Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 196 The British era is completely over

In Zheng Yi's office in Penang, Mr. Henry from Shell Oil is performing hard.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Mr. Zheng, do you know that this order of yours has caused us to suffer tremendous losses? Who, who gave you such courage? You're going too far!"

"Zheng Yi, you destroyed our Shell Oil assets. You must give us an explanation."

After saying that, Henry sat down opposite Zheng Yi, looking very angry.

Zheng Yi was not in a hurry. He asked Li Lili to pour him a cup of coffee slowly and then signaled her to leave.

Just five days ago, it was Zheng Yi who issued the order, asking Chinese workers in Borneo and Indonesia to collectively set fire to the entire Indonesia and Borneo region, and even use explosives to destroy all the oil fields there.

The fire is still burning.

In Southeast Asia, even though oil workers are considered skilled workers, more than half of them are Chinese.

Although Zheng Yi did not have much contact with Indonesian Chinese, fortunately his reputation was still useful. After receiving the order, these Chinese workers really started working.

After burning it, just run to Penang as much as possible.

They are oil workers and know better than anyone how to ignite the oil well so that it burns big and well.

And then, that's what happened. Henry came to Penang to find him and ask for an explanation.

"Calm down, don't be angry, Henry, my friend, we are all civilized people."

"Fuck! Damn civilization! Who wants to be friends with a yellow monkey like you? Do you know how much money you've caused us to lose by setting this fire? I..."

Zheng Yi calmly interrupted, "Does Mr. Henry have a gun?"

"What? A gun? No."

Zheng Yi just asked. If he had a gun, his guards would not have let him in.

Before he could finish, he took out a pistol from the drawer. Without waiting for Henry to react, he raised it and fired a shot right at his ear.

"Oh fuck, you..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw Zheng Yi had already put the muzzle of the gun to his forehead.

"Oh~, don't be like this, Yi, we are friends, aren't we?"

Hearing the gunshots, Ma Kui and his men rushed in. He was relieved to see that it was Zheng Yi who fired the shot.

Zheng Yi waved his hand, signaling them to go out.

Then he put away his gun, smiled warmly and said, "Of course, we are friends, Henry. We were friends before, we are friends now, and we will always be good friends in the future."

"I just hope you can understand, my friend, that at least in Southeast Asia, the era when you British have the final say is over. Do you understand?"

"What a coincidence! Just yesterday, your Fatty Qiu personally sent me a telegram, actually ordering me to send troops to Singapore to help defend them. Do you know how I responded to him?"

"There's only one word: Get out."

"Mr. Henry, I guess you are deliberately pretending to be completely innocent to test me, right? But it doesn't matter. Whether you are pretending or are truly arrogant and stupid, I am now officially informing you:"

"Britain's two hundred years of rule in Southeast Asia has ended. Even if Japan is defeated in the next few years, there will be no place for you in the Southeast Asia after the victory. I no longer have any need for your help, and I no longer have any reason to cooperate with you useless people."

"Mr. Henry, we are still friends, but I hope you can see more clearly where your place is."

Henry: “…………”

Historically, the United States had explicitly issued orders to destroy Indonesia's oil fields before it was occupied.

However, in the Indonesian War, the 100,000 Allied troops were still dominated and commanded by the British.

The reason why a waste is a waste is that his execution ability is extremely poor.

First, the British naively thought that they had an advantage because they had 100,000 allied troops and were reluctant to destroy their own industry.

The oil field does not belong to the Americans, so of course the Americans can talk without any concern. Whoever owns the oil field should take care of it.

Second, Shell Oil has been exerting pressure.

More than 90% of Indonesia's oil comes from Shell, which is also Shell's greatest confidence and one of the most important core assets as the world's leading manufacturing company.

To put it bluntly, anyone with a high enough status in the international arena can actually see that the Japanese will be defeated sooner or later.

Shell thought that after defeating the Japanese, they would come back sooner or later, so the oil fields could be considered as temporarily loaned to the Japanese.

But if you set fire to the oil, it will naturally be different.

This is an oil well.

I don’t know if it can be put out.

At this critical juncture, there is really no experience in dealing with such deliberate fires in oil fields, and no one knows what the consequences will be.

If you light a fire, the entire oil field might be ruined.

That is my Shell’s property!
It goes without saying that Shell has a lot of power in the UK and the Netherlands. The oil fields also belong to them. If they stop the burning, the coalition forces will just give in.

Besides, to be honest, the coalition forces themselves don't want to burn oil.

Everyone knows that the Japanese only supply Southeast Asia, and their most important strategic target is Indonesia's oil.

If you burn it down, the Japanese will go crazy.

They were already showing signs of surrendering. Given the brutality of the Japanese, if the oil fields were burned, there was no point in them surrendering.

The owner didn't allow it to be burned, the people in charge didn't want to burn it, and the British upper class was inexplicably confident that there was no need to burn it.

The combination of these three factors made it possible for the Japanese army to take over Indonesia's oil almost intact in history, and to breathe a sigh of relief.

Who would have thought that Zheng Yi could bypass Britain and the United States, and Shell Oil Company, and directly give orders to the workers working in the oil fields, and those workers actually carried out his orders?

But this matter itself is a bit difficult to handle because Britain, the United States and the Netherlands have completely different positions on this issue.

The American media reported this incident as a heroic deed, especially since Penang is a gathering place for American media and Ms. Thomson is still based in Penang.

The degree of freedom of the American media is relatively the highest among the mainstream countries in the world, and Americans are also extremely ambitious. Since the Pearl Harbor incident, almost all media have been madly mocking the government.

It's probably something like: What's going on in this country? I'm thinking about it now.

The American people's thinking is generally similar to that of the University of Tokyo eighty years later: radicals believe that a draw is a failure, and conservatives believe that radicals are too conservative.

Zheng Yi was already well-known in American society. Looking back at his theory of Japanese threat after the Pearl Harbor incident, he has been deified to a certain extent even in the United States.

Moreover, the American media particularly likes to exaggerate the failure of the Philippines, the bombing of Manila, and the failure of Indonesia, while also exaggerating the success of the Changsha Defense War and the persistence of the University of Tokyo in its struggle for many years despite the lack of guns and ammunition.

In short, it highlights a contrast: look at them, then look at you. Is it shameful? Are you ashamed?

To the extent that the government, especially the top US military officials, now feel a bit PTSD when asked about Xue Yue by the media.

Regarding the incident of burning the oil field, all media reports were in the same tone: Mr. Zheng is worthy of being a Chinese, he is so tough.

The British media is playing dead.

Because Britain's defeat in the Far East was too devastating, there was absolutely no way to report it.

To put it bluntly, the reason why the American media still dares to mock the US government is essentially because they are confident in the national strength of the United States. It is actually a collective social awareness of shame and courage.

And Britain is now completely finished.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the so-called British Empire is doomed.

Of course, the Dutch media had a completely different view, severely condemning Zheng Yi's behavior: You are burning my oil!
It’s just that the Netherlands itself doesn’t have any global media. At this critical juncture when World War II has completely broken out, no one except the Dutch people really pays attention to what their media says.

Even Zheng Yi has completely ignored them.

Under such circumstances, Shell, as the world's largest manufacturing company, is naturally in an awkward position, and the development of the entire company is facing a major crisis.

This is because he is running away from the evil fire.

As he was speaking, the phone on Zheng Yi's desk rang. When he picked it up, he was completely stunned.

"What the hell? Wang Qiaoyun is involved with the Japanese? Okay, I get it."

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Yi didn't give Henry any more face and said, "Sorry, Henry, I have something to do now. Let's talk another day when we have a chance."

"But as a friend, I can give you a piece of advice for free: Britain is finished. Even if you can win the war, it is finished. What awaits it is the complete disintegration of its colonies around the world."

"Shell Oil, as the world's largest company and one of the most nationally recognized companies in the oil industry, is now facing an inevitable decline without the backing of the world's largest country."

"As a shareholder of the company, the best way to deal with it right now is to sell your shares as quickly as possible to Americans."

"As company managers, you should consider that the previous development model is no longer viable. You must consider coordinating your overseas interests with local powerful parties."

"Whether it's the UK or Shell, they no longer have the power to bully others around the world. If they don't want to be bullied back, it's always better to face reality as soon as possible."

"As for the Netherlands, haha, just be thankful that you're not being bullied by others."

"At the very least, learn from the Americans."

After saying that, Zheng Yi patted his hands, stood up and left.

In fact, Americans during this period, at least compared to the British, can truly be called the beacon of the world.

Take oil development as an example. In the UK, Shell and other companies share 91% of the oil between them and the local government. In France, the share is 82%. In the US, the share is 50:50.

Of course, you can also criticize the United States as a colonizer and ask why I should give you half of my own oil. But compared with Britain and France, it does look much better.

This is also the reason why Zheng Yi is so confident: the British are finished.

In the post-World War II world, there are only two types of former British colonies: either they actively seek out the United States and hope to share the colony with the United States on a 50-50 basis.

Or, they didn’t even bother looking for the US and just confiscated everything.

Anyway, no one will be willing to continue to share a 90-100 ratio with the British.

The British still wanted to ask the Americans for help, but the United States is a 50-50 superpower, so why should it help a superpower with a 90-100 ratio?
Since the fall of Pattani, Zheng Yi no longer had any use for the British, but he took the lead and turned against the British.

Not detaining the British navy at the Penang Naval Base, but allowing them to go to Singapore and gather there to wait to be eliminated by the Japanese army was Zheng Yi's last act of kindness towards his old employer, Britain.

Of course, the trouble is still not small.

Recently, more and more Chinese workers have come here to seek refuge from Indonesia and Singapore.

After all, these Indonesian oil workers set fire to the oil field on Zheng Yi's orders.

Although Zheng Yi certainly could not save most of the people, he should try to rescue them as much as possible. After all, the Japanese army in this time and space could not sweep across Malaya as they did in history because of the Patani War, and it was even more impossible for the naval force to blockade the entire Indonesia.

Even the Allies performed slightly better than they may have in history.

In just three months, the population of Penang has increased by more than one million. Recently, we have not been busy with anything else but settling these new refugees.

Especially those oil workers who set fire to the wells, Zheng Yi treated them as war heroes, and naturally it was impossible for him to let them sleep on the streets like the Singaporean refugees.

The population pressure is even greater than Zheng Yi originally imagined.

Until he saw the telegram sent to him by Rensuke Isogai.

"Are you sure this is Wang Qiaoyun using Isogai Lianjie's telegraph machine? Is Qiaoyun safe now?"

Qian Qiwen said, "I just confirmed with the Hong Kong media that Wang Qiaoyun has been published in the newspaper. The Japanese media are hyping it up. There's a photo of her and Isogai Lianjie. There are rumors in Hong Kong that she will represent you in peace talks with Japan."

"Is that really nonsense? Haha, you're afraid I won't agree."

After saying that, Zheng Yi took the telegram and started reading it.

The whole plan was actually very simple. Wang Qiaoyun would step forward and use Zheng Yi's relationship to provide credit endorsement. The Hongmen and Qingbang, mainly the Hongmen people, would be responsible for organizing the transfer to Macau, and the Japanese would no longer be involved.

They simply promised that they would not attack the immigrant ship if Penang could send a boat to pick them up.

During the time these people are waiting in Macau, they need to be self-sufficient in food, and even have to get some from Penang.

He and Wang Qiaoyun had completely lost contact more than a month ago, and no one knew whether she was alive or dead. Now that he received his telegram, although it was sent through the Japanese, Zheng Yi still felt quite relieved.

At least he's still alive, right?

“What do you think? Will there be any problems if Penang accepts another 700,000 people?”

Although it was not a general meeting, several powerful overseas Chinese leaders were present in the conference room, even Toyoda Risaburo.

To be honest, Zheng Yi now trusts Toyota Risaburo more than most local Chinese in Penang.

If Penang were lost, the Chinese might become traitors and slaves of their country, and Toyota Risaburo.

I'm afraid it's hard to even have a good death.

Qian Qiwen was the first to speak up. "Mr. Zheng, we're all family here. I think we can speak frankly about anything. In your opinion, are the Americans really capable of returning within a year? Are you sure? In your opinion, are the Japanese truly capable of blockading Penang?"

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but nod their heads with an expression of approval.

Penang, because of its large number of Japanese residents, is more concerned about domestic affairs in Japan and is more sensitive and well-informed. One can even directly listen to authentic Japanese broadcasts from Japan.

Originally, everyone had some faith in Zheng Yi, but recently, the Japanese media has been a bit too abstract.

Moreover, everyone can see through the Japanese conspiracy at a glance, but it also makes people wonder: How confident are the Japanese that they can blockade the Pacific Ocean?
Honestly speaking, if Penang could be completely blocked, even without adding any more people, it’s hard to say whether the existing population could survive for a year.

But it is already urgent, and they need Zheng Yi to give them another reassurance.

Confidence is something much more precious than gold and diamonds.

Moreover, confidence is something that is always conserved. If Japan has more confidence, Penang will naturally become a little weaker.

It is no secret that the Japanese yen deposits at Penang Yasuda Bank have decreased by more than half in recent times. There are no more Japanese people coming to deposit money, but more people coming to withdraw money.

Lim Sioe Liong even specifically asked Zheng Yi whether he wanted to close the door and not let them take the money away. Zheng Yi did not agree, saying that Penang is an international financial port and they can stay or leave as they please.

He planned to use this as a classic case to brag to the world.

Will Switzerland be the biggest competitor of Penang's banking industry in the future? Keeping customer information confidential is nothing. The banks in Penang fought with the Japanese so hard that their brains were completely screwed. Even when the war was at its most intense and pessimistic, they still insisted on paying the full amount.

Isn't this what's called credibility?

He even hoped that the Japanese would take away all the yen, so that he could have this short story printed in every copy of "Yilin" and "Reader" in the world.

There is no better advertising and marketing than this.

Of course, it is not only the Japanese who are confused at this time, but the Chinese will also be affected.

After all, Japan is too crazy now.

Their domestic media are really boasting all day long that a US counterattack is impossible.

Not only the media, but their top military officials are also holding meetings and seriously discussing whether the next step should be to attack California or London.

They truly believed that the Japanese, as the chosen people, should rule the world.

Seeing that even Qian Qiwen couldn't help asking, Zheng Yi knew that the lack of confidence was probably Penang's biggest problem now.

He laughed and said, "I've also listened to the Japanese public opinion, and I can only say that it's quite funny."

"Even by the most conservative estimates, the U.S.'s industrial capacity is more than 40 times that of Japan. I personally believe that this figure may actually be even higher."

"The only reason the Japanese military believed they could defeat Europe and the United States was that they were braver than the Europeans and Americans, and that the British and Americans were useless. They thought they were more courageous, that's all."

"Honestly, this theory is completely illogical. The British are indeed useless, and I agree with that. However, this is also because there is a war in their homeland. North Africa and the Middle East are more important to Britain than the Far East."

"To be honest, I don't understand the basis for the claim that Americans are useless. Did the US-Philippines surrender? Weren't they still fighting the Japanese despite being at a huge strategic disadvantage?"

"I have an agreement with Marshal Mac. He will personally fly to Penang tomorrow afternoon. An expert ace pilot will also be sent from the US mainland to take over the entire training of the Penang Air Force."

"Whether the Americans truly lack courage or not, you'll know when the time comes. Ultimately, they simply lack combat experience. Furthermore, their domestic anti-war sentiment has been so long, and their excessive love of peace has led to a decline in their military preparations, especially the army, which is practically useless."

"But lack of experience and preparation is completely different from lack of ability and courage. This is a typical case of excessive internal propaganda, leading to self-belief."

And now, the American industrial giant has been awakened by the Japanese with a big slap in the face and a big slap in the face.

"In short, believe me. Back then, everyone was convinced that Japan wouldn't dare attack Southeast Asia. I was the only one who firmly believed that the Japanese would definitely attack. It's the same now. The Japanese aren't that strong."

"At least in my opinion, the difference in courage between the Japanese and American forces should be far from enough to make up for the gap in industrial strength that is more than forty times greater."

"These things don't need to be discussed. Just trust me. Let's discuss the issue of Hong Kong Island's 70 people."

Qian Qiwen: "If it's only 70, it's not so bad, but I'm afraid it will never end. Today the Japanese can send 70 people from Hong Kong Island to Macau. Tomorrow? They can send 70 people from Guangdong to Macau. And the day after tomorrow? Maybe they'll send people from North China to Macau. I'm afraid it will never end."

Zheng Yi couldn't help but frown upon hearing this, and could only say, "Let's take it one step at a time. Hong Kong Island itself is in a special situation. It might not be that easy for the Japanese to send mainland Chinese people to Macau."

"This might actually be a good thing. The biggest problem for Nanyang's development is insufficient population, especially the Chinese population. Now the Japanese are offering to increase our population. If we can afford it, why not? Wars always end one day."

"What I'm more concerned about now is whether Penang can accommodate such a large population. I can send men to fight the Japanese on the battlefield, but the elderly, the weak, women and children will eventually consume our city's resources. In other words, what is the upper limit of Penang's population capacity?"

Qian Qiwen: "Public resources are indeed quite tight, but with thought, it may be possible to overcome this. The quality of life of city residents will definitely decline. To put it bluntly, if cars are banned and refugees are forced to sleep on the streets, I think it's possible. This is Southeast Asia, after all, it's not cold."

Tan Kah Kee added, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. We can force the original residents of Penang to accept refugees, whether from Hong Kong Island, Indonesia, or Singapore. Men, we can give them a gun and send them to Alor Setar to fight the Japanese. That's perfectly legitimate. But women, children, and the elderly can be temporarily relocated to the homes of local residents."

Zheng Yi: "I think this is a good idea. In times of emergency, forget about family life. Men should either go to the battlefield or live in the factory, working overtime when they wake up. Residential buildings should be temporarily occupied by the elderly, women, and children."

"I suggest that we set an example by vacating the villa area on Penang Hill and even the small townhouses at the foot of the hill to serve as a shelter. All of you who usually live in villas, please come stay at my house. We can squeeze in and there will be room for you. It will also be convenient for us to hold meetings."

When everyone heard this, they didn't have any objections. After all, they were fighting against the Japanese and it was a life-and-death situation. Housing was already so tight, and it would be too hateful if they still had to live in a big villa.

Li Xiaoshi also suggested, "Starting tomorrow, Penang's food and water will be rationed. If we issue food coupons, will that help it last longer?"

Zheng Yi thought for a moment and said, "Let's issue some rice coupons. There's no need to go to such extremes with total control. The Japanese army doesn't have the ability to maintain a long-term blockade of Penang."

A long-term blockade is not that easy. Even if the Japanese army can mobilize a hundred or eighty warships and aircraft carriers to blockade the sea area, how long can they blockade it? Ten days? Twenty days? Will the navy in the war go without food or water?
The extremely valuable navy is used for this?

Are there fewer ships coming, or are they closer to Penang? Do they think that Penang’s coastal defense artillery and air force are just decorations?

Don't think too strongly of the blockade tactics. To completely blockade an island, it will only take ten days or half a month at most.

"As long as Alor Setar and Rangoon are not lost, and the Yunnan-Burma Railway in Rangoon is not lost, at least the potatoes from Yunnan should be enough for us to eat. The Japanese army definitely does not have the ability to blockade Rangoon and Penang. At most, they can arrange some destroyers to patrol, but they can't achieve a complete blockade. Moreover, we can use aircraft to control the sea, unless they get at least four or five aircraft carriers to patrol this sea area freely."

Chen Qiwen: "So...if Yangon, or even the Yunnan-Burma Railway, is cut off, will we still have enough food?"

Zheng Yi shrugged. "Let's take a gamble. The food stored in Penang is enough to feed at least 500 million people for a year. We can survive even if Yangon is lost. But if we accept this group of refugees, and even more refugees in the future, Yangon absolutely cannot be lost. Otherwise, we will starve to death. Do you think we should take the gamble?"

Upon hearing this, Tan Kah Kee burst into laughter and said, "Mr. Zheng decided to develop Yangon because of today, didn't he? In a war, how can there be a 100% guarantee of success?"

"Okay, then, let's take it and contact the Japanese. It's just 70 people, isn't it? They're offering me their labor force. I'm so happy! I'll eat as much as they can."

(End of this chapter)