Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 254: Unconventional Ways to Raise Money, a Deal with the Devil (Sorry for posting late due to illness)
In the small conference room in Penang, Zheng Yi was fiddling with the pen in his hand out of boredom while listening to the report from his subordinates, and he couldn't help but doze off.

It is the beginning of the year, and most other places in the world are experiencing the coldest time of the year, but Penang, located in the tropics, is still extremely hot and humid. Only a few gentle breezes can make people feel a little more comfortable.

[Alas, no matter how many years have passed since I traveled through time, I still can't adapt to life without air conditioning.]

Air conditioning already exists in this time and space, but it is mostly used in open places such as cinemas and shopping malls.

There is nothing wrong with the higher price, but the cooling effect of the air conditioners of this era is not very good, and the noise is too loud. At least it is not suitable for use in places like conference rooms.

But he suddenly asked, "Does Singapore have the ability to produce refrigerators and air conditioners?"

This was the first Industrial and Economic Conference, and everyone was concentrating on preparing their materials, but they really didn't expect Zheng Yi to suddenly ask this.

Li Xiaowu: "I've never made a refrigerator, let alone an air conditioner. If I were to make one, I could try importing compressors from the US. Aside from the compressor, the other parts of an air conditioner aren't that difficult to make. What about Japan?"

Toyoda Risaburo: "Toshiba used to make refrigerators and air conditioners, but I haven't touched this before."

"Toshiba? It's... under Mitsui, right?"

"Yes, and Sony and Panasonic also have the ability to produce refrigerators."

Mitsui's companies can basically be regarded as Zheng Yi's own companies. Zheng Yi has taken control of three of Japan's four major pre-war zaibatsu, and he himself is the largest shareholder. Even in the subsidiaries below, there are a large number of Chinese who share the shares, and the shares left for the Japanese hardly exceed 40%.

Since it is a subsidiary of Mitsui, it is naturally his company and can be supported.

Zheng Yi: "I think in our first five-year plan, we can develop a lot of home appliances, especially refrigerators and air conditioners. Nanyang is a tropical region, and the demand for refrigeration is huge."

"Wu Wenhao, you should research more with the chemical experts from Japan to see if we can produce Freon ourselves. Isn't it just fluorite and sulfuric acid? The process shouldn't be difficult. I don't have time to do it myself. DuPont matured the technology decades ago, so we can reverse engineer it and make a breakthrough."

"The current problem with air conditioners is noise. We can make a split structure and produce a window air conditioner. Something like this. We can put the compressor outside the window. Wouldn't that make it less noisy?"

"And wouldn't production be much simpler this way? The US likely has similar design ideas and inventions. We need to be faster and earlier than the Americans. At the very least, we need to be on par with them. Their air conditioners will definitely be supplied to North America first, while ours will be supplied to Asia first."

"This way we will have a chance to compete with them for the European market in the future."

"I won't be personally involved in the design, Xiaowu. You'll take the lead on this matter and figure out what's missing. With our current machining capabilities, we should be able to make this thing. Of course, there's also a refrigerator, and oh, yes, a washing machine."

"Taiyou Machinery's permanent magnet motors have great advantages worldwide and can be integrated with almost any household appliance. However, you shouldn't be too excited. We are only half a step ahead at best. It won't be long before Europe and the United States will also have them. We are still competing."

"To be honest, we weren't particularly good at combining motors and electrical appliances before, mainly because our industrial base in Southeast Asia wasn't strong enough. But now we've moved so many factories back from Japan. Toshiba, Hitachi, Panasonic, Sony, you guys need to cooperate more."

"In short, the home appliance sector is an important area of ​​future civilian industry. We actually still have many advantages in this area. My request is that you work hard and quickly. The bank can provide you with low-interest loans. Money is not a problem. If you need any policy support or technical support, you can talk to Xiaowu."

"No matter what, we have to tackle this tough challenge. I demand that within five years, our Nanyang home appliance brands, especially refrigerator and air conditioner brands, must develop and mature. We must completely dominate the Asian market and compete with the Americans for the European market."

Just after he finished speaking, the stakeholders below were still happy, but Qian Qiwen on the side suddenly slammed the table.

He glared at Zheng Yi fiercely.

"What? Are you rebelling?"

Qian Qiwen gritted her teeth and said, "Didn't you say before that our first five years should focus on agricultural production, and in industry, we should do our best to ensure the transformation of wartime enterprises? Why are you getting into home appliances again?"

Zheng Yi: "Without air conditioning, it's really hot... No, it's mainly because now is a good opportunity to develop home appliances, and we can't miss it."

Qian Qiwen: "You also said that agricultural machinery and engineering vehicles are also rare."

Zheng Yi: "Yes, it is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Then we can stop farming. Farming and development are too expensive. In the next few years, SAARC will focus on urban development."

Zheng Yi: "No, a city without a rural hinterland is like a rootless duckweed. Without agriculture, there is no stability; without industry, there is no strength; without commerce, there is no prosperity. The world is still a turbulent world. The old powers of Britain and France still want to colonize us, the people of Southeast Asia. Developing agriculture and stabilizing and improving the relationship between our Chinese and the indigenous people of Southeast Asia will absolutely be the top priority for the development of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in the next few years. This is more important than anything else."

Qian Qiwen was furious. She slammed the table and stood up. "Money! Money! Where is the money?! Why are we holding this meeting?! Huh?! Isn't it just to prioritize future events?"

Zheng Yi: “…………”

"Well, how about we think of ways to cut some spending on the service industry and public expenditure?"

Off to the side, Wang Zhaosong, who was in charge of education, coughed lightly and said, "Mr. Zheng, according to our previous plan, our education gap is truly too severe. If we even cover the basic education of the Malays, not to mention other majors, we will have to train at least 200,000 teacher trainees within five years. This money...is not enough."

Zheng Yi: "Education is indeed important. It is the foundation of a nation and a nation. It also involves the secularization of indigenous religions. We cannot relax even a little bit. And teacher training is the foundation of education."

"Children from wealthy and middle-class families would not go to normal schools. After all, if they did, they would most likely go to the Malay Peninsula, or even teach in rural areas for the Malays."

"In the future, maybe we'll have to go to Sumatra, Java, or even to other more distant places like the Philippines to spread the light of education. But for that... we still need to pay for it."

"If Chinese people go to the countryside to teach, they should be given adequate allowances. It would be best if they could offer free tuition, free board and lodging, or even offer students a small salary, to attract as many educated Malays as possible to study there."

Qian Qiwen: "There's no money left! Do you think the money you print is US dollars? That it will never depreciate?"

Wang Zhaosong: "Secretary Qian, please don't be angry. How about we reduce the subsidies for technical schools and night schools? That should save us a little."

Zheng Yi: "No, absolutely not. Technical schools and night schools are more important than anything else for Nanyang right now, especially night schools. We Nanyang Chinese have a weak foundation. Since I took office in Penang, we have always relied on this kind of hard work and perseverance, working during the day and going to school at night."

"Now is the age of industrialization. Especially for those new Chinese immigrants who are still flocking south, if they lose their vocational schools and night schools, they will struggle to even make a living. The subsidies they should receive must not be stopped."

Tan Kah Kee: "Ahem, ahem, it's true that we're spending a bit too much money in the Southern Alliance right now, especially the bank debt. We're really overwhelmed. Can you think of where we can save money and increase revenue and reduce expenditure? Otherwise, what should we sell?"

Qian Qiwen: "That's a good idea. We don't have money, but those foreigners do. How about selling the shipyard in Singapore? I heard there's a Greek guy who's been buying up shipyards all over the world."

Zheng Yi: "We can't sell the shipyard. Not only can we not sell it, we have to scale up production."

Qian Qiwen: "You're crazy! It's much more cost-effective to buy ships now than to build them. A lot of useless ships can only be dismantled and used as scrap metal. The warships that no one wants in Europe are rotting in the harbor."

Zheng Yi: "No one wants it, but we do. If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten about it. Currently, the global economy is in recession, and there are too many warships decommissioned after World War II, so ships are cheap. But it won't be long before the global economy is definitely going to pick up."

"By then, whoever has the most ships will be the most powerful. Buying ships at this time will be a huge profit. If the shipyard business is not good, then we should buy ships in Nanyang. Others don't want them, but I want them."

"Besides, Penang and Singapore are both island cities. Let's not even talk about whether we should develop a navy in the future. If we don't even have basic shipbuilding capabilities, how can that be justified? Isn't that tantamount to handing over our lifeblood to others?"

"So, not only can't we reduce this spending, we have to increase it. Go to Europe and buy out all the shipyards we can. Isn't it said that warships are worth the same as scrap metal now? We can buy them all first."

"The economy is in a downturn right now, and our industry isn't focused on shipbuilding. The cost of shipbuilding is simply too high. So, why not focus on ship repair and renovation? We should convert as many warships as possible into civilian vessels, barely enough to support our workers and wait for the right opportunity. I promise, within five years at most, we'll still be building our own ships."

If I remember correctly, it seems that in the 7s and 80s, there was a popular saying about shipping tycoons all over the world. Basically, capitalists who owned ships were among the richest people in the world.

The Greek man who was buying up bargains everywhere seemed to have later married Mr. Ken's widow.

He must do this business.

On the side, Qian Qiwen couldn't help but cover her face with her hands, and then let out a long sigh.

It wasn't just Qian Qiwen; everyone else in the meeting room couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

They also felt that Mr. Zheng was indeed a bit too willful.

Isn’t this just being ambitious?
Aren’t you afraid of hurting your balls if you take too big a step?
Zheng Yi couldn't help but start covering his face and rubbing his eyes.

To be honest, SAARC's current financial and social conditions are actually quite good, and it may be second only to the United States in the world. There is nothing wrong with flourishing vitality, but Zheng Yi's way of spending money can be said to be completely out of touch with reality.

The accumulation before World War II was spent completely last year in Japan and the country even owed money. So far this year, large expenditures have been supported by fiscal policies, which simply means printing money and then lending at low interest rates.

Even though most of the people in the room didn't know much about economics, they knew that something bad would happen if they messed around like this.

In fact, there is no need for a time traveler. At this time, most politicians of a certain level in the world can see that the current post-war recovery period is crucial to the future global economy.

The economy accumulates strength when it is in a downturn and can only explode with strength when it is on the rise. This is not an extraordinary prediction. At most, we are not as accurate as the time traveler Zheng Yi, and we cannot imagine the scale of the post-war prosperity in the next few decades. But the principle is the same.

However, the reason why the economic downturn is called an economic downturn is because of the lack of money.

Money can't really be printed.

For a while, everyone seemed to think that Mr. Zheng had become arrogant after the SAARC issued its own currency, and whether he really thought that money could be obtained by printing.

Zheng Yi certainly understood his own problem, but he didn't want to give up any of the areas that required money.

"I understand that a good cook cannot cook without rice. Let's figure out how to increase revenue as much as possible without cutting costs."

"I'm absolutely certain that every penny we spend now is an investment that will yield good returns in the future. Brother, can we still borrow some money from a foreign bank?"

Li Xiaoshi, who had been resting his eyes the entire time and not participating in the discussion, opened his eyes and sighed, "Ayi, aren't your expectations of us too high? Honestly, the situation in the Southern Alliance is already much better than in Europe."

"Europe is noticeably colder this year than in previous years. If nothing unexpected happens, the Dutch famine that began two years ago will spread throughout Western Europe. Europe will inevitably face a severe food shortage, with people starving to death every day."

"We all know that Western Europe has always imported large quantities of food and agricultural products from Eastern Europe. However, now due to the influence of the Iron Curtain, trade between Eastern and Western Europe has almost completely ceased."

"External loans? Europe definitely doesn't have the money, so the only option is the United States. But now the whole world is watching the United States. The United States has already loaned us a lot of money. Europe is also reaching out to the United States. You know, President Du has always been a Europeanist.

Moreover, we need loans to develop our industry and even compete with the United States, while Europe needs loans to buy food and repair infrastructure destroyed by the war, mainly roads, bridges, power plants, etc.

"After all, Americans are just as white as Europeans."

To put it bluntly, Americans have money, but this money is limited. It is impossible to lend it all to them. At least some or even more will be given to fellow white Europeans.

There is also a saying in later generations: In the war between Ethiopia and Sudan, more people died in one month than in the three years of fighting between Mao and Sudan combined, but who would pay attention to them?
Even in the modern society of the 21st century, the international community still generally regards only white people as human beings. No matter how cruel the wars in Africa are, in the eyes of many people, they are no different from chimpanzee wars.

They may even have fewer news resources than chimpanzees, cats, or dogs.

Bullshit pacifists, all mainstream pacifists in the world are essentially white pacifists.

But lending to Europe...

Isn't this the Marshall Plan?

When the Marshall Plan was mentioned, Zheng Yi had a slight idea: "In the next few days, I will go to Japan again to see if I can ask General MacArthur for help. Or... I can go to the United States myself. Next year is the US presidential election year."

"Between five and one billion US dollars, I think I should be able to borrow it."

If I remember correctly, the time for the Marshall Plan to be launched should not be far away.

You should know that General MacArthur has always been a supporter of the Asia Plan, while President Duterte supports the Europe Plan. The two have different political views and are at loggerheads with each other. In essence, the Marshall Plan is not beneficial to General MacArthur, and even to the entire Republican Party.

The two parties have certain differences on this issue, and the banking groups they represent are also different.

Zheng Yi had a deep impression of this election. Of course, that was because someone in the country thought he was smart and bet on Dewey, but the result was... Zheng Yi certainly couldn't go to campaign for Dewey, because he had a good relationship with President Du, and there was no reason to stab his friend in the back at this time.

But he remembered that Dewey's support rate before the election should have been much higher than that of Old Du.

Almost everyone in the United States believed that Dewey would win. Even within the Democratic Party, there was a strong argument that Dewey should be abandoned to save campaign funds.

If we could do some necessary campaigning at this time, and have MacArthur lead a group of Republican leaders to publicly criticize aid to Europe and advocate aid to Asia...

With his personal relationship with President Du and the influence of those multinational corporations on American politics, as long as there is such public opinion, there is still a great possibility that President Du will benefit the Asian region equally when implementing the Marshall Plan.

Given its position in Asia and its relationship with the United States, most of the so-called aid to Asia should go into the pocket of SAARC.

Of course, Zheng Yi couldn't rely solely on US aid. After some thought, he said, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. How about issuing some special bonds, even if the interest rate is a bit higher? I plan to raise no less than 30 billion Nanyang dollars through these bonds. I'll pay the interest within five years, and repay the principal after five years."

"In addition, I propose that I take the lead in establishing a SAARC Development Fund for a special period, specifically responsible for investing in this special period. Those who are willing to trust me can invest their money. I won't force anyone who doesn't want to trust me. Anyway, I, the Li family, and the Wang family will all invest their entire fortune in this."

"Of course, if the money we Chinese steal is not enough, I will definitely go to those American multinational giants to invest. However, this will definitely dilute our Chinese voice in the future of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. I hope you are aware of this."

"Oh, by the way, regarding taxation, I'm pushing for SAARC to join the US-led customs agreement. There are certain tax requirements for multinational corporations. I think the tax rate cannot be lower than 5%. This is a US requirement, and I think we still need to comply."

Qian Qiwen: "If we do this, it will probably still cause inflation."

Zheng Yi: "As far as I know, Singapore, Penang, and even Yangon are all facing a big problem when building social housing: there are too many new residents, right?"

"A large number of newcomers from mainland China, and even some Nanyang Chinese who flocked to Penang from other parts of Southeast Asia during the war, were unable to produce proof of having worked and contributed to the SAARC for more than five years."

"Then can we temporarily collect a certain deposit from them and let them move into the house that was originally built for them in advance? At least it can save them some rent."

"Of course I know that new customers can't afford the deposit, but they can ask the bank to lend them money. After all, they already have the house, and the loan won't run away. Even if it does, it won't matter. After five years, if they meet the requirements to apply for welfare housing, we can return their deposit to them."

"In this process, the bank earns interest, and the deposits can be used to replenish industrial funds. In essence, the pressure of loans is transmitted to every citizen of the Southern Association for Regional Cooperation as much as possible."

"As for loans, if the debtors are all governments and businesses, and our currency has just been printed, excessive lending can easily lead to economic overheating and currency devaluation."

"But if this can be passed on to ordinary people as much as possible, as long as people are burdened with loans, the pressure of inflation will be much less. In times of crisis, we need this kind of joint efforts to overcome difficulties."

"By combining multiple approaches, we can at least raise over 100 billion. Don't worry about the interest. As long as we can get through the next few years, future profits won't be a problem."

"These methods are relatively conventional. In fact, there are also some less conventional fundraising methods."

Qian Qiwen: "What fundraising method?"

"It's time to make money. There's a business that can earn you over a billion dollars in a very short period of time."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

Although everyone was a little impressed by Zheng Yi’s fundraising methods mentioned above, they are essentially borrowing money, so naturally there will be interest.

Although Zheng Yi vowed that there would be no problem, the economic downturn was still so rapid that the burden was indeed a bit too heavy.

Who knows what the economic situation will be like in the future?
And inflationary pressure does exist. After all, we are all Chinese and we all know what domestic inflation looks like.

To put it bluntly, the Chinese during this period, even those in Southeast Asia, had a much weaker understanding and tolerance of inflation than later generations.

It is very likely that as soon as the value of the currency starts to rise, people will engage in panic spending, or even a bank run in the currency market.

Although the development of the Southeast Asian region, especially its economic conditions, is far from comparable to that of China, there are many new Chinese immigrants in China. Moreover, since the late Qing Dynasty, as soon as there is inflation, the money immediately becomes worthless. There are too many such collective memories, and it is hard to say that the Chinese in Southeast Asia will not have any stress response.

This is actually the reason why Qian Qiwen strongly opposed Zheng Yi's massive money printing.

But if you can make money, especially if you have sufficient foreign exchange reserves, everything will naturally be different.

"In the current international environment, what business can earn a billion dollars?"

"Exactly. Besides the United States, I'm afraid other governments wouldn't be able to come up with $1 billion at this time. What kind of business could afford so much money?"

Zheng Yi shook his head and said, "Actually, there are some, but... there are indeed some side effects, so I've always been a little hesitant. Hey~, a bunch of troublemakers, I'm afraid it will be easier to invite them than to send them away."

For a moment, everyone else was confused, but Li Xiaoshi frowned slightly and said, "Ayi, are you talking about Jews?"

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "Brother, you really understand me. I have been thinking recently about whether the Southern Alliance should take in some Jews, especially whether to support the Jews in the Middle East. You know, the relationship between the Southern Alliance and the Jews is quite good."

Li Xiaoshi: "In the Middle East, there are indeed some Jews who have occupied a piece of land there. I heard that they are now on very bad terms with the local Arabs, and it seems that their relationship with the British is not very good either. This..."

Zheng Yi: "I can tell you with certainty that it's not that they have a bad relationship, but they are about to fight."

"The Jewish population is small, the land is small, and the urban population is large. If we want to build up combat effectiveness, the best way is to enlist all the people, train all the people, and at the same time, take advantage of the relatively higher quality of the population and vigorously develop the air force."

"So, which region in the world has truly achieved universal military service, possesses extensive experience in the use of small arms, and is so wealthy that aircraft are almost being recycled as scrap metal? Which one is it?"

Everyone was shocked, especially those who didn't know much about international politics.

"So... these Jews are quite similar to us Chinese in Southeast Asia?"

"It does seem quite similar. A few years ago, wasn't there a popular book in Siam called 'The Jews of the East'? Doesn't this just prove that we share the same suffering as them?"

"If a war really breaks out, we can sell them a large amount of arms, especially aircraft. SAARC currently has too many aircraft, and converting them to civilian use is simply unrealistic."

It can be said that apart from the US military, the SAARC has the most aircraft in the world now, even less than Britain and France.

These aircraft were donated unconditionally by the United States as a war ally during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. In any case, they did not spend any money from the Southern Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Moreover, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation really possessed a considerable amount of light weapons. After all, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, all of them were armed. Although some of them were sold or donated to the natives of Java and even the Indians in recent times, or half-sold and half-given away, compared with the huge number of these firearms, it was really a drop in the bucket.

Not to mention, light infantry heavy firepower like rocket launchers.

The entire SAARC military equipment system can almost be copied intact to the Middle Eastern Jews to help them build their country.

We can even send military instructors to teach them some skills such as how to fight a war if everyone is a soldier.

As for the Jews, Zheng Yi really didn't worry that they would not be able to afford the money to buy arms.

Mrs. May just went to Wall Street to give a speech, and in less than three days, ten billion US dollars arrived in the account, and they were all donations, not loans.

This fundraising ability is so enviable.

There are huge benefits to having good relations with the Jews during this period. If nothing else, at least it will be much easier for him to get loans from the United States later.

And you should know that there are also a large number of Jews among the top leaders of the Soviet Union.

This will be extremely beneficial for Zheng Yi to remain at ease in the upcoming Cold War in the next few decades.

Of course, the disadvantages are also obvious.

It is easy to invite a god but difficult to send him away. As a modern man, he knows very well what kind of character the people of this nation have.

The Chinese in Southeast Asia have always been called the Jews of the East. If they really accept a large number of Jews from the West, it is hard to say whether the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation will be parasitized.

These Jews are all experts in finance, and Zheng Yi is really a little afraid that he will not be able to beat them.

The most important thing is Penang’s pillar industry, which is petrochemicals after all.

Although he has now seized the oil fields in Borneo and all the crude oil in Southeast Asia is refined in Penang, Penang is currently the world's largest oil refining center.

Just refining the oil in Nanyang, at least for now, these oil fields in Nanyang cannot even guarantee that Penang Petrochemical can operate at full capacity.

Besides, strictly speaking, they are all in the same industry, and he also hopes to establish international cooperation with the Arabs in the future to jointly stabilize oil prices.

If this really helps the Jews establish a country, it will bring huge uncertainty to future oil cooperation.

As for Southeast Asia, although they have nothing to do with Arabs in terms of race, the indigenous people here, especially the Malays, believe in the same religion as them after all.

He has finally begun to ease relations with the local natives. What should he do if further complications arise because of this incident?
He also knew that SAARC was short of money.

But he really didn't want to earn this money unless it was absolutely necessary.

Even without considering the many interests involved, from his personal perspective, he felt that doing so was a bit unscrupulous.

It is precisely for this reason that he knows that this money is easy to make, and if he makes it, it will definitely greatly alleviate the current financial difficulties of the Southern Alliance.

There is no other business in the world that is more profitable than selling arms.

It is also difficult to find better customers than Jews.

Hesitate.

"Forget it, I should think about it again. Although this money is easy to make, it is indeed easy to make trouble later. What if in the future..."

As he was speaking, the door of the conference room was suddenly kicked open, and it was Ma Kui who rushed in in a panic.

Zheng Yi frowned. "What's going on? Didn't we say we were in a budget meeting and that unless it was something extremely important, we shouldn't be disturbed?"

Ma Kui: "Just received a telegram. The French have landed at Haiphong Harbor and are engaging in a fierce battle with General Lu. General Lu has requested support. Also... General Long seems to be under house arrest in the country. Sir, what should we do? General Lu has come in person to report that he can retreat or fight. He will listen to you, but if he fights, he must have our full support."

Zheng Yi was stunned for a moment, then turned and said to Li Xiaoshi, "Brother, please go to Jerusalem and meet Mrs. Mei. If possible, invite her here and tell her that the Southern Alliance is willing to fully support the Jews in establishing their own country."

Things are happening all at once.

Even if it means making a deal with the devil, I don't care.

　I drank a few bottles of Dawu at noon.

　　I slept from noon till night and my head still hurt.

　　This is the first time I drink this wine, and it's so strong.

　　So it was posted late.

　　Hahahaha.

　　Please forgive me

　　
　
(End of this chapter)