1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

Good man, this is a test!

Aircraft research, development, production and manufacturing are key industrial sectors at the strategic level. If Japan is really willing to open up even this level of technology, it means that they want to completely win over the Chinese forces under the British sphere of influence, which means confronting the British, even if it is not direct.

As expected of a Chinese businessman, he always speaks in a tactful way.

Everyone turned to look at the questioner—a middle-aged man in his 40s, wearing a dark suit and glasses, and looking quite elegant. He smiled and continued to explain his thoughts:

Of course, we are well aware that aviation is a key area, and if it is not allowed, we will not force it and are willing to reach extensive cooperation with Your Highness in other business areas."

What this sentence actually means is that if you, the "Five Republics", are not capable of confronting the British, then our cooperation will be limited to "business".

Fujiwara no Kanezane looked at Lee Kong Chian, the industrialist and financier from Penang, who later became a leading figure in the Chinese business community in Singapore and the son-in-law of Tan Kah Kee, and replied with the same smile:

"The aviation industry involves the military industry, and military-industrial cooperation involves regional security. Therefore, whether cooperation is possible still needs to be evaluated by the Greater East Asia Security Council..."

This statement was as good as nothing, and even sounded perfunctory, so Li Guangqian asked bluntly:

"So, what are your personal thoughts, Your Highness? Are you willing to open up aviation technology cooperation?"

He took the initiative to sign up to attend the conference this time, ostensibly representing the "Southeast Asian Chinese business community", but in fact he was an "observer" tacitly approved by the British Malayan authorities.

The British wanted to see how attractive this "Co-Prosperity Sphere" was, what the Japanese really wanted to do, and how many people would dare to defect.

Although there is really no need to go through such a detour - if the British are willing to attend the meeting, Fujiwara no Kanezane will not only not refuse, but will also applaud and welcome them.

Of course, Li Guangqian also had his own little calculations - if Fujiwara no Kanezane was indeed reliable enough, it would not be impossible for the Li family to cooperate with him or even establish a closer relationship with him.

Since the father-in-law has chosen to invest in the South and go all-in on the CCP, how can the son-in-law put all his eggs in one basket?

As for the CCP and the Five Republics, the two forces that currently seem to have the greatest chance of winning in China, as long as they invest separately, no matter who wins, the Chen and Li families will not lose.

Fujiwara Kanezane's eyes sharpened slightly:

"If you ask me for my personal opinion, then I agree with opening up some aviation technologies, especially in the civil aviation sector. I believe that some private capital should be introduced to accelerate the development of the aviation industry, which is also beneficial to the development of military technology..."

Part of it, the civil aviation sector, private capital...

"..Thank you, Your Highness, for your answer.

Li Guangqian got the answer he wanted - the Japanese had no intention of confronting the British head-on for the time being, but they would not give up the confrontation and were willing to support the Chinese and overseas Chinese forces in Southeast Asia. He quickly returned to his position with satisfaction.

However, we'll have to wait before placing the big bet.

The heat should be right and don’t serve the food too early.

We are businessmen!

No matter how foolish Li Guangqian's idea was from a business investment perspective, since he had set the example, others soon began to explore the issue step by step:

"Your Highness, since we can cooperate in civil aviation technology, can we also cooperate in some non-strategic military fields?

"Of course, as long as the Security Council assesses and confirms that it will not threaten regional security or any member state, cooperation is possible..."

The implication was that only member states of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere would be eligible for the transfer of "core military technology" and even more technologies, and that peace among member states would be protected by the "Greater East Asia Security Council";

As for the “non-member states”, well, good luck to you!

Anyway, the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" only guarantees the safety within the circle, and has no control over the outside of the circle.

Naturally, the next question was raised by Sukarno, who was eager to lead Indonesia to independence but also had some bad intentions:

"Your Highness, since you mentioned that military cooperation requires a 'security threat assessment,' does that mean that the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere has a clear military alliance framework? For example, if a member country were to encounter external aggression, would other countries send troops to assist?

This statement was obviously much more explicit than Li Guangqian's question, and was intended to force Fujiwara no Kanezane to express his position.

Other countries?

Are there any other countries in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere besides the Five Republics and Japan?

In other words, this is asking, is this "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" you are planning to establish an economic cooperation organization or a military alliance?

If it is the former, then what will Japan do if other countries in the "circle" are attacked one day?

If it is the latter, would you, Japan, dare to openly establish such a military alliance that is clearly aimed at the British and French colonial systems?

Fujiwara no Kanezane was unhurried:

"Ideally, member states should naturally safeguard each other's security, but a formal military alliance requires further discussion among governments. At present, we prefer to deepen ties between countries through economic integration rather than mandatory military commitments."

This answer is very cunning - it neither explicitly promises military protection nor completely excludes the possibility of military cooperation. It is obviously waiting for the "country seeking help" to put forward conditions and offer benefits.

Such an answer certainly wouldn't satisfy anyone, but if it were, further questions would only be repeated. Just as Sukarno was pondering how to press the issue, someone solved the problem for him:

"Then I ask the venerable king! If we were oppressed by the colonists, would His Majesty's Liberation Army come to help us drive out the invaders?"

Now, everyone's attention was focused on the source of the half-familiar English voice - the warrior in the outer corner who had said something that no one dared to say out loud. However, they noticed that the warrior's outfit was a little out of place and strange:

Everyone else was dressed in suits or at least neatly, but he was wearing a skin skirt, a feather turban, a necklace made of some animal teeth, and his upper body was bare, but he was wearing an old European military uniform.

He slapped his chest and roared like a savage:

"Take us for example! We've been humiliated by Portugal for hundreds of years! Will you send an army to rescue us? Are you willing to go to war with the Portuguese for us?"

N

ho!

warrior!

Keep talking!

Say more!

I love to listen!

In fact, this is the reason why most people come to Shenyang, but no one is willing to say it so bluntly. They want to continue to sit on the fence, jumping back and forth between the colonists and Fujiwara no Kanezane to gain benefits without pushing themselves to the opposite side of either side.

For a moment, Fujiwara Kanezane even thought that this person was an Indian or Maori. After asking the agent beside him, he found out that the other person was a representative of Portuguese (East) Timor named Dom Boaventura.

He was the son of a tribal chief who resisted Portuguese colonial rule from 1910 to 1912. His father was exiled to Portuguese Mozambique and died after the uprising failed. He inherited his father's name and will, and secretly led the tribal leaders to continue to fight against the Portuguese.

There are so many small fry like this, let alone Fujiwara Kanezane, even the agent who saw the list didn't take it seriously. He didn't expect the other party to be so reckless.

However, being reckless also has its advantages.

Fujiwara Kanezane pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke under the gazes of countless people:

"The Five-Star Eastern Republic has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries..

As soon as this sentence came out, many people immediately showed disappointment or even contempt.

ha?

Not even daring to fight Portugal?

Then we still count on you!

As we all know, Portugal was indeed quite powerful before, but now it is one of the poorest countries in the whole of Europe, and its military presence in Asia is almost non-existent.

For example, there are less than 500 "regular troops" in the entire East Timor, of which only about 50 are from Europe (mostly officers or technical soldiers), and the rest are indigenous soldiers recruited locally;

Furthermore, the army's equipment was quite backward, lacking any air force or armored units, and its navy consisted of only a few small gunboats. The Dutch West Timor garrison next door had an army of about 5000 men!

Moreover, since Salazar, who served as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, had just come to power and a financial crisis broke out, he chose to prioritize maintaining the African colonies that were closer (such as Angola and Mozambique) and paid even less attention to Asia.

If it were not for the deterrence of other European countries such as Britain and France, if it were not for the influence of colonial inertia, if it were not for its former glory, Portugal would have been overthrown in the Far East long ago.

If they don't even dare to fight a weakling like Portugal, how can they still believe that the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" can be realized?

Only a few people thought that Fujiwara no Kanezane would not be so stupid, and they listened in silence.

Sure enough, after an official statement of "non-interference in internal affairs", they were met with a "but".

"...However, if local people suffer from cruel exploitation or colonial oppression, are willing to resist the colonizers, and seek our assistance, the Greater East Asia Council will also make an assessment and decide whether to organize a volunteer army to help the local people defeat all oppressors."

Volunteer Army!

In an instant, almost all the well-informed people remembered the strange "American troops" in Shanghai who had traveled thousands of miles to volunteer to serve in China and even helped Soong Ching Ling's new government resist the attack of the Kuomintang army.

Good guys!

This is the same way Americans play!

The friendship between Japan and the United States is truly unbreakable!

Regardless of whether the Japanese learned "American wisdom," Fujiwara no Kanezane's statement directly answered the chief's son's question:

Not intervening easily does not mean not intervening!

Not using force lightly does not mean not using force!

If conditions are sufficient, the "Volunteer Army" can also go on a long expedition!

There is no doubt that this answer gave a serious reassurance to all the delegates in Southeast Asia who wanted to resist colonialism.

Such a statement on such an occasion shows that as long as Fujiwara no Kanezane doesn't want to destroy his political foundation, he will never easily go back on his word!

From this point of view, without mentioning other Japanese, at least Fujiwara no Kanezane and the "Five Parties" behind him should be able to do the job!

With the decline of Chinese civilization, Asia has been weak for a hundred years. Finally, someone can stand up and take the lead!

592 Everyone has it! Besiege the seal↓

Fujiwara no Kanezane's public statement of willingness to send troops to East Timor really added fuel to the fire of ambition of the Southeast Asian representatives who were already eager to seek or were already clamoring for independence.

Historically, when Japan was forced to invade Southeast Asia due to pressure from various factors such as resources, it was warmly welcomed by the locals from top to bottom as "liberators", not to mention Fujiwara no Kanezane, who already had a very good reputation at that time.

(Then the Southeast Asian countries discovered that the British, French and American colonizers were just not human, and the Japanese devils were simply not human)

But this group of people basically ignored how many "restrictions" there were in Fujiwara no Kanezane's words - suffering oppression, being willing to resist, actively seeking help, passing the assessment, volunteering, helping...

In other words, if the local people had not “suffered oppression,” “had not resisted,” “had not sought assistance,” or “had not passed the assessment,” then the “volunteer army” would never have been deployed;

Neither Fujiwara Kanezane nor Mark had any intention of shedding the blood of their own children in a foreign country for no reason, no matter whether the blood belonged to Chinese or Japanese.

Of course, if the militarists or the Kuomintang rubbish want to go to a foreign country to commit suicide, then someone will definitely not stop them and will support them with open arms.

Let more people die so that we don’t have to deal with them in the future.

Even if the assessment was passed and the "volunteer army" could go abroad to fight, Fujiwara no Kanezane still imposed restrictions on them - "helping" the local people defeat the colonizers, rather than "taking full responsibility" themselves;

In other words, I am only here to help. The real force to resist colonial aggression can only be the local people themselves. If you are dreaming of "standing by and waiting for liberation, making no sacrifices, and reaping the rewards", then you'd better wake up as soon as possible.

This was done not only to guard against ungrateful people, but also to awaken the local people's consciousness of struggle and resistance through bloodshed and sacrifice, so that they could accumulate experience in war and nation-building in the process;

Otherwise, if the dominant power is handed over to certain "middlemen", even if independence is achieved, it will just be the same as in history, with a change of oppressor.

Take East Timor for example. The fact that it has been colonized successively by the Netherlands and Portugal since 1556 is not only due to the help of Britain and France in suppressing opposition forces for the sake of their own colonial systems, but also due to the lack of resistance among the local people.

Even though the father of the tribal chief who spoke today once rebelled against Portugal, he actually didn't hate colonialism at all. Instead, he felt that certain policies of the Portuguese authorities affected his authority and interests in the tribe, and he instigated the uprising of ignorant people for the sake of his own status.

Including this chief himself who came to attend the meeting, how much do you think he considered the happiness and well-being of the local people?

Bullshit!

Maybe they just want to use Fujiwara no Kanezane to get him back to East Timor to continue serving as chief or even as the future "King of East Timor".

As for the people?

ha?

Who are the people?

I am the people!

Anyone who disagrees with me will be killed on my own behalf!

The situation in Southeast Asia is quite different from that in China. The upper-class elites are almost all pro-colonial or simply running dogs of the colonists. They are seeking independence only to gain greater benefits for themselves.

If we fail to pay attention to this point, all the fruits of our efforts and investment of resources for liberation will eventually be taken away by this group of people, and eventually a bunch of pseudo-regimes will be created in Southeast Asia that may rebel at any time.

That's why Fujiwara no Kanezane added that sentence - "...help the local people defeat all oppressors."

So, who is the "oppressor"?

Humph, now it is undoubtedly the European colonial authorities, but it is hard to say who it will be in the future.

Fortunately, this group of people have not yet realized these problems, and happily entered the next stage planned by Fujiwara no Kanezane - representatives of various countries freely asked questions and made speeches, and jointly discussed how the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" should be built.

For example, the question from Philippine representative Quezon:

“What should we do if our country is facing financial difficulties and cannot afford infrastructure construction?

Does this mean that we cannot participate in the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere"?

This question is a blatant joke.

The Philippines must definitely participate in the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," but it cannot be free. What else can it do?