Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1310 Little Chang'an has many stories (first update, please subscribe)
At the Mindanao International Airport, a small Gulfstream business jet landed at the airport and slowly taxied toward the apron. After the plane stopped, the passengers on the plane saw a Gulfstream parked not far away.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis, Gulfstream business jets became the darling of the market overnight, receiving more than 300 orders in the United States alone and more than 500 orders in European countries.

I can only say that there are so many rich people in this world!
And from a market analysis perspective, even so, the demand has not been fully released!
However, Gulfstream jets are not very common nowadays, even in Southeast Asia, and there are also few chances of meeting each other at the airport.

After all, this thing is not a taxi, everyone flies around every day, so it is quite rare to meet each other.

"Zhang Xianlin?"

Watching the passengers getting on and off the plane, Cheng Wangjie raised his brows slightly and said to himself:
“What is he doing in Mindanao?”

The reason for this confusion is that there is no oil here, so it is indeed very rare for people from oil companies to come here.

Although he didn't know why the deputy manager of the Nanyang Persian Gulf Oil Company came to Mindanao, after the other party left by car, Cheng Wangjie immediately got off the plane and drove to the chairman's residence.

A few dozen minutes later, the car drove into the official residence. Although Mindanao nominally belongs to the Philippines, it is well known that this is the "Autonomous Region of Mindanao", a semi-independent kingdom that enjoys a high degree of autonomy and even has quasi-diplomatic institutions such as economic and trade offices in the United States.

The chairman of the autonomous region, Zhao Chenggang, is the core of power in this land. When Cheng Wangjie entered the office, he greeted him warmly:

"Wang Jie, you've had a hard time along the way. How's the situation in Manila?"

After motioning him to sit down, he took out two cigars from the cigar box.

“Commissioner, Macapagal has decided to follow the advice of his financial advisors and allow the Philippine peso to participate in free financial trade.”

Cheng Wangjie's answer made Zhao Chenggang raise his eyebrows, then a smile appeared on his face. He took out a cigar and said with a smile:
"Haha, this is really good news. Try this cigar. It was brought by immigrants from Cuba last year. It's a Cuban tobacco variety and Cuban craftsmanship. The taste is better than many Cuban cigars."

Mindanao received nearly 60,000 Cuban Chinese immigrants last year, who brought in some capital as well as some technology, such as tobacco planting and cigar production technology. In order to promote the development of related industries, Zhao Chenggang always takes every opportunity to promote Mindanao cigars.

He even took advantage of the opportunity of visiting Nanyang to send Xuejia cigarettes to Your Excellency and a group of senior officials in Nanyang.

The reason for sending this gift is not to please these people, but to let them take care of it. The business in Mindanao is to tell these people that we can now produce cigars, so you don’t have to buy them from other places.

Of course, the cigars in this place are indeed very good.

After taking the cigar, cutting off one end with a cigar cutter and lighting the cigar, Cheng Wangjie took a puff and said with a bright look in his eyes:

"It's really good. It seems to taste better than Romeo y Julieta cigars."

Romeo y Julieta cigars are the best Cuban cigars and Churchill's favorite.

"Haha, I told you it tastes good! Believe me, one day in the future, our Mindanao cigars will replace Cuban cigars!"

Zhao Chenggang can be said to be full of confidence in this. After all, those overseas Chinese brought the corresponding technology and seeds. Now, all that is needed is promotion.

After taking a puff of his cigar, Zhao Chenggang looked at Cheng Wangjie and said:

"So, Macapagal is just like that!"

"Yes, he totally ignores the fact that the Philippines is financially and industrially backward. If nothing unexpected happens, in the next few years, the exchange rate of the Philippine peso will plummet, and people's income will also decrease exponentially. By then, an economic crisis will be inevitable."

"This policy will cause the Philippines to lose tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of pesos every year. When that happens, it will be the people who will suffer!"

After expressing his feelings, Zhao Chenggang narrowed his eyes slightly and said:

"But it is a good thing for us. The more difficult the Philippine economy is and the lower the people's income is, the more their incompetence is revealed. Neither the Macapagal faction nor the National Party, which holds a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, can give a satisfactory answer."

"Yes!"

Cheng Wangjie said:
“The only answer that will satisfy everyone is Mindanao!”

Mindanao!
For the Philippines, Mindanao is an extremely dazzling existence. Although it has maintained its autonomy like an "independent kingdom" since 44, its economic progress is something that no one can ignore.

More than a decade ago, there were only rice, sugar and sisal here. It was a place not much different from other places in the Philippines. Except that the local Moros believed in Islam, everyone was the same.

But now?
Zamboanga has developed into a metropolis with a population of one million. Mindanao, with a population of only 272 million, has a GDP that even exceeds that of the Philippines, which has a population of 2900 million.

Last year, Mindanao's GDP exceeded US$50 billion, while the Philippines' was just over US$40 billion.

In fact, Mindanao's high GDP is directly related to its economic core - the international financial offshore center. A considerable part of its GDP comes from "hot money from various countries", that is, funds transferred here from all over the world. These funds will stay here and produce some kind of numerical "results" here. However, that's it. Although its per capita GDP has exceeded US$1800, its actual per capita income is only US$390.

But even so, the per capita income in Mindanao is still more than 10 times that of the Philippines!
It can be said that Mindanao is now second only to Southeast Asia in terms of economy in the whole of Asia, and is even known as the "Little Chang'an" along with Zamboanga.

It is for this reason that this place attracts many Filipinos, who even "smuggle" here to work.

"Yes, Chairman. Now, whether in Manila or other parts of the Philippines, more and more Filipinos believe that it is the corruption and incompetence of the government that has led to the backwardness of the Philippines. Many of them believe that if the Datong Party is in power, the Philippine economy will surely achieve rapid development. Therefore, more and more people are eager for the Datong Party to enter Manila!"

The Tatung Party is the largest political party in Mindanao. Its members are mainly of Tangshan descent. It has always been the main political group in Mindanao. It is precisely because of Mindanao's success that Filipinos envy and wish to replace it. This has also led to the Tatung Party being sought after by many Filipinos in the Philippines. In last year's congressional elections, the Tatung Party won 32 seats in both houses. Although it seems not much, it also means that Filipinos recognize the Tatung Party.

"Eager for us to replace them!"

Cheng Wangjie, Mindanao's representative in Manila, said this with a flash of excitement in his eyes.
“Chairman, the door to the Philippines is slowly opening to us!”

Open up!

What is open is not just the door, but the road to power in Manila. Although for the top leaders in Mindanao, governing Mindanao well is the best outcome, these political elites still have a "dream of unifying the world."

Of course, their world refers to the entire Philippines, which is a unique sentiment of the Tang people.

"I believe that in a few years, as the Philippine economy continues to lag behind, they will eventually choose us."

Cheng Wangjie said in a very affirmative tone.

"It's human nature to want a better life, and they will definitely follow that instinct."

“It’s their instinct.”

After taking a puff of his cigar, Zhao Chenggang said in a rather calm tone.

“The only question is – are the 2300 million Filipinos willing to become Tang people?”

The reason why it is 2300 million is that there are about 600 million people in the Philippines who are Tang or have Tang ancestry, especially the latter. As one of the earliest countries where the Tang people settled in Southeast Asia, in Luzon Island, especially around Manila, there are quite a number of people with Tang ancestry, and these people are also the key to whether they can rule the Philippines in the future.

After hearing what the chairman said, Cheng Wangjie said:
"They are willing, but we are not! We are not here to help the poor. We are just trying to utilize the local labor force."

In fact, this is also the fundamental reason why Mindanao wants to "swallow the big with the small" - because Mindanao has now reached a bottleneck in its development.

"We are far behind Southeast Asia in technology, and our labor costs are getting higher and higher. Even if we rely on the industrial transfer and development of the financial field in recent years, there will be no problem in the short term, but without the supplement of manpower, we cannot lower the labor cost. The development prospects of Mindanao will definitely be limited. Therefore, 2300 million cheap laborers are the foundation for poverty alleviation..."

Shaking his head, Cheng Wangjie said:

“No one is really interested in this.”

"I have no interest either, but we need to turn the Philippines into the Philippines of the Tang people, which means we must "pacify the barbarians and bring them back to China". We need to use education and other influences to make the Filipinos speak the national language, change their Chinese surnames, and eventually become one of us little by little. This is the inevitable result of development and what we need to face in the future - either we become independent, or we use our economic advantages to little by little turn the Philippines into the Philippines of the Tang people!"

The Philippines has become the Philippines of us Tang people!
This was what Your Excellency advised Zhao Chenggang many years ago. He has been working towards this direction over the years. Mindanao can be independent, but what is the significance of independence for a country with a population of more than two million?

“Like Siam.”

"Siam..."

Cheng Wangjie thought about the changes in Siam when he went there last year, and said:
"I heard that in Siam now, 60% of the population can speak Mandarin, and 80% of the population have changed their surnames to Chinese."

"Yes, not only because almost half of Siam's population is Chinese or has Chinese ancestry, but more importantly, they know that learning Mandarin can benefit them economically. Of course, many people in the Philippines are learning Mandarin now, but that's not enough. Three years ago, whether we could enter the Philippines to participate in the election and defeat our competitors was not only about the economy, but also about Mandarin!"

After taking a look at the night view of the city below the mountain outside the window, Zhao Chenggang paused for a moment and said:

"As long as 60% of the Filipinos speak Mandarin and change their Chinese surnames, we will be able to win the entire Philippines in their way. In this way, fifty years later, the Philippines will become the Philippines of us Chinese. There may be Filipinos in this world, but they will be Chinese."

Zhao Chenggang, staring out the window, emphasized the word "Tangren" and said:
"Just like Mindanao now, there are 130 million Chinese living here, and 110 million Luzon people. As for the local Moros, there are only more than 30 left. But whether it's Luzon people or Moros, they are all becoming Chinese, just like... the Miao people in the southwest. They become Miao when they go into the mountains and become Han when they leave the mountains. They will become us little by little!"

Looking at the chairman standing by the window, Cheng Wangjie thought for a moment and said:

"Chairman, what about Masco? He also has Chinese ancestry. Is he Chinese or Filipino? Moreover, he seems to be in Zamboanga right now."

(End of this chapter)