Expedition to Europe

The Lan Fang military had already concluded that if they went to war with the British, Lan Fang alone could ensure invincibility in Southeast Asia, but if they wanted to spread the war to Europe, Lan Fang would be unable to do so.

The destructiveness of the war is beyond doubt. If the war only occurred in Southeast Asia, even if Lan Fang could withstand the British Invincible Fleet, Lan Fang's homeland would be beaten to pieces. Even if the war did not reach Lan Fang's homeland, Lan Fang's economic development would be affected.

And this is what Qin Zhiyuan would never want to see.

In the 1930s, this time node was still quite critical. Whether it was Lan Fang or Britain, France, and the United States, they were all trying their best to get out of the sequelae of the world war. A large number of veterans had to be resettled, large-scale wartime military industrial enterprises had to be transformed, and the wartime economic system that lived within its means had to restore the normal economic model dominated by the market economy.

These things are simple to say, but it is not easy to do. The world war has been over for more than two years, and whether it is the British, the French, or even the Americans, they have not walked out of the shadow of the world war.

After a deep talk with old Renault, Qin Zhiyuan held a series of imperial meetings to discuss with Lan Fang's elites the feasibility of provoking relations between Britain and France.

Lan Fang was nominally a constitutional monarchy, but in fact it was still a monarchy. Qin Zhiyuan had supreme authority in Lan Fang and basically encountered no resistance. Qin Zhiyuan's will was firmly implemented.

Since it was decided to make trouble, an oil exploration team immediately set off to the Persian Gulf, still under the banner of United Petroleum. The destination was Syria, which had just been occupied by the French after the World War and was once called the "Graveyard of Empires".

After the World War, the British and the French divided the land in the Middle East. The British took Palestine and allowed European Jews to immigrate to Palestine. At the same time, they threw the Kurds and Persians with different religious beliefs together to form a new kingdom of Iraq. France's gains were Lebanon and Syria, but the British had strong resistance to the French getting Syria, which left enough room for Qin Zhiyuan's operation.

Exploring for oil takes time. Even if the exploration team of United Petroleum has the detailed information provided by Qin Zhiyuan, it is not easy to find oil in the desert. Before that, if you want to create enough trouble for the British, you still have to look at Siam.

February 8, 1921, the Spring Festival of the Year of Monkey in the lunar calendar, like previous years, although there is no clear concept of the four seasons, Lan Fang still celebrated it in a big way, celebrating the arrival of spring, summing up the harvest of the past year, and looking forward to a better future.

This day is a festival for Chinese people all over the world. As long as there are Chinese people, there will always be various celebrations, even in foreign countries.

In previous years, Chiang Mai was also jubilant. Just like in the Republic of China, the Chinese would set off firecrackers, post Spring Festival couplets, dance lions and dragons, and visit relatives and friends. This year is a bit unusual. Just two months before the Spring Festival, the Chinese in Chiang Mai packed up their home belongings and left. Some even sold their property, and they were simply leaving.

Such large-scale activities, of course, could not be hidden from the British. The British did notice these anomalies, but at the same time, the British did not stop the Chinese from leaving. Even though this migration had spread to the ten provinces in northern Siam, the British did not take it seriously. Instead, some British took the opportunity to buy Chinese properties at low prices, and even forced buying and selling happened from time to time.

If it was a normal transaction, the Lan Fang government would not interfere, but for those forced buying and selling, the Lan Fang government still protested to the British.

The British did not take the protest of the Lan Fang government seriously. Although they sent investigators as a routine, they often ended up in nothing. The Lan Fang government did not intend to make a big move to seek justice for those Chinese, so in the two months before the Spring Festival, there were frequent "artillery battles" between the Lan Fang government and the British government, but they were limited to verbal attacks.

Strictly speaking, Chiang Mai is not Siamese territory. Before the British occupied Chiang Mai, although King Rama VI of Siam had control over the Chiang Mai region, the Chiang Mai government still had a relatively large degree of autonomy. The relationship between the Chiang Mai government and the Siamese government was more similar to the relationship between Goryeo and the Qing Empire. Therefore, although Rama VI had died for his country, the impact on the Chiang Mai government was not great. The Chiang Mai government was still able to ensure basic operations, and there was not much turmoil in society.

However, this kind of social stability could not last too long. The departure of the Chinese had a much greater impact on Chiang Mai than the arrival of the British. After the Chinese left, large tracts of land lost their owners, a large number of factories were unmanned, and there was a gap in the social economy. This required someone to fill it, and if it was not handled properly, the existing stable order would be broken immediately.

The Spring Festival is a traditional festival of the Chinese and has little to do with the Siamese. In previous years, when the Chinese celebrated the Spring Festival, the Siamese would also join in the fun, but this year the Chinese left one after another, and the Siamese had no place to join in the fun, so Chiang Mai was particularly deserted on this day.

The headquarters of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Chiang Mai was a place that the Chinese people bought with their own money. It does not belong to any one person, so it has not been sold. However, after the Chinese people left, the headquarters of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was occupied by a group of ruffians and then converted into a brothel and casino. It does look more lively than before, but it is now filled with smoke and has lost its original solemnity.

Because the Chinese have left, the locals don't have much money, so the operating conditions of this casino are not very good. However, the advantage is that there is no venue rent and no cost. The gang of gangsters still take it very seriously. There are three or five big men at the door at any time. He was guarding the goal with his arms folded, and there were also people lending money and collecting money in the venue. It looked like that.

Following a burst of yelling and scolding, two big men walked out of the gate carrying a thin young man. The young man struggled desperately, but despite his small body and weak strength, he could not escape from the hold of the two big men.

When they reached the door, two big men ignored the six stone steps outside the door and threw the young man down directly.

The young man rolled down the stone steps, his body and head covered with dust, and a big bump on his head swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A big man cursed: "This is not a charity, and it's not your turn to play tricks. If you have money, you are the uncle. If you don't have money, you are not as good as a grandson. Come back next time with enough money, otherwise don't blame me for being unreasonable." noodle."

The two big men cursed a few words, turned around and entered the door.

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The young man covered his head and froze on the ground for a while, but finally did not dare to speak, and left amid the mocking laughter of the big men in front of the door.

"B***** Bada Feng, when I get rich, I will come back and use my money to beat you to death——" Only when he was far away did the young man dare to curse, and the voice was not too loud. It was obvious that he was not interested in Bada Feng. Still afraid when meeting.

"Puchana——" A voice suddenly came from across the street.

The young man turned his head and immediately greeted him with a warm smile: "Master Zhongqing, didn't you go to Bangkok? Why are you back now?"

Across the street is Xu Zhongqing.