, Wanbi

Although it is exaggerated, the Tao theory is good.

The reason why the modern nation-state was able to rise rapidly and easily defeat the traditional dynastic state was that the centripetal force within the modern nation-state was stronger and more able to unite the people, and this centripetal force did not rely on kinship ties, but on a banner of nation and nationalism.

Under this banner, the majority of the people share a common goal and a common strategic interest, and it is because of this that they can unite and compete with other nation-states or traditional dynastic states for precious natural resources and the living space of the state.

This is how Britain rose in modern times. As a maritime nation, Britain's ability to become an "empire on which the sun never sets" is inseparable from its internal unity, at least in the early twentieth century. No country in the world seems more united than the United Kingdom, and even the citizens of Dominions such as Australia and South Africa pride themselves in their allegiance to the British Empire, even insisting that the British Empire's navy has a "natural obligation" to defend these Dominions from foreign military invasion

This is the internal unity of the British Empire, which is rock solid and an example for most of the world's civilian countries to follow.

As an oriental civilization, there is no lack of this sense of encouraging unity in Chinese culture, but unfortunately. This kind of consciousness has always existed only in small circles, and has not been magnified into the unity of the whole people, and the most representative is the so-called "gangs" in various places

This kind of small circle of unity is most prominent among those Chinese who go overseas to make a living, Teochew Gang, Hakka Gang, Guangfu Gang, Xiangshan Gang, various Chinese groups characterized by geography are almost obvious characteristics of overseas Chinese communities. These small circles can provide protection for a small group of Chinese, but they cannot really unite to provide protection for all Chinese, and it is precisely because of this that outsiders are given a chance to break through.

A typical example is the Narth region of Malaya in the mid-19th century, where tin ore was abundant. In order to mine these tin mines, the princes of the local princely states lured a large number of Chinese laborers, who came from Fujian and Guangdong, and were scattered abroad. Solidarity is needed naturally. As a result, the Fujianese organized the "Haishan Company" and the Cantonese organized the "Yixing Society" with the background of the Tiandihui, and these two small groups did safeguard the interests of the people in their own provinces, but they ignored the unity between them, so they were used by the local princes of the princes, and became increasingly incompatible, and completely hostile. In the end, it was taken advantage of by the British colonial authorities, and in the end it was unable to establish the political advantage of the Chinese in the local area.

At that time, the Nanyang Chinese had not yet realized the meaning of "nation and state", and what they valued most was not the unity of all Chinese people. Rather, it was a small solidarity based on geographical ties, a notion that gradually changed with the establishment of the Straits Settlements in the United Kingdom. The Chinese finally realized why they were at a disadvantage in the competition, and they also learned the concept of "nation and state" from Western culture, and it was for this reason that the Nanyang Chinese went all out to support the anti-Qing revolutionary cause of the League and the Liberation Society.

But the Nanyang Chinese want to be truly united. There is also a need for a nexus, and that bond is a central government with the characteristics of a modern nation-state.

After the fall of the Manchu Dynasty, this opportunity came, and it happened that the United Front government also had this plan, so the two sides hit it off, and a small united front in the Nanyang region was quietly established, although there were no public activities, but the Chinese groups and Huaqiao organizations in various parts of the Nanyang region did unite at a certain level, although the contradictions caused by history between each other have not been completely eliminated, but it is undeniable that once the central government needs it, it can immediately use this, the small United Front of Nanyang.

In fact, this small united front is connected through those Chinese schools all over Nanyang, and the principals and teachers of each school are the big and small brains of this small united front, and these people further infiltrate the influence of this small united front into the various Chinese associations through their personal connections and community organizations. Of course, in the process of implementation, it is inevitable to encounter resistance, some of which come from the colonial authorities, and some from those who serve the colonial authorities, for the former, China's central government can negotiate through diplomatic channels, for the latter, if persuasion is useless, it will be the turn of the Military Intelligence Agency to go into battle, in the past two years, there have been many Chinese leaders who have died in various "accidents", and the people who replace them are often people who have an appreciative position on the small United Front.

As the station chief of the sub-station of the South Seas Intelligence Station of the Military Intelligence Agency. Huang Chengshan once participated in the assassination of a local "Chinese security officer", although the assassination was actually presided over by the deputy head of the intelligence station at the time, Huang Chengshan is a Chinese who has lived in the local area for more than 20 years. He was very familiar with the local situation, and without his assistance, the assassination would not have been disguised as an accident, and the "Chinese security officer" may not be considered a real Chinese, he is only a quarter of Chinese blood, but this did not prevent Huang Chengshan from listing him as a "Chinese traitor" for this kind of person. He had always hated it. There was no guilt at the time of the assassination, and there was even a hint of comfort.

After the assassination of the "Chinese traitor", the new Chinese security officer finally took on the responsibility of protecting the local Chinese, although he did not have much actual power. But at least it was a cover for the activities of the small local United Front, and in fact, the new Chinese security officer was the director of several local Chinese schools. With him in his presence, the local small united front was very active, and Huang Chengshan was also a member of the secret committee

。

Now, Huang Chengshan is sitting in the reception room of this military port with five leading Chinese figures in Singapore. Five of them were secret commissars of the small local United Front. He did not join the small United Front, but he was a well-known local advocate of Chinese education. Such a person. Naturally, they will not turn their backs on their own people.

The main reason why the six Chinese representatives sat in this reception room was to present a petition to the British Governor General of the Straits Settlements to express the position of the Chinese community in the "Malayan Incident".

It was a long time before someone came to meet him, but it was not the British Governor himself, but a colonial secretary of Mr. Governor-General.

"Good morning, I am Mr. Governor's secretary, you may call me Mr. Parker, and I will accept your petition on behalf of Mr. Governor, and if you have any other requests, you can also tell me directly, and I will convey it to Mr. Governor on your behalf."

The secretary of colonial affairs could actually speak Hokkien. This made Huang Chengshan and others a little surprised.

Perhaps seeing the surprise of these Chinese bridge people, this Mr. Parker introduced himself again.

"I have been a commercial counsellor for a long time at the British Consulate in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, so I am familiar with the Hokkien dialect, which I can speak several dialects of Hokkien. The counterpart is that I can't speak the northern Chinese dialect well. Actually, I was transferred to Singapore a few days ago, and I was supposed to return to China on order, but I didn't have time to get on the ship, so I caught up with this incident. It is very regrettable that the property of Chinese nationals has been damaged in this incident, and I am deeply sympathetic to this. However, if you had come to ask for compensation, I would not be able to give you an answer, and in fact the central government of China had already made representations to the British Minister in China on this matter, but the British Imperial Government insisted that it was not the British colonial authorities that had caused the present tensions, but the Korean mob, and that the situation would not have been so bad if they had been as peace-loving as the Chinese expatriates. ”

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Parker's tirade made these Chinese representatives a little overwhelmed for a while, and Huang Chengshan was the first to react, Parker was shirking responsibility for the British governor.

"Mr. Parker, now is not the time for your colonial authorities to shirk their responsibilities, if it weren't for your insistence on using force. If we refuse to hold dialogue with the North Korean workers on an equal footing, the situation will not be out of control, and we, the Chinese Society, will be ready to mediate for both sides long ago. However, your colonial office ignored our suggestion and said, "It's not an exaggeration." ”

Huang Chengshan immediately refuted and reasoned. But his words are not very reliable. That's right. On the day of the incident, the Chinese community did have the intention of mediating, but the order given to him by the Military Intelligence Bureau was a "delay." The word, and that's why. The small local United Front did not play any role in the early stage of the Malayan incident, and today's negotiation is the first time that the United Front has directly intervened in this matter, and this petition was actually voted and approved by the General Committee of the Small United Front.

Parker didn't expect the other party to come prepared. There was a bit of a pause for a while, so I simply diverted the topic and asked about the content of the petition.

Huang Chengshan handed over the petition. And briefly explain the contents of the petition.

"This is the unanimous demand of all the Chinese community in Singapore, and our demand is not high, but there are two demands in total: first, we hope that Mr. Governor General will immediately order the cessation of attacks on the streets and villages occupied by the Korean rioters, and earnestly maintain social order in the city; Second, the lifting of the border blockade allows the Chinese expatriates to retreat from the north to stay away from the fighting, and if the blockade of the land border cannot be lifted, the port should be allowed to be navigated by passenger ships, so that the Chinese can leave the city by boat and go to other parts of the South Seas to join relatives and friends, take shelter from the fighting for the time being, and return to the port after the situation is stabilized

Parker was a little surprised that this petition did not mention the compensation for the losses of the Chinese, which was somewhat strange, but since the other party did not mention it. Then Parker was happy to pretend to be confused, took the petition, and glanced at it a few times, but the content was not much. There is only one piece of paper, but the names of the Chinese associations and overseas Chinese organizations listed at the back of the petition are really scary, and I am afraid that all the local Chinese organizations are on the list, whether they are white or underworld.

"What if Mr. Governor General cannot immediately order a ceasefire and open the borders?" Parker asked cautiously.

"Then all the Chinese merchants in this port and the neighboring areas will immediately strike the market, and the dock workers will also strike and refuse to load and unload supplies for the British ships, and the Chinese sailors will also leave their posts, and the Chinese patrols working for the patrol houses will also cease patrolling."

Huang Chengshan unceremoniously came up with a negotiated countermeasure. Although the other secret commissioners of the local small United Front were somewhat apprehensive about this, Huang Chengshan finally convinced them, and Huang Chengshan was also very confident in his heart, because he knew. Behind them stood a central government.

"Will they obey your orders?"

Parker was curious, and although he had only been in Singapore for a few days, he was well aware of the confrontation between the Chinese community in Nanyang. It's just that he didn't know that now these Chinese communities have been secretly united, and many of the "nails" planted by the British colonial authorities have been removed.

"Yes, because it doesn't matter how far away we are from home. We all have a common name, "Chinese."

Huang Chengshan nodded very confidently, for this, he was very sure, he couldn't wait to push the local small United Front to the forefront.

Parker was silent, he had a hunch. This chaos in the South Seas will not end anytime soon.