The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943-Chapter 164 - 176

March 24th. The fleet finally arrived in Australia. Unlike the U.S. Marines, who were welcomed by throngs of people when they landed, the Australians barely reacted to the arrival of the Chinese.

Well, the old white Australians—most of them are racists to the core.

However, Australia was not the troops’ final destination, just a stopover to replenish fuel and water. While the fleet was resupplying, the officers and soldiers stayed in a camp near the port, which had been used by the U.S. military for the past few years.

Once the troops had settled in, Pierre set out to visit someone—not an Australian official, but a king: Charles Vyner Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak.

At present, this king was living in exile in Australia.

"Now this is interesting..."

On the way to the Sarawak exile government, Pierre pondered the king’s motives for inviting him.

In fact, what Pierre didn’t know was that Vyner Brooke had been waiting for him—waiting to sell his country to him.

Although he was a king, life in exile in Australia was far from easy for Vyner Brooke.

Three years ago, before the Japanese occupied Sarawak, Vyner Brooke took £200,000 from the treasury. But during his exile in Australia, this money had to cover both his family’s living expenses and the costs of social engagements—which were very expensive, especially sending people to social events in London.

Why go to London?

As a king in exile, who wouldn’t want to return to their kingdom?

So he needed to know London’s attitude—would they support his return to Sarawak?

But after the signing of the Atlantic Charter, and especially with the U.S. taking a harder line on colonial issues, and the Labour Party repeatedly promising to allow colonial self-government—which was really just the first step toward independence—the hope of returning to Sarawak grew ever dimmer.

What was even more troubling?

At the end of last year, Vyner Brooke realized he was on the verge of bankruptcy. The money he’d taken from the treasury was almost gone.

Without money, he couldn’t even pay the rent. The king sleeping on the streets... just thinking about it was nerve-wracking.

It was at this time that news came from London: the board of the North Borneo Company had changed hands.

This news didn’t mean much to London, but to Vyner Brooke, it presented an opportunity.

"Rather than wait until after the war, when we’re either driven out by the locals as colonizers or forced out by the Americans, why not sell Sarawak to the North Borneo Company?"

As king, Vyner Brooke had a keen sense for these things. Just as in December 1941, when the Japanese appeared in North Borneo, he immediately emptied the treasury and fled Sarawak. This instinct kept him from ending up like the North Borneo Company executives, who were interned in Japanese POW camps, their fate unknown.

However, Vyner Brooke’s idea was immediately opposed by his nephew, Anthony Brooke. Since Vyner had only three daughters, Anthony was the heir apparent and had always yearned to inherit the throne.

"Uncle, we absolutely cannot sell our country to the Chinese!"

"We’re not selling to the Chinese, we’re selling to the North Borneo Company. It’s a British company."

Vyner Brooke was still playing word games.

"Your Majesty, even if it’s a British company—or even the British government—we can’t sell. That’s our country. After the war, we’ll return to Kuching!"

Kuching was the capital of Sarawak. Ever since going into exile, Anthony had longed to return to that city and become the exalted crown prince once more.

"Return? Dear cousin, where would we return to?" Anna interjected.

"Father has already said—we are destined to lose everything. So when we lose our last bargaining chip, we must do our best to protect our own interests."

Although Anna was the king’s daughter, she was not the heir, as the natives would not accept a female ruler. So, rather than let her cousin inherit the throne, she and her sisters preferred to sell the country.

"My God, how can you sell our country? It’s my country! I am the crown prince..."

Before he could finish, Anna glanced at her father, then at her cousin, and said, "Dear cousin, I’m afraid you’ve forgotten something—you’re no longer the crown prince!"

Her retort stunned Anthony. He was dumbfounded. Previously, he had married a commoner, which led Vyner Brooke to strip him of his succession rights. He was no longer the crown prince.

Since he was no longer the heir, he had no say in the matter.

And so, the last obstacle to the royal family of Sarawak selling their country was removed.

Since...

No more obstacles remained. So, what was next? Naturally, it was time to head to London and sign a treasonous agreement with the Borneo Company.

Just as Charles Vyner Brooke was preparing to send someone to London, news arrived that the North Borneo Constabulary and the company chairman would be passing through Australia.

God bless!

Now, there was no need to go to Britain at all.

It was truly divine providence—otherwise, how could the road to selling out one’s country be so smooth?

Thus, on the very day Pierre arrived in Australia, Charles Vyner Brooke sent an invitation, asking him to visit his home to discuss matters of mutual interest.

A dead camel may not be bigger than a horse, but even the poorest of nobles will do their utmost to maintain appearances. The king’s banquet was as lavish as ever; though there were few guests, the king’s dignity had to be upheld.

In truth, neither side cared much about the banquet. After chatting with Brooke’s daughters about news from the European front, at Vyner’s invitation, they moved to the smoking room.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Vyner got straight to the point.

"Pierre, the biggest difference between us is that I don’t have an army to help us retake Sarawak. And after this war, I’ve come to understand a lot of things. I’ve also had enough of Southeast Asia’s tropical climate. Compared to the humidity there, I much prefer Australia. So, I’m giving you an opportunity!"

As if bestowing a great favor, Vyner continued:

"An opportunity for the North Borneo Company to expand its territory southwestward. I’ve decided to sell the Kingdom of Sarawak to your company!"

Oh!

So you invited me here to talk about selling your country.

Although it’s extremely rare for someone to so proactively offer to sell out their country, well... isn’t this exactly what I was hoping for?

With someone this eager and proactive to sell, of course Pierre was willing to buy—the only issue was the price.

"Your Majesty, you must know that after the war, we both face the problem of reconstruction. This will inevitably require an enormous amount of money. My organization has estimated that rebuilding just the North Borneo Company’s territory will require at least 100 million pounds! I imagine the reconstruction of Sarawak will cost even more..."

Glancing at Vyner, Pierre said,

"After all, war destroys everything. When we fought in Europe, we destroyed everything—because, compared to buildings and ports, the lives of soldiers are far more important. Don’t you agree, Your Majesty?"

Though the words sounded light, they were in fact a threat—a warning that he would ensure Sarawak was thoroughly destroyed, since the task of recovering Borneo had already fallen to him.

If you don’t sell, what you get back will be nothing but ruins.

Vyner, of course, understood the implicit threat. Having already made up his mind to sell, he looked at Pierre and said,

"Five million pounds, Li!"

But Pierre paid no attention to the offer and continued,

"Rebuilding Sarawak will require at least 100 million pounds. If reconstruction fails, it will inevitably lead to local unrest. And postwar decolonization is inevitable. Your Majesty, in such circumstances, what choice do we have?"

The reason Vyner wanted to sell Sarawak, in plain terms, was because he was caught between a rock and a hard place—on one hand, he had no money for reconstruction; on the other, the fate of the colony was uncertain. Precisely because of this uncertainty, even if he could raise the funds, he wouldn’t waste a single pound—after all, an uncertain future meant he could lose Sarawak at any moment.

Faced with Pierre’s rhetorical question, Vyner fell silent. Pierre said nothing further. At this point, Vyner’s situation was no better than that of the North Borneo Company’s executives—neither had any real choice.

The root cause could be summed up in a single word: poverty!

And what was at the core?

They both wanted to protect their immediate interests as much as possible. An uncertain future made them value present gains even more—pocketing whatever they could was paramount.

After thinking for a while, Vyner said,

"Four million pounds! Payable in installments."

Pierre pondered for a moment and replied,

"One million pounds. You and your daughters will receive a lifelong annual pension of fifty thousand pounds."

Fifty thousand pounds a year!

It’s certain that in 1945, the pound was still very valuable, but by next year, its value would halve.

Even so, Pierre’s offer was still far below Vyner’s bottom line, which was at least 3.3 million pounds. As Vyner was calculating in his mind, Pierre added,

"If you agree, I can pay one million pounds in cash at any time. I mean cash!"

Cash!

Vyner’s eyes lit up. What did cash mean?

It meant no taxes would need to be paid. Damn Australians—even foreigners had to pay taxes on their earnings here.

"One point two million pounds in cash. The treaty will only specify the lifelong pension for me and my daughters. As long as any one of us is alive, the pension must be paid!"

After some thought, Vyner added,

"This lifelong pension must be secured by North Borneo Company shares traded on the London Stock Exchange."

Clearly, Vyner didn’t trust a simple written agreement. He also...

Some collateral was required for the transaction, but Pierre merely smiled and agreed without a second thought.

1.2 million pounds in cash... The number of Bernhard notes in circulation was successfully reduced by 10%.

Soon after, Pierre, on behalf of the North Borneo Company, signed the "Canberra Treaty" together with Vyner Brooke, the third Rajah of the Kingdom of Sarawak. According to the treaty, Vyner Brooke formally ceded his kingdom to the North Borneo Company, on the condition that the company would pay him and his three daughters an annual lifelong pension of fifty thousand pounds.

As for the 1.2 million pounds, that was a secret private transaction. With the money in hand, Vyner, who had been on the verge of bankruptcy, was able to continue his life in Australia, and even spent a hundred thousand pounds to buy an estate outside Canberra.

After the treaty was signed, Pierre said,

"Your Majesty, you must believe me—you’ve made a very worthwhile deal."

Vyner, the former king of Sarawak, was silent for a moment before replying,

"No, I am no longer ’Your Majesty.’ Now, you are the King of Sarawak—my king!"

What?

Hearing this, Pierre was taken aback... What was going on?

I’ve actually become a king? Why didn’t I know about this?

Although Pierre didn’t care much for the so-called throne, news of the deal, once it broke, sparked heated debate across Australia. Naturally, it also drew opposition from Anthony, the former crown prince, who publicly declared he would never recognize such an "utterly absurd" transaction. He also announced his intention to petition the Colonial Office to overturn the deal, insisting that he still held the "undisputed right of succession to the throne of Sarawak."

But the former crown prince seemed to have forgotten one thing—this world runs on power. Never mind that Anthony was a deposed crown prince; even if he were still the heir, what difference would it make?

Crown prince... How many divisions does he have?

As for Pierre, he had at least three divisions under his command, and this force was about to set out for Borneo, to reclaim the island from Japanese occupation.

"All right, now it’s time to go home..."

For Pierre, who had just bought a country, his only concern now was returning to Borneo. As the fleet set sail once again, gazing at the vast Pacific Ocean, Pierre muttered to himself,

"Japan, here we come..."