplinary committee also needs to investigate bullying in the military, logistics support, whether there are thieves joining the army, looting fellow villagers and other disruptive behaviors, and whether soldiers are strictly following combat orders. These are all under their jurisdiction."

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "I've always believed that the masses, as a collective, may not necessarily possess much wisdom and may have difficulty making correct decisions, but they certainly have a keen eye."

"Whether you are a good director or not, let the soldiers judge for themselves. I believe that if you are a good officer, they will not wrongly accuse you. Otherwise, they will not let you go."

Then he turned to look at Tao Jun: "Old Tao, what do you think?"

Tao Jun: "Good! Good, good, good, good, that's great! Mr. Zheng, your internal rectification method is absolutely amazing."

This tactic was certainly not his original idea. In fact, at the same time in Yan'an, the army also had similar tactics.

"As for you, Mr. Wu."

Wu Aihua leaned slightly and nodded to Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi: "Although Pattani has joined the Southern Association for Regional Cooperation, you represent the entire Siam after all. Mr. Wu, you are naturally different from Lao Tao and others.

Lao Tao is now considered my man, and I can naturally deal with his confidants at will. I don't know what the internal situation of your Siamese army is."

"But Mr. Wu, as far as I know, the Teochew gang in Penang alone has donated more than five million US dollars to you during this period.
Your military supplies, weapons, and ammunition are almost all provided by Penang. As far as I know, your army's per capita logistical support even exceeds ours."

"I have to say, Chaozhou people are really united in their work."

Moreover, their influence in Southeast Asia is indeed not small, almost second only to the Xiamen people. Even Zheng Yi is sometimes quite afraid of them.

By the way, Wu Aihua is also the president of the Chaozhou Trade Union. Chaozhou people all over Nanyang are supporting him like crazy.

It is unlikely that Wu Aihua can be compared with Zheng Yi, but if he wants to be on par with or even surpass Tan Kah Kee, I am afraid that the Chaozhou people have this idea.

Of course, it was impossible for Zheng Yi to really treat Wu Aihua as his subordinate and give him orders on his behalf. His position was always clear: he was just a collaborator.

He never thought of him as Wu Aihua, a Teochew Chinese, but as the iron-fisted strongman Luang Phibun in Thai politics in his memory.

Wu Aihua's face was obviously not very good. The problem of military corruption happened in front of Mr. Zheng, which was really a slap in his face.

"Don't worry, Mr. Zheng. I will deal with this seriously. However, I think Mr. Zheng doesn't intend to defend Patani to the death. However, I heard that the British's invincible deterrent fleet has already headed north to seek a decisive battle with Japan. Mr. Zheng, do you have a negative view of the British army?"

Zheng Yi asked in return, "If the British army loses, Mr. Wu, do you think that our army can hold on to Pattani tenaciously after completely losing its navy?"

Wu Aihua: "If we retreat, where will our Siamese army go? I still have Thais and Malays on my side."

Zheng Yi: "Mr. Wu, you're joking. You're the president of the Teochew Chamber of Commerce. The Teochew Chamber of Commerce is an important part of our Nanyang Chinese community and one of the most important founding chambers of commerce in Penang. Even I wouldn't dare not welcome the president of the Teochew Chamber of Commerce. Penang was originally built by the Teochew Chamber of Commerce. When you return to Penang, you're not being a guest, you're coming home."

"As for the Malays, as the saying goes, all Malays are one family. Alor Setar is now effectively the capital of the Malays, at least the economic capital. If they can retreat to Alor Setar and fight alongside their Malay compatriots, how could anyone not welcome them?"

"Of course, if anyone is willing to stay, or if you think there are any locals who are reliable, you can leave enough weapons and supplies for them before retreating to fight guerrilla warfare against the Japanese."

"The Japanese army has always been brutal. After occupying Pattani, they will certainly use brutal repression. In fact, there is no need to worry about the local Malays opposing them. I can promise them that after the Japanese troops withdraw, these industrial enterprises in Pattani can be left to the local Malays and Thais who participated in the guerrillas."

"As for the British Navy's decisive battle northward... Honestly, I'm not very optimistic about it."

………………

Just when Zheng Yi came to Pattani to visit and comfort the troops, the Prince of Wales had already led the mighty deterrent fleet towards the north.

They made no attempt to evade Japanese reconnaissance planes throughout the entire process, and relied on the strength of their navy to force their way through.

In fact, the Japanese army did not need to conduct reconnaissance.

The British army's battle itself was quite unwise. It was more of a political battle than a military battle. The Middle East and North Africa were in crisis, and Japan was like a mad dog biting everyone it saw in the Pacific battlefield. In addition, Kota Bharu Port was lost.

To put it bluntly, the British Empire, which looked very beautiful but was completely blown up by a big bubble, has been blown out.

Throughout history, any powerful and aging empire, when the bubble has just been burst, even the most rational and calm ruling class will often go through a process of being impulsive, unwilling to accept, or even hysterical.

The order to go north to seek an opportunity for a decisive battle with the Japanese army was not even issued from Nanyang, but from London.

We just hope that the naval advantage can save the empire's face a little.

This is also the reason why even Zheng Yi was too lazy to stop them and let them die.

Long before setting off, the British army made a public declaration with great fanfare that they were about to counterattack and take revenge.

They even invited BBC reporters and broadcasting equipment to the Prince of Wales for a live broadcast.

God knows how the Japanese army felt when they heard about such a large-scale military operation by the British army on public broadcasts, and the broadcast information was not false.

Faced with such a powerful opponent, the Japanese army would certainly not retreat. The Japanese army was divided into two factions. One faction was led by Kazuo Okada, who believed that battleships must be sent to meet the enemy at sea and engage in a direct confrontation with the Japanese army.

The other faction, led by Sanhe Giyu, believed that they should avoid the strong and attack the weak, arrange for the Japanese navy to retreat, and use the air force to attack first, harass and tire the enemy, and then arrange for ships to attack after the enemy reveals a flaw.

As for the Japanese army, the majority of people undoubtedly support Kazuo Okada. Everyone has not yet come to their senses and still believes that battleships are the overlords of the sea. After all, the Japanese army was learned from the British, and even their combat thinking is the same as that of the British.

However, the commander of the Japanese fleet was Yamamoto after all.

Yamamoto was definitely not a famous general in terms of tactical means. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he had always acted like a lackey licking the United States, and was not liked by the navy at all.

However, this man's greatest characteristic is his excellent vision and courage. He is currently the only one in Japan, and very likely the world, who firmly believes that the era of battleships is over and that the flying squadron will be the trump card in future naval battles.

The success of the Pearl Harbor attack is a clear proof of his military thinking.

Of course, it was a sneak attack. Not only did the United States refuse to admit defeat, but even on the Japanese side, most generals tended to think that it meant nothing and still wanted to believe that battleships were the king of naval warfare.

And this current battle.

It was time for Yamamoto to verify his military theory.

As the British army entered the bombing range of land-based aircraft, Yamamoto ordered aircraft from various bases to take off and launch a charge symbolizing courage towards the seemingly majestic Prince of Wales and the six old-style battleships behind it.

At the same time, the submarines ambushing underwater have also released their deadly minions. Yamamoto, who is addicted to gambling, has dispatched all the planes he can mobilize this time.
He himself boarded the Nagato and took a large battleship fleet to go around the rear, forming a pincer attack with the Kongo to encircle the British army.

More than a thousand planes occupied the entire sky, blocking out the sun.

This "Yamamoto-style" naval warfare method emphasizes that miracles can only be achieved through great efforts, and a wave of attack is the key to success. Failure to succeed means death, and it is easy to make people's adrenaline surge. This mad dog-like attack really made the British army a little overwhelmed for a while.

Major General Matsunaga Sadachi also boarded the plane himself. In a moment of excitement, he charged like a suicide squad and personally dropped the plane onto the British warship.

At this time, the British army, which had no idea that a decisive battle was imminent, did not feel the slightest bit of tension.

Originally in history, the British army only sent one battleship to the Far East, and still did not take the Japanese seriously. They were so arrogant. What’s more, now they have seven battleships?
Besides, they are indeed responsible for the task of political propaganda.

The camera queuing game that Zheng Yi created after get off work also inspired the British. They also understood the importance of publicity, although they were not as convenient as Zheng Yi to establish a joint venture film factory with Kodak in Penang.

But the navy, at least on every ship, is equipped with real, authentic reporters who interview and take pictures of the marines excitedly, even enthusiastically, before the decisive battle.

The BBC radio station was also carrying the latest model of hand-cranked, plastic-based, color camera, recording the heroic posture of the British Navy soldiers as they were about to meet the enemy.

"Hello, Vice Admiral Phelps, it seems we have already crossed the waters of Hainan Island and are about to reach Hong Kong Island. Do you think the Japanese army has the courage to engage in a decisive battle with us at sea?"

Phelps: "Oh, I certainly don't think so, dear. You see, the Japanese Navy has always been a poor imitation of our Royal Navy."

"From weapons and equipment, training methods, strategies and tactics, to organizational structure, they are completely copied from us. They have no technology of their own.
I'm sure that once the Japanese know we're here, they'll tremble and hide in their mainland military bases, not daring to come out. They know that if they do come out, they'll be destroyed by our powerful artillery fire!"

Hearing this, even the reporter holding the microphone couldn't help but excitedly clenched his fist and said, "General, you said it very well. My dear friends in Guanzhong, please believe that the British Empire still has the most powerful navy in the world. We are invincible. We..."

Just as he finished speaking, the reporter suddenly heard a buzzing sound that was getting louder and louder, coming towards them and getting closer and closer.

"What's that sound? Oh my God, it's a Japanese plane, General, the Japanese have sent planes to attack us."

Phelps sneered at this and said, "Don't worry about it. Planes are just annoying mosquitoes in front of battleships. Mr. Reporter, there's no need to panic. This is the Prince of Wales, the pride of the British Empire. It has a very comprehensive air defense system. I can assure you that there's absolutely no chance that the Japanese will drop a bomb on our ship."

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a loud bang and a torpedo hit the side of the Prince of Wales.

"Where did the torpedo come from? A submarine?"

The BBC reporter was very curious and could not help but run to the side of the ship to take a look. However, he accidentally saw a scene that he would never forget in his life. He instinctively pressed the shutter of the camera in his hand. The photographer next to him also used a hand-cranked camera to record all this incredible thing.

However, when facing the Prince of Wales, the Japanese planes actually dived towards them from a very long distance, flying almost close to the sea surface, and fired a torpedo at the closest extreme distance to the ship, which was close to the water surface, that is, just on the waterline.

In the eyes of the British army, this method of bombing was simply a suicide attack. If they were not careful, the plane might fly into the sea or crash into the ship, resulting in the death of all passengers.

Besides, this kind of rapid dive and rapid ascent flying method is also a great test for the enemy pilot's own body, and it is easy for him to faint in the plane.

Before this, the British army really didn't know that the Japanese planes could actually perform such difficult maneuvers. They never thought that planes could actually launch torpedoes close to the waterline.

This is a bombing method that their white pilots dare not try, or even have never thought about.

Skillful.

During this period, the "Type 40" fighter jets that the Japanese army was proud of had not yet been deployed. In fact, the Japanese air force did not have much advantage compared with the mainstream first-line aircraft of Britain and the United States.

In other words, in the entire war system, the Japanese army basically had nothing that could really be shown to be superior to others, and was indeed lagging behind Britain and the United States in almost every detail.

But torpedoes are an exception.

The Type 93 oxygen torpedo is not inferior to those of Britain and the United States, and is even far superior.

The power was far beyond the British army's imagination.

Boom~Boom~Boom~Boom~
More and more torpedoes exploded on the flanks of the Prince of Wales, each one heading for the waterline.

The bombs in the sky also fell like raindrops. When facing the anti-aircraft fire from the ship, the Japanese planes dared to withstand the anti-aircraft guns and dived down without caring whether they would be killed by the anti-aircraft guns. They just kept dropping bombs close to their ships.

It was not until this moment that these British soldiers seemed to have figured out one thing: Could the Air Force be so brave and completely disregard its own life and death?

They had never imagined that pilots could be used in this way.

This is a precious pilot!
Is it used as a suicide squad?
What kind of opponents are these...a group...a ​​group?

This is a bunch of lunatics!
Boom~~
Another torpedo was thrown hard at the Prince of Wales, but this time there seemed to be something different.

呲~~
Just on the port side of the Prince of Wales, a thick column of water suddenly appeared and shot up into the sky, like a water dragon.

As the water dragon soared in the sky, Phelps' face turned green.

About ten minutes later, the signalman came running over in a panic: "No, General, no, just now, a Japanese torpedo hit the inner propulsion shaft on the port side."

"The propeller shaft was completely pushed back into the cabin, shattering the rudder blades. A large amount of debris flew out and damaged the boiler and an electrical room. Furthermore, the watertight compartment near the stern was also damaged by the torpedo."

"The Prince of Wales is losing control and taking on a small amount of water. It's a deadlock. What should we do?"

After saying this, the messenger couldn't bear it anymore and suddenly burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)