Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 270 Zheng Yi: I can just become an American citizen and see who is the host and who is the guest
"Hanoi's infrastructure is better than I expected. It's not much worse than Kuala Lumpur right after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War."

After finishing his meal, Zheng Yi deliberately gave up taking a car and chose to stroll around and enjoy the scenery of Hanoi.

During World War II, the Japanese army and the Viet Minh fought many times in Hanoi, which did cause some damage to the original urban infrastructure. However, this place had not experienced large-scale military battles. The Japanese did build some basic power facilities and even several small and medium-sized factories.

Suddenly he asked, "Is there enough food in Hanoi?"

Yan Zijun: "It's enough. We follow your instructions and only buy food from the nearby villages, not collect it. Every day, countless local Jing ethnic grain merchants come to the city to sell grain and rice. In addition to the food used in the city, most of it is directly shipped to Singapore."

Seeing the clusters of flowers on the roadside, Zheng Yi couldn't help but walk over. He squatted down, picked one, put it to his nose and smelled it, and said in surprise, "Was this flower bed built by the French or the Japanese? Is anyone taking care of it?"

Yan Zijun said, "They look like wild flowers, untended. There are many similar wild flower beds in Hanoi. We are now in the Forbidden City. Not far to the east is Hanoi's Imperial Palace and Thang Long Citadel. This flower bed must have existed since ancient times."

Zheng Yi was surprised and asked, "There's an ancient royal palace in Hanoi?"

But he suddenly asked, "Do you think we should keep this palace or level it?"

Yan Zijun: "I have ordered a large-scale archaeological and antiquity search campaign throughout Hanoi. I have also asked people to visit some historians who have some knowledge of the Daluo Dynasty.
If we can prove that the Ly, Le, and Nguyen dynasties had a clear affiliation with Chinese culture, and if we can find some artifacts like imperial edicts or seals bestowed by the Ming and Qing dynasties... we can preserve Thang Long City and turn it into a museum."

"If we can't find these things, then we'll raze this palace and turn it into a memorial hall for those who resisted French rule and colonialism."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

He was not familiar with Yan Junning. He only knew that this person had excellent character and personality. After all, he was an intellectual in the late Qing Dynasty and a revolutionary during the Tongmenghui period. Zheng Yi did not doubt his morality. After all, in his opinion, most of the early Tongmenghui members were not selfish. At the very least, they had some character of scholar-officials.

Being able to do business means that his basic abilities are not bad either, and he is similar to his father-in-law Li Jiqian in all aspects.

It’s just that traditional intellectuals are inevitably pedantic, and a good person may not necessarily be a good official or a good politician. But at least judging from the way he responded to this incident, this person seems to be pretty good.

Quite sinister.

"Hanoi is truly a treasure trove. The climate is truly wonderful, a bit like Kunming in China. It's spring all year round, and there are almost no major natural disasters. We have two or three crops a year, and there are mountains, forests, lakes, and seas—everything is there. Flowers grow on their own without any special care."

"Malaya's biggest headache has always been food shortages. Now is the post-war period of mass production. Even Europe is experiencing famine this year. As long as we have food, we won't have to worry about selling it."

"Hanoi is very suitable for developing a port trade focusing on grain and developing a grain processing industry that will radiate to the entire Red River Plain. We can organize the Kinh people in the surrounding areas to carry out infrastructure construction. The Nanyang Bank can provide the funds."

“In Singapore, I heard that Toyota, Nissan, Hitachi and other factories that bought back from Japan have already purchased their own agricultural machinery, but the current production capacity is given priority to supplying Malays.”

"After I return, I will talk to Kiichiro Toyota and ask them to reserve quotas for Hanoi within the next two to three years. They will recruit some dealers here and force them to sell at least one-third of their agricultural machinery and vehicles every month in Hanoi."

"Whether they're locals from Guangxi and Yunnan, or the Kinh people on the Red River Plain, they can all get low-interest loans directly from banks when purchasing agricultural machinery. I've asked Sister Wen to open a Hanoi bank within a month."

Zheng Yi also said whatever he thought, which is actually the advantage of being a leader.

In fact, SAARC now has its own specialized economic research institute, and Shimomura Osamu has already begun to lead people to conduct special economic surveys in the Hanoi area.

How this place should be developed specifically, how it should be developed, what are the location advantages, and what suggestions are there, this should be the job of the Economic Research Institute. Normally, they will definitely issue some reports, and they will first be shown to Qian Qiwen, Chen Jiageng and others for discussion, and finally the summarized opinions will be shown to Zheng Yi.

It was just an inspection, so he just said whatever came to mind. Giving instructions based on economic reports is not as satisfying as writing a report based on instructions. Zheng Yi wasn't giving orders blindly, after all.

This is actually very bad. If Zheng Yi was not a time traveler, this would actually be a typical example of arbitrary, even dictatorial thinking. In fact, this is also a major obstacle that rulers in East Asia generally face.

It is an exaggeration to say that the reason why Japan's Ikeda, South Korea's Park Kaka, Jeon So-jong, and even Singapore's lawyer Lee in history were able to achieve certain achievements was largely because they really listened to the experts and were able to distinguish which experts were real experts and which were just repeaters of European and American ones.

To put it bluntly, the Southern Alliance is still not formalized enough so far, and Zheng Yi is not really a wise ruler. There are still many things he needs to learn and cultivate.

After all, the SAARC left Penang after the end of the Anti-Japanese War, which was only two years in total. He also needed to adapt and even learn how to be a real politician.

The scale and difficulty of managing a city, managing most of Southeast Asia, and even most multinational companies in the future are completely different.

After hearing this, Yan Junning said, "Mr. Zheng, the Red River Plain is actually very rich in iron ore reserves. It even had a relatively mature iron smelting plant during the Japanese occupation. Moreover, the Kinh people are very hardworking. Hanoi is actually fully capable of developing industrial production."

Obviously, as the mayor, Yan Junning does not want Hanoi to be just a grain distribution center within the SAARC.

Zheng Yi: "Oh, yes, there are abundant iron ore deposits in the Red River Plain. That's great. Most of the people who run iron mines in Nanyang are from Panyu. You can hold a bidding meeting to attract them to invest."

Yan Junning: "Mr. Zheng, I need your support. Without your industry guidance, even within the Southern Association for Regional Cooperation, whether it is people from Panyu or Americans and French, it is impossible for them to come to Hanoi to invest in iron ore."

After all, the money from the Marshall Plan has not been reconciled yet, the landlords have no surplus food, everyone is very poor, and capitalists will be very cautious in investing, and steel is even more impossible.

Scrap iron is cheaper than iron ore, and most people believe that the steel industry may not recover for more than a decade.

However, Zheng Yi did not have such concerns and said, "Alright, you can organize some and see how many Chinese merchants there are in Hanoi, or even in the entire French East Indies, and get some transfer loans."

"Regardless of whether we make a profit or a loss, we can open the ironworks first and see how it goes. If no one invests, I can personally fund the gap and then find a reliable professional manager to manage it."

"We can produce some steel bars for building houses and as construction materials. The rest can be smelted into iron ore and shipped to Penang and Singapore. Oh, and the raw ore can also be shipped to Yangon, where there are ironworks and a lot of heavy industry."

Yan: "In fact, Hanoi can also develop heavy industry. There are not only iron ore here, but also a large number of coal mines and copper mines. In addition, Vietnam is full of trees and timber is also abundant. Uh... We are also suitable for developing the machining industry."

Zheng Yi laughed when he heard this: "Don't worry, let's take it one step at a time. For now, Hanoi is still not suitable for the development you mentioned."

Zheng Yi turned around and said to him solemnly, "The Southern Alliance is a whole. I'm not just telling you this, I'm telling everyone this. The Southern Alliance, at least the area that we Chinese can control, is a whole."

"Every city has its own comparative advantages. I understand your desire to improve your city and have everything you need, but I don't want cities in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to operate independently. Singapore has a mature industrial chain for machining and industrial product production."

"Remember, SAARC's industrial planning is orderly, and we can't support everything. Of course, if you can independently develop Hanoi's mechanical processing or other industrial industries without relying on financial loans and industrial support policies, I would welcome that."

"Or you could try to find the SAARC Economic Research Institute and try to convince Mr. Shimomura. That way, your chances of convincing me will be much greater. Okay, let's talk about the part outside of Hanoi."

It was during the conversation that Zheng Yi suddenly realized that his guidance of Hanoi's economy was inappropriate.

It was only when Yan Junning mentioned mechanical processing that he realized that he didn't know much about the specific situation in Hanoi, and he had just made a mistake of making a decision based on his own guess.

Matters like specific economic policies should not be his responsibility. He usually focuses his energy on strategies and does not have that much energy to study specific economics. Talking nonsense is actually irresponsible to the SAARC.

[Sure enough, for those in power, restraining their desire to exercise power is the most basic, yet also the most difficult, compulsory course.]

But he suddenly changed the subject and said, "Let's discuss what to do with the other territories of the French East India Company. First, all the territories with old tribes will be allowed to be annexed by Siam."

"The Lao people in Laos are essentially Thai. The Lao language is just Thai with a bit of a broad perspective mixed in with some French. Integrating Laos will essentially benefit the stability of Indochina."

"Although Siam doesn't have a single SAARC city, it's basically within the SAARC's sphere of influence. At least for now, Wu Aihua's position is stable. His achievements in expanding territory may not allow him to subdue a large number of warlords in the country, but they can at least ensure his stability for the next twenty years."

Besides, Siam did not come without a price. The three southern provinces, which were mainly inhabited by Malays, were ceded and incorporated into Malaya.

Malaya must be the territory of SAARC.

In fact, although SAARC is not a national actor, it is now generally accepted that Malaya, which is about to become independent, is the main territory of SAARC.

Zheng Yi never even mentioned the separation of Penang from Malaya. This was a gray area he deliberately created. Basically, the international community also tacitly agreed that the Malayan government was the main parasite of the SAARC non-state actor.

Zheng Yi has also been promoting a great Malay union. In addition to the three southern provinces of Siam, some Malayan representatives from the entire Borneo and even the island of Sumatra have been gradually joining the Malay government. The framework of a "Greater Malaya" coalition government is taking shape.

There will definitely be short-term turmoil, and it may even be very intense, but in the long run it will definitely be beneficial to the two countries and even the entire Southeast Asia. After all, deliberately cramming different ethnic groups into the same country and deliberately dividing the same ethnic group into two or even three countries is what the British and French troublemakers did intentionally, and it is deliberately undermining regional stability.

"Except for Hanoi and the Red River Plain, we only want to occupy the northern part of Vietnam. Aside from the large-scale armed settlements carried out by the Guangxi Kinh people, we will not occupy any other areas. We will use the central region as a relatively vague dividing line."

General Long: "But Mr. Zheng, if we withdraw, including Saigon, the entire Southeast Plain and the Mekong Plain will inevitably fall into the hands of the Viet Minh and Mr. Hu, isn't that right..."

Zheng Yi: "Let them take their hands. We are not necessarily enemies. In fact, I would say it's good to have such an enemy."

"Of course, I also know that it would be easy for us to annex all of Vietnam if we wanted to, but annexation is easy, but governance is difficult. Ultimately, the narrative that 'Kinh people are Han Chinese' is too far-fetched."

"Let the Kinh people who agree with this narrative flee north, and those who don't flee south. We welcome those who can speak some basic Chinese to live and work in Hanoi. Isn't that great?" "This is what I want to teach you: let the people vote with their feet, instead of forcing them to vote with guns. There's nothing wrong with having two Vietnams, one in the north and one in the south. At least those who hate us will flee south, and I'm not afraid of them infiltrating."

"Back when Penang was still so poor, I dared to accept a large number of Japanese expatriates and allowed them to stay and come as they pleased. You know I had long ago determined that the Japanese would attack Southeast Asia. Now that I have a strong army and strong horses, could it be that I am afraid of these Kinh people?"

"There's nothing wrong with giving the people a chance to choose. I actually really want to use Vietnam as a testing ground. The attraction of civilization is always more reliable than conquering with guns and cannons. Isn't this also the process of winning people over with virtue and educating the barbarians?"

Those who stayed in the south were barbarians, and those who stayed in the north were naturalized. Anyway, those barbarians in the south could not cause him any trouble, so he would just deal with them one by one.

A security war is more difficult to fight than a formal war. If the Kinh people do not agree with the national narrative and ideology, it will be even more troublesome for economic development.

As long as Mr. Hu's brain is not short-circuited, he will never start a war with them again.

Vietnam was able to fight in history because it had experts guiding it.

In this time and space, he and the master were completely separated by the song of the Red River Plain.

They are now surrounded by SAARC, Siam and Cambodia on three sides. To the east is the sea. They don't even have a navy, let alone ships.

He was feeling suffocated from all directions, and he really wanted to see what tricks they could come up with next.

"Cambodia, or rather the area where the Khmer people live, Zheng Yi ordered General Wei to go there first as a representative and return Phnom Penh to the King's Army within half a month and recognize Cambodia's independence.

However, as part of a commercial cooperation agreement, the new Cambodian government will lease Sihanoukville, the country's only seaport, to the SAARC for 99 years, with an annual rent of million SAARC dollars.

General Wei: "What if South Vietnam gets into a territorial dispute with them, or incites internal factions opposed to the king to cause unrest? Should we intervene?"

Zheng Yi: "I will not interfere. I said, the North and the South are divided. Let the Kinh people choose for themselves whether to recognize themselves as part of the Chinese. If they want to fight, let them fight. War will not bring happiness."

General Long: "I'm afraid... this division between North and South isn't just about national narratives; it's also about a deeper ideological struggle. Will the Americans agree to your deliberate fostering of an enemy?"

Zheng Yi: "I will fly to Japan tomorrow and explain it to Coach Mac in person. He is almost in agreement."

"You're flying to Japan tomorrow? Aren't you going to take a closer look? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Indeed, some things need to be finalized urgently. It's urgent. It involves over 10 billion yuan in loans, so of course we need to secure the funds as soon as possible."

He was really a little afraid that if the delay was too long, the situation in the country would change before he got the money. If the United States hesitated again because he was Chinese, that would not be good.

On the side, Li Jianqiao couldn't help but ask, "Shares, do you really want to accept these loans and allow American multinational companies to join the SAARC unscrupulously?"

Zheng Yi nodded.

"But if that happens, we Chinese in Southeast Asia will...will...Southeast Asia will definitely be controlled by the Americans."

Zheng Yi laughed and said, "Which American?"

Li Jianqiao: “Ah?”

"I say, which American controls SAARC? What is America, and who are Americans?"

Li Jianqiao looked confused, obviously not quite understanding what he heard.

Zheng Yi asked in return, "Which country am I from?"

Li Jianqiao: "Uncle, of course you are...eh?" But he was suddenly stunned.

Yes, what nationality is my uncle from?

It's not just my uncle, all the Chinese in Southeast Asia are actually facing the same problem right now.

It's just that I haven't thought about it carefully for such a long time.

In fact, this is not quite right. They have very little contact with the country. At least most of them will definitely not listen to the domestic government, and most of their relatives in the country have already been brought out.

Are you from the Southern Alliance?

But SAARC is a non-state actor.

Is that a Malayalee?

Malaya has not yet achieved independence, and even if it has, it is really a bit far-fetched.

The Malayan government may not be as effective as the domestic government in managing them.

But Zheng Yi said, "Actually, if I hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten that I'm a dual citizen of Chinese and British. Damn it, I didn't even realize I was British."

Li Cambridge: "Yes, you are British."

Zheng Yi: "Why don't I just not become British? The original intention and vision of the SAARC was to allow multinational corporations to be free from nationality constraints. My main purpose in going to see Marshal MacArthur this time is to obtain American citizenship. At the same time, I also hope that he can introduce me to the Republican Party."

For a moment, everyone was stunned after hearing Zheng Yi's words: "Ah? You, you want to become an American citizen?"

Zheng Yi turned his head and asked, "Isn't that possible? If the UK is unhappy, can't I just give up my British citizenship and stop being British? As for the Republican Party, I want to join. Can they still not want me?"

"SAARC, of ​​course it will be controlled by the United States. What's the problem? I can be an American too."

Anyway, the United States is a country of immigrants. In fact, can the presidents of major Chinese chambers of commerce in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) all become American citizens?
Even if one day you deny it, you can change it back on that day if you really want to.

Can it be added back?

Even if it is a hard card entry requirement, doesn't he have the Nobel Prize?

Of course, American citizenship alone is certainly not enough, and SAARC must be 100% controlled by the Republican Party.

Then wouldn't it be over if he joined the Republican Party?

Who says that someone outside the US can't participate in and influence American politics? As far as he knows, there are at least two foreign men in history who have greatly influenced American politics, even swaying it: Israel's Ariel Sharon and BB.

Otherwise, why do people say that Israel is the father of the United States?

Can't he do what Sharon and BB can do?

He is an American after all. Can't he become a big shot in the Republican Party?
What is needed to engage in politics in the United States is nothing more than connections, fame, and money.

What doesn't he have?
Of course, Zheng Yi was not born in the United States and is not qualified to run for president.

But he thought that imitating Musk should not be a big problem.

The three major factions of the Republican Party: Rockefeller faction, traditional conservative faction, and conservative reformist faction, at least two of them are his allies.

The neoliberal faction will rise in a few years, and by then it will be able to take over the reins.

Why can't he be the representative of the neoliberal faction and the leader of the faction?

Most of the ideas of SAARC were originally brought by him from the neoliberal faction.

You have to know that of the two major parties in the United States, the Democratic Party is essentially a gangster alliance, while the Republican Party is a financial tycoon alliance. The Republican Party is originally called the "big boss party" in the United States. Given the size of the Southern Alliance, if it joins the Republican Party, it is hard to say whether the Republican Party controls the Southern Alliance or the Southern Alliance controls the Republican Party.

This is the most practical way Zheng Yi can think of to deal with the Americans' increased investment: get involved personally!

The streets are full of heroes, let's see who is the host and who is the guest.

(End of this chapter)