si-mexico Chapter 1238 Arrival in Hong Kong
Chapter 1238 Arrival in Hong Kong
If it were at the port of Huangpu, all the Japanese spies on board would have been burned to death. The Japanese spies below would definitely have demanded that the entire ship be surrounded and everyone be checked one by one.
But this is Hong Kong, and no matter how much power the Japanese have, they can't act recklessly here. They could only protest to the ship operators, and ultimately nothing came of it.
Although Hong Kong might fall under Japanese occupation in the future, for the time being, the Japanese could only watch helplessly. When Li Shaoyi, Miss Baiyun, and the others disembarked, they saw Japanese spies glaring menacingly at the disembarking civilians, but there was nothing they could do. However, the Japanese underground presence in Hong Kong was considerable.
Since the start of the full-scale war, Japanese merchants have thoroughly infiltrated all sectors of Hong Kong society, including some police stations. However, European power remains the greatest, and upon realizing this, they began to suppress Japanese influence in various ways. This is not Huangpu River; we cannot allow the Japanese to gain absolute dominance here.
In addition, the overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia also wield considerable influence in Hong Kong. Li Shaoyi had previously told Chairman Chen and others that we should increase our strength in Hong Kong and occasionally send warships to patrol the area, which would also benefit our overseas Chinese community.
The power of overseas Chinese in Hong Kong had reached its peak, but the outbreak of full-scale war forced us to retreat for a period. After all, the Japanese had already launched a full-scale war, and the Europeans needed to conduct war assessments. Therefore, in disputes between the two sides, the majority of the time the bias leaned towards the Japanese—who could argue with their superior strength?
As you disembark from the ship, you can see the bustling city of Hong Kong, which seems to rival the Bund on the Huangpu River. However, Huangpu is currently the largest city in the Far East. Although Hong Kong is now very prosperous under European rule, it still lags behind the two former concessions on Huangpu.
However, with the fall of Huangpu, a large number of Chinese businessmen flocked to Hong Kong, and the city gradually became more vibrant. According to reports from some of Li Shaoyi's subordinates, the land we had stockpiled in advance has already begun to appreciate wildly, with some increasing by about 20% in just one month. This can be considered the golden age of real estate.
Li Shaoyi has already ordered his men to slowly unload their properties. Don't be fooled by the current rapid price increases; when the Japanese are about to invade, real estate will be practically worthless. Nobody will think those properties are valuable, and everyone will be dumping them. But then, everyone will be selling houses—where will they find buyers?
"These Japanese people are so arrogant. When I went abroad to study last time, they weren't like this here."
Miss Baiyun said angrily that when she came out of the dock just now, there were several Japanese spies standing at the door, blatantly displaying their guns, and the police officers from the patrol station next to them didn't even care.
"The situation has changed. In fact, it's not just the Japanese who can't have this place; even the Europeans can't have it. We just need to work hard slowly. It's not about driving them out right now; we don't have the strength. Once we've accumulated enough power, we'll not only take this place back, but we'll also establish concessions in their territory and let them experience what it's like to be colonized."
Upon hearing Li Shaoyi's words, Miss Baiyun immediately laughed. However, she didn't believe him. Although Li Shaoyi described a very promising future, everyone knew that he was just trying to amuse her. If we really had such great abilities, we wouldn't be being bullied like this now.
Don't you believe what I'm saying?
Judging from Miss Baiyun's smile, she was being very polite, not laughing out loud. However, she definitely didn't believe Li Shaoyi's words. But the people around Li Shaoyi were different; whatever their boss said was law. In their eyes, their boss had created so many miracles, so if he said they could kill their way to the Japanese capital, they would absolutely believe him.
This is a demonstration of personal charisma. While others saw Li Shaoyi as an anti-Japanese general who had done things they never imagined, none of them had actually fought alongside him against the Japanese. Only those who had fought alongside him truly understood how outstanding our performance on the battlefield was. All the other elite troops in the country combined probably didn't kill as many Japanese as we had. This was a premise upon which we unconditionally trusted our commander-in-chief, giving us boundless confidence.
"It's not that I don't believe what you're saying, but some things still need to be logical. Take the current international situation, for example. Our country as a whole is really too weak. War is about comprehensive national strength. You may be able to win in some places, but in the end, don't you still need to consider the overall situation? I heard that your troops have also begun to retreat in southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. Isn't that a manifestation of our weak comprehensive national strength?"
Miss Baiyun put away her smile. She didn't mean to look down on these war heroes in the slightest; instead, she explained the facts and reasoned with Li Shaoyi. Usually, Li Shaoyi was the one in charge in these kinds of situations, but she never expected to be the one being reasoned with today.
“You’re right, our overall national strength is indeed too weak. From the Opium War to now, we have basically never stood up. But after this war, we will definitely stand up. What may take others hundreds of years to complete, we can complete in a few decades, and in the end we will still be able to stand at the top of the world.”
Miss Baiyun didn't want to argue with Li Shaoyi about this anymore, because Li Shaoyi was far too optimistic. Did those foreigners sleep through the last few centuries? Didn't they run? It's impossible for us to catch up with them in a few decades. Miss Baiyun has spent a long time abroad and knows best the productivity levels of various countries; it's not something that can be achieved in just a few decades.
Li Shaoyi, being a time traveler from modern society, naturally knew the likelihood of his words becoming reality. Even if Miss Baiyun didn't believe him, there was a high chance we could break through, and our country would have a bright future.