Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 255: Since the French want to fight, we, the Southern Alliance, will fight to the end
The economic meeting, which had not been completed, was forced to stop, but basically all the important things had been discussed. Zheng Yi handed the rest of the meeting to Qian Qiwen and asked her to host it and continue.

The core principle is that the money should be spent where it should be spent, and everyone just needs to calculate how to spend it.

If you need money, borrow it if you can. Generally speaking, don't be afraid of paying interest.

The essence of debt is confidence in the future. If you believe that the future will be twice as good as the present, you can borrow twice as much debt. If you believe that the future will be ten times better than the present, you can borrow ten times as much debt.

As a time traveler, the biggest difference between Zheng Yi and others may be that he has a much better outlook on the future and much more confidence than others, so he is more daring to borrow money.

Of course, other people are far less confident than Zheng Yi. After all, the anchor of the South currency is still the US dollar. Without a certain amount of US dollars in the bank, no one knows what will happen.

He arrived at the security department and saw Lin Shaoliang and Li Xiaowei waiting for him. He frowned and asked, "What the hell are the French doing? Is that bastard Leclerc crazy? What's the specific situation? Don't we have any personnel stationed in Haiphong Port?"

Zheng Yi was still calmly waiting for the French to send diplomatic officials to negotiate with him.

Who would have thought that Leclerc was so fierce that he didn't even warn him before taking action?
To be honest, Zheng Yi's interest in the French colonies, that is, the area north of Siam, is far less than that in the British colonies.

Whether it's Haiphong Port or Hanoi, why don't you come and talk to me?

There is nothing that cannot be discussed.

Even though it was a British colony, Zheng Yi divided the indigenous ethnic groups here into different levels. For example, he obviously looked up to the Malays and treated them as his own people. Although he would not directly participate in the management of the entire Malaya, he still wanted to control it indirectly and even wanted to squeeze the British out.

On the contrary, in Myanmar, his attitude towards the Burmese has always been to keep a distance. Zheng Yi is very satisfied that everyone can get along in a friendly manner and maintain cooperation.

As for the Indians, Zheng Yi didn't dare to have any idea of ​​swallowing an elephant. Even if Kolkata joined the SAARC, it would definitely be the most special one among all the cities controlled by SAARC and would definitely be controlled by Indians themselves.

Of course, the Indians who control Kolkata must be high-ranking Indians, and they will definitely be different from the Indians in the inland areas.

As for the Dutch colonies, Zheng Yi had actually formulated the basic principles of: incorporating Malays, treating and influencing Sumatran people well, and getting along with Javanese as friendly as possible.

In short, there are different levels of closeness and distance between different ethnic groups.

He didn't even want to directly manage the British and Dutch colonies closest to him, let alone the French colonies that were much farther away from him?
For Zheng Yi, as long as he could occupy a few strongholds in the French colony, have a certain influence, and be able to dump industrial products here, he would be very satisfied. He had no interest in managing the local indigenous people.

You should know that French colonies and British colonies have completely different governance models. Britain's governance and management of the colonies are very extensive, which is actually quite similar to the relationship between the Zhou emperor and the vassal states.

As long as the colonies can pay tribute to me every year, I don’t care about the affairs of the colonies themselves and they have nothing to do with me.

Therefore, before independence, the local indigenous forces in British colonies were often not too small, and regardless of how efficient or inefficient they were, they all had their own internal governance system.

There are nine sultans in Malaya, and the Chinese in the cities have ready-made secret societies and village associations, which are quite powerful.

Therefore, in history, after the British colonies gained independence, Zheng Yi only needed to deal with these organized indigenous people, and there was no need for him to govern and manage them personally.

France was different. Its management of the colonies was somewhat similar to the county system. It was not satisfied with the so-called indirect management, but wanted to carry out direct management as much as possible, and officials were appointed from Paris.

As for the indigenous forces in the colonies, the French usually wanted to Frenchify them or even eradicate them completely.

This is actually the reason why the French colonial expansion was much slower than that of the British. Every time the French occupied a place, it would take 20 to 30 years of armed suppression before the place could be settled.

Without fifty or sixty years of cultivation and management, this place may not be able to create any positive value for France, and Paris may even have to subsidize the colony.

However, whenever France established rule over a colony, the foundation of its rule was often much deeper than that of the British.

Although the Chinese are spread throughout Southeast Asia, there are many tycoons with certain power among the Chinese in the British colonies. The influence of secret societies such as the Hongmen and the Huaji is also not small. Basically, after the British left, they were able to quickly control the economic lifeline of the colonies.

But in the French colonies, there were basically no Chinese tycoons.

In all walks of life, whether politically or economically, the order in the French colonies was controlled by the French.

In fact, before Zheng Yi traveled through time, basically all the former British colonies had nothing to do with the British, and some even felt ashamed of having been British colonies.

However, most of the original French colonies are still deeply controlled by France in all aspects. Many of them are independent in name only and are actually no different from colonies.

From historical experience, at least in Southeast Asia, once France withdrew its influence, the colonies would immediately fall into chaos due to the power vacuum, and even basic social order would be impossible to maintain.

To put it simply: Among all the French colonies, there is no country that can be considered a country. The only one that can be considered a country is Vietnam. This is also thanks to the fact that northern Vietnam is a Confucian civilization circle, and the internal situation is in chaos (what do those who say that Vietnam will become a developed country think?)

So, really speaking, Zheng Yi only wanted to occupy a few important strongholds, such as Haiphong Port. He wouldn't want any other places even if France gave them to him.

Zheng Yi couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling whenever he thought of the chaotic period in the history of Laos and Cambodia at the beginning of their independence.

He had great confidence in his ability to manage the Malays in Malaya, but Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam...

I really don't want to provoke him at all.

So if you French people want to come back, you can talk to me!

Even with regard to Haiphong Port, although he did have certain opinions, it was not impossible to discuss it. He even allowed the British navy to be stationed in Singapore!

To him, Haiphong Port must be much less important than Singapore.

And for the French, Hanoi is the most important.

But for Zheng Yi, General Lu and General Long, Haiphong Port is the most important.

It's not impossible to negotiate with Hanoi. It's not impossible to pay a little money and just give it back to them.

But what do you mean by hitting me right away? !
To put it bluntly, this is not a battle for interests, but a battle for face.

Sometimes, face is more important than interests and cannot be compromised.

The existence of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was largely to unite the indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia to jointly resist the British and French colonizers and strive for national independence. At least in name only, this was the SAARC's fundamental purpose.

Isn’t this the reason why Zheng Yi allowed the British Navy to enter Singapore?

So-called politics means there is a wolf outside the door and a knife in hand.

Although Zheng Yi himself did not attach much importance to the French colonies north of Siam, since the French had already taken action, if the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation retreated at this time, the whole world would think he was a coward.

At least they believe that their so-called SAARC only has influence south of Siam. Looking around the world, who would take it seriously?
If he backed down, how would he explain to General Lu who helped him fight the French army?
Even from the most basic point of view, this is where the Japanese surrendered to us Chinese. When the Japanese attacked the French colonies, you French surrendered without even offering basic resistance.

During the entire Anti-Japanese War, although the British were considered to be bad teammates, they were still teammates after all. At least they played a role in wasting Japanese artillery shells and bullets.

Moreover, they stabilized India and suppressed the Indian National Salvation Army supported by the Japanese. Otherwise, if India had turned to Japan after independence, it would have been very troublesome for the entire Southeast Asian war.

What about France?
Strictly speaking, France was on the other side in the war!

It shouldn't even be considered a victorious country.

We in Nanyang have finally driven away the Japanese invaders after an arduous struggle, and you are coming back to grab our territory without even saying a word?
You are unwilling to talk to me about fighting for territory. Do you think that the Southern Alliance is not worthy of sitting at the negotiation table with France?
I really give you some face!

Li Xiaowei: "Yes, a telegram has been sent back. France has dispatched quite a few troops this time, including: the Light Intervention Force, an armored brigade and two infantry divisions from Madagascar, the 5th Colonial Infantry Regiment, the 9th Colonial Infantry Regiment, a regiment of the French 2nd Armored Division, and the Marceau Battle Group."

"This is just the troops that France has transferred from its homeland. In addition, there is also a Vietnamese army and the British Indian Corps participating in the war as auxiliary troops."

After a moment's thought, Li Xiaowei added, "Brother-in-law, General Lu in Haiphong Port is probably in a bit of a pickle right now. He's even in a difficult position. The Kunming mutiny has taken place, and General Long has been forcibly imprisoned. His life or death is unknown. The entire Yunnan Army is in a state of panic, and morale is in a state of panic..."

Zheng Yi: "What does Long Yao think?"

"He naturally sent a telegram demanding an immediate march north to fight the French and asking us to make arrangements. His tone... was quite forceful. Our people in Yangon also conducted necessary surveillance on General Long. We can confirm that he is now in a state of panic and at a loss."

Zheng Yi: "Ah~, it's not his fault. If I were him, I'd probably be panicking right now. If General Lu can't get back to Kunming in time, it's hard to say... Alas~."

Zheng Yi didn't know what to say for a moment.

From the perspective of later generations, the move of transferring the main force of the Yunnan Army to Vietnam to accept surrender really looks more and more like a tactic of using external means to resolve internal problems.

He dispatched the troops, but when the French fired at him, he ignored them and took the opportunity to stage a mutiny and escape.

Which one is the friendly army and which one is the enemy army between the French army and the Yunnan army?

To be honest, if they could be tougher towards the French at this time, instead of using foreigners to harm their own people, they could take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to occupy both northern Vietnam and northern Myanmar, making it a fait accompli, which would also be considered as expanding their territory.

At least we respect you as a man.

Now, what the hell is this?

Zheng Yi sighed, and from the perspective of the Yunnan Army, he felt the situation was becoming increasingly difficult.

"The one who started the fight in Kunming was General Du, right? Can we send him a telegram directly or send someone to tell him and explain the righteousness of the cause? After all, he is a hero in the fight against the Japanese."

"Now, the French artillery fire is falling on our heads. As compatriots, instead of uniting as one, we resort to underhanded tactics and create obstacles, giving the foreigners an advantage for nothing. How can this be justified?"

"I hope General Du will consider my kindness and not send General Long to Nanjing, but send him to Penang instead, okay? Yes, tell him that General Long is now my military advisor to the Southern Alliance. Please consider my contribution during the War of Resistance and send my military advisor to me safely."

Li Xiaowei: "This...what if he doesn't give us this face..."

Zheng Yi: "Fuck it, do you really think that I, Zheng Yi, can refuse anyone's respect? The Yunnan-Burma Railway is still open, and Long Yao has an elite division in Yangon right now. If I just let go a little, Long Yao will take the train back and I won't give a damn!"

Li Xiaowei: "Yes, I understand. I will send someone to talk to General Du right away."

To put it simply, among the Yunnan Army, Long is number one, Lu is number two, there is no clear number three, and Long can barely be counted.

General Du is a returning expeditionary force and belongs to another system.

It is obvious that he is trying to seize power now. General Long is definitely finished. The main force of the Yunnan Army is in Vietnam, especially the Yi Army that is most loyal to him is now in Lu's hands and is fighting with the French in Hanoi.

He now only has 3000 guards at most. Whether intentionally or not, General Long is bound to get into trouble.

Historically, after General Long was captured, General Lu immediately rushed back to Yunnan to stabilize the situation, and the situation in Haiphong Port was fully handed over to Long Yao.

In this time and space, General Lu stayed in Hanoi even though he knew that General Long had been detained. This in itself was a great favor to Zheng Yi.

However, even so, the number of manpower mobilized by the French side was indeed a bit too large, and it was really not easy for the 20th Army under General Lu to withstand it alone, especially now that General Long's life and death were uncertain, it was hard to say whether their morale could hold up.

Zheng Yi couldn't help but rub his hair and muttered: "Damn, why didn't you send so many troops back when the Japanese invaded?"

"Well, Xiaowei, you should fly to Guilin in person and see General Li, General Bai, and General Huang to see if you can use the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway to send a group of reinforcements to help General Lu."

"Send a message to Long Yao, have him fly to Hanoi first to replace General Lu. Let General Lu return home first to stabilize the situation. Reinforcements from the Southern Alliance will arrive shortly."

"Contact Wu Aihua and ask him to borrow the Chiang Mai airport. Call Qiao Yun and tell the Air Force to prepare. Have her personally lead a flight group to Chiang Mai. Use Chiang Mai as the air force base to support General Lu and General Long. I'll find another way to get the Army support."

"Tell Wu Aihua that I will fly to Bangkok to see him tomorrow. Haiphong Port is too far from Penang. This time, we need his help to fight the French. He doesn't want France to return to northern Siam, right?"

"Tell him that since he did me a favor, I will support him in continuing his Great Thai Nationalism."

"Since the French want to fight, we, the Southern Alliance, will fight to the end!"

(End of this chapter)