Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 253: No Money? You Want to Restrict My Spending? The French Bombard Haiphong Harbor
"What did you say? No money?"

Penang, Zheng Yi looked at Qian Qiwen in surprise and asked in the conference room.

Qian Qiwen: "It's not that we don't have money, but Penang and even the SAARC are indeed a bit tight on finances right now. Your trip to Kuala Lumpur this time... building a school, the government loan, plus the agricultural machinery loan you promised, and buying back land from the Chinese and Malays, I'm afraid the total cost will be over 10 billion South African francs."

Zheng Yi frowned. "Can't the SAARC even come up with 10 billion? I'm not asking for US dollars. Don't we print our own SA currency?"

Qian Qiwen: "We can't just print it randomly. The SAARC currency is a new currency. How can we maintain the exchange rate if we print it this way? The main thing is that this money itself is not included in this year's budget. It's only the beginning of the year."

As she spoke, Qian Qiwen couldn't help but want to pull her hair.

She had just been promoted, but she actually regretted the promotion.

"Ayi, the Southern Alliance is no longer a makeshift organization. You also said that it should be as formalized as possible. Shouldn't the budget system be improved? Can you discuss it before spending money? You are really spending too much."

In fact, SAARC does not completely lack a budget system. It’s just that the budget system itself is not given enough attention and the level is not high enough. It is just roughly checked and its actual binding force is very poor.

Especially the restraint on Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi always spends money however he wants and whenever he wants.

What budget or no budget? After all, before the war, Zheng Yi could spend more than he could earn, and he spent less than he earned.

Moreover, in the early years when the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation only had Penang, there was actually a lack of distinction between public and private, and there was no need for it.

Although the expenses during the war were huge, because of the close alliance between China and the United States, China could directly take whatever it needed from the United States without having to pay it back, and did not even consider the economic benefits.

But now the war is over, and the loans from the United States need to be repaid. The power of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is growing, and its spending is still so unrestrained, which is really a headache.

Qian Qiwen: "Since the beginning of this year, the cost of preparing for the construction of Singapore has exceeded 30 billion South Asian francs, and this is just the money for this year. To complete the entire plan, even 100 billion will be enough."

"That's not even counting the money for school construction and universal education, which was donated by the major chambers of commerce. The builders are also currently paying for the welfare housing they're building. Although they can earn back the money through commercial real estate in the future, these are actually liabilities for the Southern Alliance."

"Old Xu wants to withdraw his shares. 200 million US dollars, which is more than 4 billion in South African currency. The South African currency exchange rate has been declining, and Penang Bank's foreign exchange reserves are already very tight."

"You also want to set up a nuclear power plant research institute, which will cost at least tens of billions. You were in Japan for most of last year, and you didn't come back, but you spent your money like water. Your savings were basically gone, and you borrowed another $500 million from Bank of America. How much do you have left now? Don't you have to pay back the money you borrowed?"

"This year's fiscal plan also includes the expansion of government departments, the increase in the number of civil servants, and the continued replacement of the major chambers of commerce."

"Ayi, it's true that we print our own SAIC currency, but that doesn't mean we can't spend it all. You shouldn't lack this common sense, right? So far, SAIC's financial situation has held up well."

"But can I ask you to please not have any more of these sudden billions or tens of billions of dollars spent this year? So much money being spent directly on the Malays is a sin! You know the people down below are already very dissatisfied with this."

As she spoke, Qian Qiwen took out a financial report and handed it to Zheng Yi to look at. On it was a simplified version of the original financial budget for this year. After taking it and taking a look, Zheng Yi couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.

I couldn't help but mutter, "I didn't realize I've spent so much money in the past two years."

Qian Qiwen: "SAARC's profitability and tax situation are still good. The main reason is that it expanded too quickly and spent too much. This time, they spent 10 billion on the Malays. Honestly, if you don't give an explanation to the people below, I will find it difficult to do what I want to do."

Zheng Yi: "Although the 10 billion is a huge expense, it won't all be spent this year. The Malays will be our own people in the future. How can we win their hearts if we don't spend money?

The money itself is worth it. Millions of Malays will become our huge consumer market in the future. Besides, SAARC can collect land rent. It's not like I'm giving the land away for free."

"We are helping them develop agriculture, not just to bridge ethnic conflicts. Malaya is our own territory. If Malaya's agriculture develops, wouldn't that also mean that SAARC's agriculture develops? Agriculture is the foundation of the people. If agricultural issues are not resolved, how can there be stable industrial development?"

"How much money can you make just by farming? What I value is the future unified purchase and sale of agricultural products across the Indochina Peninsula. It's a monopoly, and it's securitized trading of spot and futures agricultural products. The Malay Peninsula is a treasure trove for us. If we can't even handle agriculture right here at home, how can we gain the trust of people elsewhere?"

"Whether it's agricultural products or metal raw materials, as long as they are securitized, there will be economies of scale and concentration. We will now consolidate all agricultural raw materials trading on the Malay Peninsula in Penang. Within a few years, all futures and spot transactions across Indochina and even Southeast Asia will be settled in Penang."

"To put it more clearly, I'm spending this money to compete with London for the position of the securitization exchange for all commodities in the former Commonwealth, and even for the global commodity exchange. Currently, there are actually only two commodity exchanges: New York and London."

“I spent this billion just to make Penang the third largest city in the world, or even replace London and divide the eastern and western hemispheres with New York.”

"What's more, these 10 billion will be used to purchase machinery, equipment, seeds, fertilizers, and even construction work produced by our SAARC. After spending 10 billion, we can easily earn 400 to 500 million."

"Singapore is just starting out, and agricultural machinery and vehicles will be our top priority in the future. Given the current international environment, can the agricultural machinery and vehicles we bring back from Japan to sell to the US really compare to the American Cadillac?"

"We have to focus on our own business first. Only when there is a market and application scenarios, can Mitsubishi, Toyota, Kawasaki, and these factories that I picked up from Japan with great difficulty, have sales channels. Only with sales channels can we survive. Only when there are products that sell well can the products be upgraded through continuous use and feedback."

"Until one day, we create our own brand, produce excellent products to capture markets in other parts of the world, and compete fairly with Caterpillar. This is the true way of business."

"If even the Malays don't use our products, who will we sell our engineering and agricultural machinery, which are currently produced in Singapore and cannot compare to Catapult in quality?"

There are no perfect and mature industrial products in this world. To put it bluntly, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) lacked industrial manufacturing capabilities in the past, and all it produced were small and tricky things made of materials like plastic and chemical fiber.

Any industrial product, unless it is a unique business in the world, must first be used, recognized, improved, matured and perfected by its own people before it can conquer the international market, build brand awareness, and then earn brand premium.

This is a step that cannot be skipped.

I have never heard of any industrial product that blooms outside the wall but is popular inside the wall. It is first used by foreigners and then brought back to the country after they find it useful.

This is also the basic argument of Shimomura's economics: only with strong domestic demand can brands be created and industrial upgrading be achieved. Only excellent brands can earn more premiums overseas, and through more premiums, more domestic demand can be driven, thus achieving a virtuous circle.

Industrial countries without domestic demand will always be locked in the vicious circle of "cheap industrial product substitution" and will never be able to become developed countries.

In Zheng Yi's view, this so-called domestic demand certainly cannot be limited to the Chinese.

The total Chinese population in Southeast Asia is only about 7 million. Where does the domestic demand come from? It must be gradually expanding the scope of "our own people".

Although 10 billion is a lot of money, in Zheng Yi's opinion, this money is just to make those Malays become his own people. Besides, it is not really giving money away. It is either a loan or money for buying land, and the return can be seen.

Qian Qiwen was certainly not an ignorant woman. Seeing that Zheng Yi was somewhat unhappy, she simply sat gracefully on Zheng Yi's lap, put her arms around his neck, and said:
"Of course I know you have a reason for spending the money you're spending, and I'm not against you spending money on the Malays. Money is earned to be spent. But now that we have to establish a general ledger, there must be a plan for how to spend it. There are so many things to do throughout the year. What if we run out of money at the end of the year and can't even pay the secretariat's salaries? What will we do then?"

Although Qian Qiwen is already in her forties and has given birth to a child, she still maintains a graceful figure because she is good at taking care of herself.

They are an old couple, but Zheng Yi was still quite interested in her and couldn't help but start touching her.

"Financially, how much money is left?"

Qian Qiwen: "We're really running out of money right now. The surplus isn't even 10 billion, and we still have to pay interest to the Bank of America. And you're still expanding the secretariat and advisory team. All of that costs money, doesn't it?"

"And the SAARC Development Bank? We've been lending too much recently. Our debt-to-equity ratio has exceeded 200%, and our foreign exchange reserves are almost depleted. There's no way we can even raise our reserves."

"I know the money you spent was well-spent, and I have no objection. You've always been farsighted and thoughtful. Besides, you earned all this money. But as the saying goes, slow things down, and the global economy is in a bad state right now, shouldn't we slow down and take things slow?"

"We've invested too much in the past two years. I mean, why don't we stop for a while and be more cautious. We can only do what we can with the money we have. For the next two years, that's all. We'll just do it."

Because they were in the office and there was no one around, Zheng Yi hugged Qian Qiwen and became more and more presumptuous, but he said seriously while doing business:
"We can't slow down. This is like repairing a roof when the weather is sunny. It's difficult for us right now, but it's also difficult for everyone else. Besides the United States, which country in the world isn't facing difficulties? Even many industries in the United States are facing difficulties."

"While war will no longer dominate the future, the business world is like a battlefield. The invisible battles of business will only become more brutal. A slow start leads to a slowdown. In the industrial sector, first-mover advantage is crucial. As long as the first mover doesn't run into problems themselves, and before new disruptive technologies emerge, latecomers will almost never catch up."

"In the field of manufactured goods, overtaking on a straight line is impossible, let alone on a curve."

"No matter how difficult our economy is, it's better than Europe and Japan right now. The old industrial nations have all been destroyed, leaving only the United States. But American industrial products can't possibly swallow up the entire world in one go."

"Let's take agricultural machinery and construction vehicles as an example. Currently, the world's well-known mainstream brands are Caterpillar from the United States, John Deere from the United Kingdom, and Sandvik from Sweden. The rest are all small brands."

"We're certainly having a tough time right now, but are the UK and Sweden having a tough time too? Do they have any orders now? How much of their factories have recovered from the war? Aren't they also waiting for loans and operating with high debt?"

"Only Caterpillar has the spare capacity to engage in production right now. However, firstly, we are still far from the United States. Secondly, Caterpillar specializes in large equipment and large engineering vehicles, which are suitable for large mines, large farms, and vast plains. They are not suitable for the terrain, mining areas, and agricultural conditions in Southeast Asia."

"Most importantly, Caterpillar fully transformed itself during World War II to produce tanks and military trucks. For example, the chassis of our Katyusha was made by Caterpillar. There is no doubt that they were an excellent military service provider during World War II."

"However, as the saying goes, it's difficult to reverse a situation that's too deep to turn around, and a small boat is easier to turn around. The conversion of civilian use to military use is often a matter of a single government statement. To put it bluntly, it's supported by patriotic sentiment and the government's unlimited money printing."

"But now that everything is back on track, can the military industry be repurposed for civilian use? Can they really just do a U-turn? Impossible. From what I understand, Catapult's greatest achievement so far is converting its original tank production line back to a tractor line. The other production lines have been slow to convert."

During the war, everyone gritted their teeth and changed their production. No one, from the boss to the workers, thought too much about whether they made money or lost money. The people of the United States also have patriotic enthusiasm.

But the war is over, and naturally the brothers have to settle accounts. The government should give subsidies and profits. There is no need for so many military production lines. Of course, money should be paid when they are converted to civilian use.

We patriotic capitalists cannot be made to shed blood and tears.

In fact, the Cardabiner company probably doesn't have much money now. During the war, they really invested all their assets. There is not much profit in producing tanks. It is good enough to be able to maintain operations. They produced tanks for the country and it was a patriotic act.

Patriotism doesn't make money for Americans in this era.

"We in the SAARC are different. Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, and Kubota, which have the ability to produce agricultural machinery and engineering vehicles, all produced tanks for the Japanese during the war. Japan was a defeated country, and compared to the United States, they had no profit demands."

"We invested money and bought shares, allowing them to relocate their factory directly from Japan to Singapore. This allowed them to replace all the wartime production lines and convert them to civilian use. As for whether the company itself was profitable or not, or how much it lost, or the interests of the original shareholders and workers, we didn't care. After all, they were the defeated country. This was the price of defeat."

"If we can first revitalize, mature, and export our agricultural and construction machinery, we can seize the market more quickly. Our products will first occupy Southeast Asia, then India, Australia, New Zealand, and even potentially Africa and Latin America."

"As long as our products are sold first, we can set standards based on our own standards, reduce production costs through economies of scale, develop our own distributors, and exclude latecomers."

"What's more, once we are the first to resume production, we can take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity while Europe has not yet recovered to import a large number of engineers and technicians from Europe, and bring as much of their centuries of experience as possible to us."

"The industrial chain for construction vehicles and agricultural machinery is interconnected and overlapping with the automotive industry. We need to first allow ordinary people to use agricultural machinery, construction vehicles, and various construction equipment. In the future, when they earn money, they will have the money to buy private cars, right?"

"This is what we mean by first-mover advantage. In the industrial field, there is actually no such thing as a latecomer advantage. To put it bluntly, latecomer advantage is OEM and private label manufacturing. In almost all areas where first-mover advantage is overtaken by others, it is because of their own stupidity."

"If we take one step slowly, we will take all the slower steps. If we take one step quickly, we will take all the faster steps. I know our finances are tight right now, but it's the same for everyone. Everyone is nervous, and Europe is even more nervous than us."

"If you don't take the opportunity to cultivate your inner strength during the economic downturn, how will you get the chance when the economy rebounds? Right now, it's a matter of who can hold on longer. If you can hold on and get through this, there will be good times ahead. If you can't, you'll be left behind. You only get one chance, and if you miss it, it's gone."

"Countries and people are the same. If you don't endure hardship, you will suffer for a lifetime. If you are willing to endure hardship, you will suffer for a while. This time, we must seize the first-mover advantage of globalization. We must spend every penny we should spend. At this time, if we are just one year faster than Europe and the United States, we will be many years ahead of them in the future."

Qian Qiwen: "But... we have to do what we can. Besides, even if we have to spend more money, we have to have a plan and it depends on how much money we have."

Zheng Yi: "Is that so..."

He buried his head in Qian Qiwen's chest.

"Can we just forget about our own money? There's no need to use all of SAARC's money, including the 10 billion I spent in Malaya this time. The vast majority of it is actually investment. Just think of it as our own investment."

Qian Qiwen: "Of course I calculated it a long time ago, even including the Li family's profits. It's really tight. If you still want to spend money on other things, it really won't be enough."

Zheng Yi: “…………”

Qian Qiwen: "You really want to spend money on other things, then can you tell me where you plan to spend it?"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

It's not that he doesn't want to tell, but the current situation is changing rapidly, and he can't say for sure which money will be spent and when.

Simply put, Zheng Yi wants to spend not tens of billions or hundreds of billions, but hundreds of billions or even trillions. However, he also knows that it is unrealistic to spend so much money in one go. He needs to spend it bit by bit to realize his blueprint and plan bit by bit.

But in fact, he really hasn't figured out who should come first and how to prioritize.

He spent whatever he could get away with. After all, in most cases, whatever happened to him was urgent. Of course, Zheng Yi himself admitted that there was a selfish element to this.

In essence, the purpose of a budget is to limit the amount of money leaders spend.

As a leader, Zheng Yi certainly hopes that others have a budget when spending money, but he doesn't need a budget when spending money himself, so that he can spend it more freely.

That way he has more power.

To put it bluntly, although he keeps saying that he doesn't want to be a dictator, and deep down he really doesn't intend to be a dictator, he does feel unhappy about anything that restricts his power and prevents him from being willful.

"Well, I think it's time we hold an economic review meeting, do a thorough accounting, see how big the shortfall is, and call in all the advisory groups to work together on a production capacity plan for the next few years."

"But in short, I still mean the same thing. Now is a critical moment, and we must spend every penny we have. If the money is not enough, then I will find a way to make up for it."

Qian Qiwen: "Ah? What can you do about the way you spend billions and even tens of billions?"

"When you reach the mountain, there will always be a way. We can't save this money. Even if it means the whole nation going into debt, we have to bite the bullet and do it now. Don't worry, there will always be a way."

Qian Qiwen: "Okay, I'll arrange for a meeting with the advisory group."

Zheng Yi: “Ah?”

I couldn't help but look down at the pants I had just taken off.

"Can we have the meeting later?"

"Oh~, business is more important. We make hundreds of millions every minute." As she spoke, Qian Qiwen straightened her clothes and even took out a mirror to touch up her makeup.

"Hundreds of millions in a few minutes... It's not a big deal, right? I've already taken off my clothes."

"Well, let's talk about this later. Didn't you bring back some Japanese woman in her twenties from Japan? Go find her. I'm going to be busy now. Oh, and by the way, you have to stay in Penang for the next few days. Don't leave again. If you have to leave, make sure the meeting is over before you leave."

"You have to calculate this year's budget for me, otherwise, my urine will be yellow every day. Do you understand? You are not allowed to leave here anymore. Even if something terrible happens somewhere else, you are not allowed to leave here either."

"Okay, husband, I love you."

As she spoke, Qian Qiwen pecked Zheng Yi lightly on the face and hurried out.

Zheng Yi: “…………”

Who is the secretary general between us?
Isn’t it said that men are like wolves at thirty and tigers at forty?

This woman is not a tiger.

To be honest, among Zheng Yi's three wives, Qian Qiwen may have the strongest desire for power because of her poorest background.

Sometimes Zheng Yi couldn't even tell whether this woman loved him as a person or the power he could bring her.

After she was promoted to secretary general recently, she looks noticeably more radiant.

This woman's desire for power is far greater than her desire for love.

In fact, Qian Qiwen is really powerful now. The Secretary-General herself was the head of the SAARC administrative body when Zheng Yi was not around. And Zheng Yi actually knows very well that this woman also has influence in the Security Bureau.

Lin Shaoliang is her apprentice, but in fact he is obviously closer to her. At least apart from herself, Lin Shaoliang listens to her the most.

The Intelligence Department under the Security Department is basically run by Lin Shaoliang, and this time Zheng Yi helped to establish the connection, so Zhao Chunshu can actually be regarded as his subordinate.

To put it bluntly, there is really no one in her family who can help her, otherwise he would probably really want to seize power from the Li family.

"Hey~, this damn old woman."

He sighed to himself.

Zheng Yi could only pick up the phone from his desk.

"Hello? Yamamoto Fujiko? Come to my office and help me relieve my stress."

………………

At the same time, French East Indies.

Maybe it should be called Vietnam now.

Saigon.

General Leclerc looked at the Chinese flag through his binoculars, then put it down and angrily cursed, "Didn't we agree that these Chinese soldiers would withdraw today? Why haven't they moved yet?"

At the side, Lieutenant Colonel Jamie, who came to see the British Indian Army's staff, smiled and said, "See what I said. I said these Chinese can't withdraw their defenses so easily."

"What do they want to do? Aren't they afraid that this will cause an international dispute? The entire Magical East Indies should be returned to us, the French! This is our colony!"

Jamie: "General Leclerc, you clearly lack understanding of the Far East, and even the situation in Indochina. The Chinese who agreed to your withdrawal are from Nanjing."

Leclerc: "Shouldn't the Chinese army obey orders from Nanjing?"

Jamie: "Of course they would listen, but not necessarily with this one right now. This is China's 60th Army. Among the Chinese, they generally prefer to call it the Yunnan Army. Besides those in China, there's another person who can influence the Yunnan Army's decision-making."

Leclerc: "You mean Mr. Zheng from the Southern Alliance?"

It turned out that when the Japanese surrendered, the Japanese commander in Hanoi, Yuichi Tsuchihashi, surrendered to General Lu.

As we all know, Vietnam is a country divided into north and south. The indigenous people of southern Vietnam are closer to Southeast Asia in terms of customs and culture, and are influenced by Indian culture.

The northern region to the north is more deeply influenced by Confucian civilization.

To stretch the point a bit, isn't he the Jiedushi of Zhenhai Army in our Tang Dynasty? He only regretted that the weak Song Dynasty was incompetent and allowed others to rob his homeland, which he was unable to recover for hundreds of years. This is indeed a regret for the Chinese people.

When the time is right, it may be possible since ancient times.

Especially Haiphong Port, this place is of vital importance to both Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, as it is the entrance to the sea of ​​the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway.

Therefore, General Lu himself also wanted to occupy the area north of Haiphong Port.

Then, France came and recovered lost territories along the way. General Lu and others did not care about the affairs in southern Vietnam, but when the French army arrived at Haiphong Port and asked General Lu to get out, General Lu refused and brazenly used artillery to fire back at the French army.

It almost led to a major incident where China and France went to war.

Of course, the French brought the case to Nanjing. Although Nanjing also wanted to expand its territory, after the civil war broke out, they needed the support of the Western world and did not dare to offend France, at least they did not dare to actually fight the French.

Then the matter was negotiated back and forth, and no one knew what political benefits were gained, but in history, the Yunnan Army was forcibly ordered to withdraw from Haiphong Port and Hanoi.

It is said that this incident caused the relationship between Nanjing and the Yunnan Army to become quite strained, and General Long was forced to step down, which was also related to this incident.

The Yunnan Army, from top to bottom, was extremely dissatisfied with the withdrawal from Hanoi.

Objectively speaking, Haiphong Port is also extremely important for the development of Yunnan itself.

An outlet to the sea?

Of course, that is history.

In this time and space, because of Zheng Yi's existence, there are of course some differences.

The Yunnan clique, and even the Guangxi clique, are still more independent.

And they are also very strong.

When the Japanese surrendered, all the assets in Haiphong Port were transferred to the Southern Alliance. Although the Southern Alliance did not personally station troops in Haiphong Port, General Lu's garrison was, to a large extent, managing Haiphong Port on behalf of the Southern Alliance.

The fact that General Lu and Leclerc bombarded each other was one of the reasons why Zheng Yi hurried back from Japan.

However, this matter involves domestic affairs after all, and Zheng Yi is not in a position to express his opinion, so he has remained silent, but it has always been a matter of close attention.

After all, if the country can really recover the area north of Haiphong Port, then even if Haiphong Port belongs to the Southern Alliance, Zheng Yi will not have to give it up.

Are you patriotic?

As a Chinese overseas in Southeast Asia, what's the point of him fighting with the motherland for territory? He just has to accept the loss.

But if the country clearly expresses that it does not want this land.

Why should the land that your country doesn't want belong to you, France?

Old-fashioned imperialism?

That's a lot of chicken feathers.

They don't have atomic bombs.

Jamie: "Haha, our world-class scientist ally has enormous political ambitions. We've already suffered greatly from him in Malaya. In the Dutch East Indies, this great scientist sold weapons to the natives while threatening our British and Dutch companies and stealing our oil fields at low prices."

"In India, he conspired with Gan and Nepal to import large numbers of Indian laborers into Burma, and to sell arms to Indians through the Assamese people, in order to help Indians gain independence."

"This Mr. Zheng, relying on the support of the Americans and his personal relationship with Marshal MacArthur, completely disregards our British Empire. What's the matter? Do you French people have more than that?"

"I suggest you ask your French civil servants to go and speak to him and plead with him. Mr. Zheng might not refuse to let you come back. After all, the British navy has returned to Singapore. To Mr. Zheng, the garrisons of the European powers are still of some use."

Leclerc: "Me, beg? Beg that Asian guy?"

"What? Are you still racist towards Mr. Zheng? Honestly, even though Mr. Zheng isn't white and is indeed an enemy, in our country, most people still admire him."

Leclerc: "It's not a matter of discrimination. If we, France, a great power, have to ask an outsider to recover our own colonies, don't we have any dignity? You know, our colonies in Africa are not peaceful right now."

Jamie: “Really? Haha.”

I thought to myself, even we British have to make a lot of compromises with SAARC and dare not turn against them at all, so why do you French have the right?
Leclerc seemed to know what he was thinking and quickly explained, "I know that the Southern Alliance is quite powerful now, but their power is in Penang, in the southernmost part of the Indochina Peninsula, which just happens to be a colony of yours, Britain."

"But our French colonies are almost completely isolated from the entire Southeast Peninsula by the Southern Alliance. As far as I know, although the Southern Alliance's air force is of a certain size and strength, and its army is indeed not to be underestimated, they have no navy at all, right?"

"They don't even have a navy, so why should I be afraid of them? Can they really send the Penang army across the entire Indochina Peninsula, across the entire territory of Siam, into our French East Indies to fight us?"

"Give them my order. They have one day to get out of here. Otherwise, I will order an attack on the city. If there is any international impact, it will have nothing to do with France!"

(End of this chapter)