Chapter 591 Misdemeanors and Punishments

Soon Allen Wilson received expressions of concern from female friends of equal status to his wife, from Paris, Bonn, London, and Los Angeles. He, who had downplayed the effects of the matter in public, was nonchalant in the face of these concerns, and uniformly replied that it was serious, very serious indeed, and might be the Waterloo of his life.

“Lord Armstrong, what do you say?” Alan Wilson tilted his neck and dried a mouthful of whisky with a sad face and said, “As you know, I was still in London for a meeting when it happened. This is an isolated incident, its main reason because, the new immigrants in Malaya are all Chinese, and they also have a grudge against the Japanese before, a catchy rumor caused this situation, I am also very wronged for this incident to happen.”

Allen Wilson at this time Bibi chatted like a long-winded woman, pouring out his grievances to the head of the Independent Investigation Commission.

The problem with the Americans, the problem with the Japanese, the problem with the extra influence of the war, and anyway, it was Malaya that had no problem.

“Oh, Alan, hold your horses.” Lord Armstrong spoke soothingly, “The truth is that everyone in Whitehall knows that you are very much in the wrong, and we are inclined to see this as an isolated incident. But as you know, this is probably the biggest news story at the moment apart from the war, and the Japanese are chasing it hard.”

“The Japanese, that’s just an American colony, who are they to talk?” Allen Wilson grunted and laughed, his face full of disdain.

“The problem is not Japan, but the United States.” Lord Armstrong corrected, “We have reason to reasonably suspect that Tokyo is very desperate for the U.S. to put pressure on us.”

“That’s impossible, unless the U.S. still wants to expand the war.” Alan Wilson retorted without even thinking, “There is simply no reason for the US to go to bat for Tokyo in the current situation. The point is, once the US does so, this matter is serious, and the US must be reported with sufficient vigilance when it comes to the colonial issue.”

“We must certainly be wary of this matter being exploited by the Americans.” Lord Armstrong mused, assuringly, “Sir Norman means to carry out some of the necessary proceedings, but it depends mainly on what you think.”

“To tell the truth?” Alan Wilson lowered his voice and asked rhetorically, since Whitehall’s attitude had already been taken out, he was not polite, “I am prepared to exert some extreme pressure on the Chinese community, its main purpose is, to dismantle the entire Chinese community’s long-lasting threat, so this matter can’t be let off lightly, and by using all of our administrative, military, and public opinion power, we can force the Chinese to pledge to become the Britain’s aid in ruling Malaya, so as a first step, I’m going to broaden this matter, and punish it with a light penalty, with the long term goal of ……”

Lord Armstrong nodded uncontrollably, then his face grew more and more surprised, and finally said, “If it is to be possible to accomplish the purpose, it seems that this is not a bad thing.”

“It’s nothing more than a funeral, things have gone wrong, of course we have to turn the situation around.” Alan Wilson said succinctly.

Malaya was, after all, a colony, and it was true that the present British Malaya was a colonial government, and it could not be said to be a mistake to take advantage of the opportunity to accomplish much that had been neglected before.

The next day, Lord Armstrong, in the name of the Independent Commission of Adjustment, officially made a formal appearance in Kuala Lumpur to talk about his own views on this isolated incident and to take questions from reporters of major newspapers.

In response to a question from the Times about the cause of the incident, Lord Armstrong replied, “First of all, I like the question very much, it’s a very good question. At this time of turmoil in the world, Britain’s original intention was to maintain stability and guard the peace everywhere, including but not limited to British Malaya.”

“So, my noble Lord, so what is the attitude to this matter?” The Times reporter asked rhetorically, frowning.

“Regarding this isolated incident, it will be a classic case to be studied for a long time in the foreseeable future. We will learn from this incident and leave behind valuable lessons. This will increase trust, reduce misunderstandings, and ensure that such incidents do not happen again in the future.”

Lord Armstrong spoke eloquently, already having a draft in mind he began to speak at length, “Certainly we can see that officials throughout British Malaya have reacted very quickly and have remained sufficiently transparent. The intentions were good and reflect the quality of the Imperial Civil Service, as for the cause of this incident, all I can say is that the motives were probably far less evil than imagined, of course Commissioner Allen’s opinion is to deal with it seriously, which I agree with, even if the motives were good and they ended up doing the wrong thing, they should still be dealt with, and absolutely in accordance with the internal rules and regulations.”

“Of course the original purpose of the investigation committee coming here was to investigate the truth of the incident, not to provide any advice to the commissioner. We will adopt an objective and neutral attitude to bring the whole incident to light.”

Lord Armstrong used a calm even speed to say something impeccable, and then the press conference resounded with a loud applause.

At this point, Alan Wilson entered the room and nodded his head at the head of the Independent Commission of Inquiry, Lord Armstrong, before sitting down and saying, “Let me reiterate here that the British Empire is a place where there is a rule of law. Of course British Malaya may be different, different laws are used here depending on the ethnicity, and we will conduct a proper trial according to the Qing Law. Everyone can observe the subsequent progress.”

This concluded the present press conference, and Alan Wilson’s assurances were more shocking than Lord Armstrong’s statement. The Ching law was unknown to many Englishmen, but soon the reporters learned, from the Malayan commissioners, the horrors of the law. Compared with modern law, the Ching law was indeed a horror.

And Alan Wilson had already, with both Lord Armstrong, begun to discuss the next phase of the idea, “There is no doubt that it is a good idea to divide the responsibility equally among everyone. I see Lieutenant General Bilton approves of it as well.”

“Oh, Your Honorable Lordship. Perhaps that is the proper way to go, we are prepared to take responsibility and publicize the whole thing, at this point I don’t believe that international public opinion should be too harsh on us.” Alan Wilson smiled flatly, “You’ve come a long way, I’d suggest taking a break at Banglao Island first, the local scenery is pleasant, the water is crystal clear, there are nice sandy beaches and it’s very suitable for recuperation.”

“Oh, that sounds really good.” Lord Armstrong looked interested, “Surely that shouldn’t be considered a bribe to interfere with an independent investigation, should it?”

“Absolutely not.” Alan Wilson flatly denied it, “We will conduct a serious and productive investigation. It will be absolutely open, fair and impartial, and no one will be able to interfere.”

“Very well!” Lord Armstrong said heartily, “Of course man is not a machine after all, a combination of labor and rest is necessary.”

“Very necessary, there are quite a few Portuguese or Dutch residents in the area who come regularly, even quite a few French expatriates in South Vietnam also come, and some of the women are very beautiful.” Alan Wilson smiled slightly and then blushed, “Then I will continue to uphold the rule of law, Lord make yourself at home.”

Regarding this isolated incident, the British Empire must take the attitude it deserves to maintain the face of the Empire.

No amount of work can be too much for this purpose. With regard to the dead of Japanese prisoners of war, it is well known that Japan is an East Asian, and in the equatorial zone it is inevitable that the water is like water, and over the past five years there have been a few prisoners of war who have died of disease as well as of natural causes.

“It is the natural tendency as well as the death of prisoners of war from disease.” Alan Wilson, listening to Ender, corrected, “To put the important things in front. In the spirit of humanitarianism, the colonial government will be treating these wounded with the current year’s financial support, be prepared to spend a great deal of money on aspirin, budget-wise for this?”

“It’s already done, and if it’s not enough, there’s a bond issue.” Alisa said as she held out the prepared plan.

“Very well, then the next is the issue of responsibility clarification, I hope everyone understands that when it comes to reliability issues like this, try not to make any mistakes, even if it’s asked by MI6, this is a sudden outbreak of an isolated incident, invite scholars to analyze the causes of the whole thing, as well as the social impact aspect of the subject. Focus on the academic aspect!”

Alan Wilson crossed his fingers and paused for a moment, “That’s pretty much it, nothing to add for now. Of course the prisoners captured, we can’t keep them for nothing, such as proving their value with their labor, so as not to create a financial burden.”

While the Independent Commission of Inquiry was investigating from Banglao Island, Alan Wilson was busy harmonizing his message. By the way, he destroyed the Malayan Security Intelligence Committee, the previous information about the rumors.

That one report could have resulted in malfeasance should it have been discovered, which would have been detrimental to overseas civil servants and even Whitehall, so naturally, it should not have reappeared.

At Kuala Lumpur International Airport, a figure with a sun hat and sunglasses almost blocking half of her face appeared pushing a baby stroller. Although the face could not be seen, many people also felt with their senses that this must be a very beautiful young woman.

Soon the tightly covered female, got into a car and disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the airport.

“Vivian, I really didn’t expect you to come, what a pleasant surprise.” Embracing the major shareholder of United American Pictures into his arms, Alan Wilson said with gratitude.

“I heard that something happened over here, I was worried about you.” Vivien Lei stood on her tiptoes to take the initiative to ask for a kiss, her soulful eyes full of tenderness, “Honey, are things very serious?”

“Honestly, yes!” Alan Wilson’s face was grave, not the slightest bit of the understatement in public. It seemed that only in front of a lady of equal status to his wife would he reveal this side, “We’ve already arrested tens of thousands of people, and the arrests haven’t ended yet, the prisons are already overcrowded.”