Sumatra is located in the dry tropics. If I look carefully at "the next map. Phoenix" Zhenxian. The equator passes right past Sumatra. This long and narrow island is divided into two parts, north and south, with the Malay Peninsula facing the north in the distance. The southern part is separated from the island of Java by a small strait, and the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean is partly located. And to the west is the vast Indian Ocean.

The climate of such an island is mainly hot, and there are no four seasons, only the dry season and the rainy season. The rainy season is from May to November, and the dry season is from December to April. Therefore, there is no strong feeling of stuffiness, and the dry season is the more pleasant season for the residents of Sumatra.

However, even the dry season is still very hot for those who have never lived in the tropics for a long time, and the temperatures, which rarely change drastically throughout the year, greatly reduce the demand for clothing for the local population. But at the same time, it also makes people somewhat lazy. Even people from temperate countries immediately become lazy because of the temperature.

To tell the truth, Yang Wangpeng didn't want to leave the cool bed, it was too cool here, and the ceiling fan on the roof was enough to drive away the heat, and if he left the guest room now, he would have to face the scorching sun.

"This place is suitable for the lazy to live, not to mention anything else, this tropical fruit alone is enough to eat.

With this thought in mind, Yang Wangpeng picked up the unnamed tropical fruit from the bedside table. Record the peel, put the kernel in your mouth and chew slowly.

The service of this hotel is quite good, don't look at Wei Zifeng's taste for eating is very general, but the requirements for accommodation are very high, this hotel is not only luxurious, but also has a good scenery, just by the sea. Standing on the balcony and watching the sunrise every day is somewhat of a pleasure, and in the past two days, Yang Wangpeng has also been addicted to being a rich man. However, Yang Wangpeng is just a politician with a low status after all, he wants power without power, and he wants wealth without wealth, so he is now lying on a cool bed. But what they are pondering is what to do in the future, whether to continue in politics or change to business? If you want to change careers, you must make a decision as soon as possible, otherwise, when you meet Xiong Chengji and ask him about his future plans, I'm afraid he won't know how to answer, and he can't do business while engaging in politics, right? This will be criticized by public opinion in China, and it will be investigated by relevant departments.

If you switch to business, Sumatra may be a better place, because the Chinese merchants here are very powerful, and commerce and industry are also on the rise.

I don't know if I don't come to Sumatra, but I don't know when I come. The Chinese power here has swelled to an astonishing extent, in terms of population, at present, including those affiliated islands such as Bangka Island and Belitung Island, the total population of the Chinese and overseas Chinese in the entire Sumatra region has exceeded one million, which is an absolutely staggering number, so that the colonial authorities of the Dutch East Indies did not dare to publish this number, so as not to frighten the politicians in the Netherlands, but only dared to discount this number, and then discount it in half as small as the real number. But it is counted by the Chinese community, which does not include the so-called "Chinese" who no longer speak Chinese

One million Chinese, all of whom have emigrated from all over the world in the past two years, including immigrants from southern China and overseas Chinese from all over Nanyang, and many of them, like Yang Wangpeng, have not gone through any relevant customs procedures with the Dutch colonial authorities before stepping on the land of Sumatra, in fact, this entry procedure is currently handled by the Chinese self-government organs, so it is not surprising that the number of immigrants is large.

Of course. In the past, there was no immigration "quota" restriction when Chinese immigrated to Malaya, Borneo and other regions, and the British welcomed Chinese laborers to work in the Straits Settlements, which could ensure high profits for British enterprises and plantations, but since the Malayan crisis, the immigration policy of the British colonial authorities has changed. Began to limit the number of Chinese immigrants, set a quota every year. As for the shortage of labor in the British colonies, the British colonial authorities decided to speed up the introduction of Indian immigrants to solve the labor problem. Therefore, the proportion of immigrants in the Straits Settlements began to change, with more and more Indians and fewer Chinese, while the local indigenous population was still "pacified" by the British colonial authorities with special policies as a "variable".

At the same time, many Chinese who planned to come to Nanyang to seek a living had to turn their destinations to Sumatra, so the number of Chinese in Sumatra rose sharply.

It must be admitted that the current Nanyang region. The whole strategic situation is undergoing drastic changes, although this change is caused by human factors, but now it can no longer be transferred by anyone's will, just like a stone mill that has been pushed up the hillside, once it begins to roll down the hillside. Any person or force that tries to stop the advance of the stone mill must risk being knocked over, for the Dutch, for the British, and even the Chinese must be cautious about the current situation.

On the one hand, the local Chinese self-government organization has specially printed some pamphlets to remind new immigrants of precautions, and on the other hand, Yang Wangpeng witnessed a clash between Chinese and natives on the outskirts of Palembang yesterday, although no firearms were used because of the intervention of Dutch soldiers. But even that large blade was enough to kill both sides of the conflict.

If the day before yesterday, Yang Wang Peng thought that the situation in Sumatra could be controlled, then now. He has changed his mind.

People are profit-seeking, always put their own interests in the position of concern, when there is a conflict of interests. Naturally, there will be a confrontation with force.

This is the case in Sumatra, on the one hand, the increasing number of Chinese, and on the other hand, the policy of the Dutch colonial authorities to settle the natives against the Chinese, but the local natural resources are limited, especially land and mines, then. Conflicts and conflicts of interest will inevitably erupt between two ethnic groups with different cultures, different customs, different beliefs, different languages, different skin colors, and even obvious differences in skin color.

The current situation in Sumatra can be described in one sentence, that is, the only thing that can maintain the overall peace is the tolerance of the Chinese self-governing institutions, and the control of this self-governing institutions is actually the small United Front in Nanyang.

Yang Wangpeng believes that the decision on how the situation in Sumatra will change is not in the hands of the two direct people's authorities, but in the hands of the small united front. And from the small joint attached line. Judging from this colloquial name, this force is clearly in the hands of China's central government.

The official name of the small united front is the "Nanyang Chinese Association", and there are a number of branches under it, each of which is formed by the link of origin, although it seems to be very regional, but in fact. Since the general assembly controls the roster of club leadership. Therefore, all the branches are based on the general meeting, as long as the general meeting gives an order, they can be in step at any time, and specific to each of the following branches, because of the relationship between the township and more combative, but also more united, the Hunan army and the quasi-army were established on this principle, although the combat effectiveness is not as good as the modern army, but it is easy to deal with the indigenous forces of the South Seas.

It was under the premise of restraint from the Fellow Townsmen's Association that little Sumatra maintained the stability of the overall situation, but this stability was fragile, and Yang Wangpeng, who had done the revolution in those years, saw this very clearly. It can be seen from the hostile eyes of the Chinese and the natives during the fight, if it were not for the townspeople who would have exercised restraint, the natives around Palembang City would have been razed long ago, although the natives had the support of the Dutch colonial authorities, but the Dutch also had some scruples, after all, under the colonial rule of the Netherlands, the natives suffered the most cruel oppression, and the hatred of the colonists was also the strongest, so even if the Dutch colonial authorities helped the natives with some weapons. Also all old-fashioned weapons, and in comparison. What the Chinese expatriates possess is advanced weapons.

The city of Palembang today is the political and economic center of the Chinese community in southern Sumatra. It is a seaport city located at the mouth of a river. It used to be a small town, but after the last two years, it has been fully developed. It has become a medium-sized city of considerable size, and is divided by the river into two cities, the north city is the old city and the south city is the new city, and the two cities are communicated by an iron bridge, in the north city, you can see the traditional Chinese style buildings, and in the south city. You'll see new European architecture, including a thermal power plant, and in fact, Palembang's economic center is in the South.

Now, Mr. Yang lives in a hotel in Nancheng owned by a Cantonese businessman. Knowing that Wei Zifeng, who has been running a grocery business in Palembang for several years, and who was looted by a local gang when selling groceries to the northern part of Sumatra last year, understands why this hotel only accepts Chinese and Europeans

。

In fact, there are many Chinese artificial commercial enterprises that set similar rules like this hotel, the factory does not recruit natives, the shops do not serve the natives, even the taverns and prostitutes do not receive the natives, even if the king of the earth comes, they have to eat the closed door, the only exception is the gambling hall, the gamblers welcome the natives to have fun, and then win the last foreign money from the pockets of the natives. Then there is their land, and in a sense, the gambling houses actually play a very important role in the land transactions in Sumatra, and the beneficiaries are usually not natives.

Everything that was born on the American and African continents is now playing out in Sumatra, except that the main characters have been changed from European colonizers to Chinese, and here, the quality of Chinese immigrants is mixed, from Chinese bosses who are willing to provide work and food for the natives, to Chinese shopkeepers who brutally oppress the natives, regardless of their moral qualities, they have the same purpose. That is the pursuit of wealth, to improve one's social status, and many penniless people in China are often able to find opportunities for wealth in Sumatra, and as long as you can settle the fellow townsmen's association, then. No matter what means you use to achieve your financial goals, your financial means are "legal". And there is "morality", just like when the farmers in the South of the United States declared that black slaves were also "legal." property the same.

Of course, the Townsmen's Association is not of low quality enough to support slavery, in fact, there are also institutions under the Townspeople's Association that have similar court functions, and the judges are almost all from China, and they adjudicate all kinds of disputes and cases in accordance with Chinese law, and acts that are not permitted under Chinese law are also not permitted here, but this is only limited to the Chinese community, as far as disputes between the Chinese and the natives are concerned. In accordance with the relevant laws formulated by the Dutch colonial authorities, the dispute between the Dutch and the natives was handled, which was not only legally tenable. It is also tenable in the face of civilization, and the Dutch colonial authorities can only adopt a resigned attitude to this, because they know very well that the local Chinese society already has the strength to resist the Dutch colonial authorities in arms.

In a sense, there are new colonists on Sumatra, but that's it. The colonists did not come from Europe, nor from the Americas.

To tell the truth, Yang Wangpeng is unimpressed with the current colonial phenomenon on the island, and he knows very well that the "mad president" has been promoting "decolonization" to the outside world, at least on the surface, Mr. President may not jump out shirtless to support the overzealous radicals of the hometown association, and as a country that has just gotten rid of the fate of being colonized, China is now jumping out to implement colonialism, which is too ugly, more ugly than Japan, because this is snatching food from other people's bowls. This is robbing Dutch rice. But on the other hand, Yang Wangpeng was not worried about what the Dutch would do against the Chinese expatriate, for the simple reason that a Chinese naval fleet would arrive in Palembang today. Nominally, it was for ocean-going training, but if the need arose, the fleet would not necessarily be unable to play the same role that the U.S. Far East Fleet had played in front of the port of Manila.

At the end of the day, it's called "the law of the jungle." The small powers believed in this principle, and now public opinion in China is also studying and debating this principle of social Darwinism, although there is no consensus. But there's one. The basic fact is undeniable, and that is, no matter how hard the Dutch try. None of this will change the current situation in Sumatra, especially when Europe is at war and the United States is preparing to fight.

"Send a warship over at this time, what does Zhao Zhenhua want to do?"

Yang Wangpeng pondered, and then he heard the alarm clock ringing, so he got up, got dressed, put on the leather sandals made in the local Chinese factory in Sumatra, turned off the fan switch, and then left the guest room, locked the door, and walked out of the hotel. He called a rickshaw on the street and told the coachman to take him to the port.

Yang Wangpeng was going to the port to see the fleet, of course, this was not his main purpose, his main purpose was to go to the port to pick up a friend, who had arrived in Sumatra from Honolulu on an American steamer with a revolutionary forerunner. It is said that the book is full of umbrellas