Chapter 1282: Laying out the Philippines

"I suddenly thought of an interesting thing.'

'What do you think would be the impact if the news of you two becoming allies reached the Philippines?'

Xia Yu smiled and said to the two of them.

Xu Huange and Chen Yongzhai both had slight changes in their faces and remained silent.

In the end, Xu Huange spoke first: 'The impact will be enough to affect both the political and business worlds, and even change the current situation.'

Chen Yongzhai nodded solemnly, but did not say anything.

Compared to Xu Huange, Chen Yongzhai was under even greater psychological pressure. After all, unlike Xu Huange, he did not have a political family behind him, and the current president, Ferdinand, could cause him direct harm.

Ferdinand definitely did not want to see the influence of the family behind Xu Huange rise again, so he was regarded as a traitor and would be the first target of attack.

'Haha, just a joke.'

'Don't worry, as was said at the morning meeting, the consortium only exists in a practical sense, and it will not make a big deal about it. It will pay more attention to covert connections to avoid arousing the vigilance of other forces, and deal with other forces in a way that simmers them like a frog in water.

'By the time people realise what's going on, it'll be too late for them to do anything about it.'

Xia Yu smiled, and the atmosphere improved slightly.

'Chairman, I wonder if you've called us here to give us some advice?'

Chen Yongzhai's face returned to its usual calm expression, and he took the initiative to ask.

'I mainly want to talk to you about the current and future situation in the Philippines, as well as its development direction, and what we should do to do what's best for you and the consortium,'

Xia Yu said slowly.

'You two know the situation in the Philippines best, so I won't go into detail.'

'Let me ask you a question: how long do you think Ferdinand can stay in power under the current situation?'

Facing this question, both of them frowned and pondered.

After a long while, Chen Yongzhai said uncertainly, 'I think he can stay in power for another three years, but it's hard to say who will be the next president. Apart from the situation, Ferdinand's health is not good either.'

In 1981, Ferdinand was forced to cancel the Philippine military officers due to domestic and international pressure, but in order to maintain his rule, he changed the political system to a French-style presidential system. He still had absolute power during emergencies, and the term of office was changed to six years, with no limit on re-election.

So normally, Ferdinand's term would last until 1987.

It's only 1984, and Chen Yongzhai is right to say that there are still three years to go. Under the current circumstances, there is no party in the Philippines that can topple Ferdinand without elections.

Unless Ferdinand dies of illness himself, after all, he is already 67 years old.

As one gets older, one naturally becomes more prone to illness. Birth, aging, illness, and death are the inevitable laws of nature.

'Okay, let me ask another question,'

'If Ferdinand collapses, who has the best chance of taking his place? Who would be good for both of you?'

Xia Yu asked the next question with a faint smile on his face.

This question was even more profound and difficult than the previous one, and without an understanding of the Philippine political situation, there was absolutely no way to answer it.

'I can't tell. After all, the opposition party only has less than 10% of the power in the National Assembly right now.'

'For me, it would definitely be better for someone else to take power,'

Xu Huange shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Chen Yongzhai then said after a long pause: 'For me, it would be more stable if the Socialist Party remained in power, otherwise I would have to place my bets again.'

There was clearly a division on this question.

The two sides did not agree on the current benefits and future risks.

'What about the Chinese?'

Xia Yu then threw another question.

This question was not so difficult, and both said: 'It would be better if the opposition came to power.'

'You see, there is a common position, but it is still the biggest position,'

Xia Yu said with a smile.

Xu Huange and Chen Yongzhai looked at each other and both smiled kindly.

Xia Yu walked to the fence, put his hands on the railing, gazed deeply into the distance at the blue sea in the distance, and said with emotion: 'Nowadays, Southeast Asia, the developed regions are actually the three countries of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.'

'Why are they rich? It is because there are a large number of hardworking Chinese, and they are also densely populated.'

'The Philippines is different. The number of Chinese in the Philippines accounts for just over 2% of the entire population, which is more than ten percentage points lower than the proportion of Chinese in Thailand, which is the lowest in the three countries of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.'

'Because there are so few Chinese, the influence of the Chinese in the Philippines is not as strong as that of the indigenous people and people of European and American descent. The living standards of the Chinese are relatively better than those of the indigenous people, but they are not as good as those of the Chinese in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.'

'It's like a big piece of cake, and the Chinese only get a small piece.'

'As leaders of the Chinese in the Philippines, what you should do in this situation is to reduce internal competition, unify and turn your attention to the outside world, and seize more of the cake, turning it into the cake of the Chinese power.'

After hearing this, Xu Huange and Tan Yongzai were both upset.

They understood the reasoning, but previously they had not compromised with each other, either due to practical reasons, or for the sake of face, or because they were unable to do otherwise due to their positions.

However, it was now clear that Xia Yu, as leader, was trying to broker a compromise between them.

Both men were intelligent people, and they had now become allies because of the Southeast Asian consortium.

Xu Huange didn't waste any time, and took the initiative to extend his hand to Chen Yongzhai, smiling at him and saying, 'Brother Chen, let's get to know each other again. From now on, we'll be brothers in the same trenches.'

Chen Yongzai also smiled, shook Xu Huange's hand, and said solemnly, 'Xu, I'm sorry for any offence I may have caused in the past.

'I've also been at fault,' Xu Huange said sincerely.

'What's in the past is in the past. The most important thing for people is to look forward, don't you agree?'

Seeing the two men shake hands and bury the hatchet, Xia Yu was greatly relieved and said happily,

'The chairman is right!'

'Together, we will ride the wind and waves and reach new heights!'

'Hahaha...'

...

After laughing, the three of them grew closer and the atmosphere became more harmonious.

Xia Yu finally got down to business.

'You have been in the Philippines for a long time and know a lot about the internal affairs of the country, but you may not know as much about the international situation. The direction of the Philippines may not be influenced from within.'

'Ferdinand has already seriously disappointed the United States!'

'We need to make plans early.'

Xu Huange and Chen Yongzhai were shocked.

'Has it come to this?'

'I really haven't noticed, it hasn't reached that level.'

As he said this, Xu Huange couldn't help but glance at Xia Yu, shocked that Xia Yu could know the situation inside the United States. After all, it involved political matters between countries, and only a small group of people at the very top knew about it.

But after the shock, he immediately realised that perhaps the opportunity had really come.

He was well aware of the influence of the United States on the Philippines, and the relationship between the two was also very special.

Not only does the Philippines have the US military's Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base, but the US has also always wanted to turn the Philippines into its 'window of democracy' to influence the whole of Asia.

Behind this is the competition between the two ideologies currently dominating the world.

Xia Yu said with a faint smile, 'Over the years, Ferdinand has often used the issue of military bases to bargain with the US, and the construction of "democratic politics" has been a mess. Anti-government demonstrations can be seen everywhere, and the city looks run-down.'

'And the assassination attempt last year has plunged the Philippines into a severe political and economic crisis.'

'The United States has been slapped in the face.'

'The international situation is very delicate when it comes to the problems in the Philippines.'

'Ferdinand's rule may seem unbreakable, but in fact it is riddled with problems. If the United States is willing to take the initiative, Ferdinand's rule will not last long, and it will change with the times in the near future.'

'How can we determine when the United States will take action?'

Chen Yongzai hurriedly asked.

Xu Huange also looked at Xia Yu with a burning gaze.

Xia Yu gave a faint smile and said with confidence, 'The United States can act at any time when we are ready.'

Xu Huange and Chen Yongzai were shocked and looked at Xia Yu in horror.

The leader of the consortium in front of them actually had such great power...