Chapter 42 – Non-Performing Assets

Just before I left for my summer vacation trip to Manchuria, history was beginning to shift on the continent.

This was because on July 9, 1926, Chiang Kai-shek launched the Northern Expedition.

Chiang Kai-shek, along with the Kuomintang (KMT) and its military arm, the National Revolutionary Army, was based around the Guangdong area in southern China, and their first major objective was to march toward Nanjing.

Apparently, the reason why the oil field development site in Liaohe—run by the Ootori conglomerate—had such a tense atmosphere was also influenced by these movements.

Chiang Kai-shek had incorporated Communist-style structures and training methods into the National Revolutionary Army, which made it dramatically more disciplined and motivated compared to the other warlord armies.

So when Chiang’s forces, which had finally become something resembling a proper army, faced off against the so-called soldiers of the warlords—little more than mobs of bandits and social outcasts—it was almost inevitable that they wouldn’t be a match.

Warlords might have had “army” in name, but aside from their weapons, they were basically like people from early modern or even medieval times.
What’s worse, they had little to no loyalty to their leaders or organizations, and only acted for money or battlefield rewards like looting or rape. 

On top of that, their loyalty extended only to their families or clans, making them even more of a nuisance.

To make matters worse, they often brought their families along with them, so at least half—or sometimes more—of their total numbers were actually made up of soldiers’ families.

From my perspective, the typical warlord armies on the continent were basically like giving modern weapons to the lesser generals’ troops from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Whether it’s been 2,000 or 3,000 years, nothing has fundamentally changed on the continent.

So even if only slightly, the fact that things were modernized through Communist-style education is something that can be acknowledged, at least on that point.

Though ideally, I’d like it all to collapse immediately.

Meanwhile, in Japan, a corruption scandal known as the Matsushima Red-Light District Scandal has broken out.

The situation wouldn’t become truly serious until autumn, but by July, bribery suspicions involving both ruling and opposition party leaders had surfaced, and preliminary hearings had begun.

In the history of my previous life, this eventually led to the resignation of the Wakatsuki Cabinet.
The Seiyuukai Party, which had been internally divided for some time, regained power through a coalition with Takashi Inukai’s Reform Club.

That part is fine.
What matters to me is the timing of the fall of the Wakatsuki Cabinet of the Kenseikai Party.

According to the history from my previous life, this cabinet collapsed in April of 1927.
And before that happens, the Suzuki Shouten—a major conglomerate that had grown massively during World War I—goes bankrupt.

The catalyst for that is the temporary closure of the Taiwan Bank, which triggers the Showa Financial Crisis, set off by a careless remark from the finance minister of this very cabinet.

But even before that, there were plenty of problems.

In this world, the Seiyuukai hasn’t split, so the Kenseikai and the Kakushin Club’s cabinet is weaker in terms of influence.
On the other hand, since the opposition Seiyuukai is strong, the political situation has been unstable from the start. 

Still, because the Seiyuukai were too corrupt, Katou Takaaki’s cabinet managed to stay in power. Even in the current scandal, influential Seiyuukai figures like Tokonami Takejirou are the first to be subjected to preliminary hearings.

But that wasn’t the real issue.

“So the biggest problem among them lies with Suzuki Shouten?”

Before my great-grandfather and my father’s father (my grandfather), I was explaining the plan that was originally intended to save the Ootori family, now revised.

At first, my idea was vague—I had planned to use the money I made from American stocks to rescue the Ootori zaibatsu.
I thought that maybe I could prevent my own downfall, the Ootori clan’s ruin, and the collapse of the Ootori conglomerate that way.

But once I made a ridiculous profit using the hidden fortune my ancestors and family had built, an entirely different landscape opened up before me.

On top of that, I have memories from my previous life.
As a “rekijo”, I’m quite familiar with prewar Showa-era events, so I know a fair bit. 

I double-checked just to be sure, but aside from the things Ootori has meddled in, this world isn’t much different.

And when that’s the case, ambition starts to grow.

“Yes. Suzuki Shouten has taken on massive amounts of bad debt due to reckless expansion beyond its means, poor business performance, and the postwar and earthquake recessions. That’s confirmed by the information gathered by Ootori’s newspaper and trading company. We’ve also received proper reports from the Research Institute.

On top of that, they’re banking on the idea that the government would never let the Taiwan Bank—practically a state policy bank—go bankrupt, and they’ve likely allowed a huge amount of their debt to become non-performing. And now, they plan to process a large amount of disaster-related promissory notes through the Taiwan Bank again.”

“How much in unpaid bad promissory notes?”

At my words, my great-grandfather raised one eyebrow before he spoke.

Since all the information from the Ootori zaibatsu is gathered under my great-grandfather, the conversation moves quickly.

What’s more, the Ootori conglomerate runs its own newspaper and even has a comprehensive research institute primarily to gather intelligence.
The information collected by our trading company, which can be called one of Ootori’s core operations, as well as intelligence on continental affairs gathered from our Shanghai branch—our ancestral starting point—is naturally compiled as well.

Added to that is the political intelligence gathered by my great-grandfather, who has deep reach beneath the political surface, and by my grandfather, a high-ranking officer in the army.

The information collected and analyzed through all these channels is said to be extremely accurate and reliable for this era.

And since it all matches perfectly with what I know from my past-life memories, I have no reason to doubt any of it.

“The remaining amount of the disaster-related promissory notes is about 200 million. Of that, 100 million is held by Taiwan Bank. And of that 100 million, 70% is probably Suzuki’s share.

On top of that, the total loans Taiwan Bank holds with Suzuki amount to five times that—350 million. If that all goes bad…”

“Oh, knock on wood.” (An old Japanese expression to ward off misfortune).”

Hearing the last words, my father’s father playfully shrugged his shoulders.

It seems that in this world, the figures for bad debt are the same.
If we convert the amount from millions to billions, it likely reflects the same scale of financial chaos that Japan faced toward the end of the 20th century and the early 21st century. 

Since the economic scale is so different, we should probably think of it as being about ten times that amount.

However, the fact that the Ootori portion is not included in the figures I’ve mentioned might be intentional. 

I felt I should confirm this.

“Um, great-grandfather, what about the Ootori bad debt?”

That’s right.
It’s not the current Ootori, but in the game, the Ootori zaibatsu had bad debt comparable to that of Suzuki Shouten, which exploded during the Showa financial crisis. 

Both Suzuki and Ootori meet a tragic end.

When I first found out about this in the game, I thought, “What the hell are they doing? They’re determined to ruin even the protagonist!”
But now, as an active participant in this, I feel like even those emotions are too mild. 

After all, as the villainess, I’m going to experience a double downfall starting from this point.

However, my great-grandfather showed a grin as if he found it amusing.

“You have already handled it with the dollars you made in a huge profit. We don’t have as big a size as Suzuki, after all. Zenkichi said the other zaibatsu were envious when they saw it.”

“That’s also thanks to Grandma. Still, Suzuki has 70 million, huh?.”

“Ootori also wouldn’t have been able to take it this slowly if you hadn’t increased the cash to the point where we couldn’t stop laughing. And we still have plenty of reserves. But will we use it on Suzuki as well? They’ve already run out of money, and there’s no one to lend them any.”

“I knew we should have had a central bank.”

The words were referring to how the previous generation’s “Dreaming Miko” had stolen some of the Romanov gold in a business deal, using that as capital to invest in American stocks with my future cheat knowledge, and how they were considering using that money to buy Suzuki.

“I would prefer it if we didn’t have to make Suzuki, or rather, Taiwan Bank, collapse.”

“Wouldn’t it be more advantageous for Ootori to buy Suzuki, which will collapse dramatically, with easy money? Right now, we have enough strength to win a bidding war against Mitsui.”

“That may be true for Ootori alone, but does Ootori really need to do something so unscrupulous now?”

“Unscrupulous, huh, Father?”

“Because it’s the truth. So, what now?”

The two of them gave a wry smile, but their eyes toward me were serious.

So, I returned their gaze seriously as well.
This was the moment of truth.

Northern Expedition (Hokubatsu)

In China, the term Northern Expedition refers to moving troops from the southern regions to the north in order to fight the northern forces.
In modern times, it specifically refers to the National Revolutionary period in the 1920s.

The Northern Expedition occurred several times, ultimately resulting in the defeat of Zhang Zuolin, who had occupied Beijing, leading to the temporary unification of the Republic of China.

Matsushima Red-Light District Scandal (Matsushima Yūkaku Gigo)

A Japanese corruption scandal that came to light in 1926 (Taisho 15).
Even the Prime Minister at the time was subjected to preliminary questioning, which led to the resignation of the Wakatsuki cabinet. 

Matsushima was a major red-light district in Osaka at the time, flourishing as a port for sailors. It was established around the same time as the existing Tobita Yūkaku, although not as prominent, it still exists today.

Showa Financial Crisis (Shōwa Kin’yū Kyōkō)

An economic crisis that began in Japan in March 1927 (Shōwa 2). I
t is also simply referred to as the financial panic (kin’yū kyōkō). 

This crisis is distinct from the global Great Depression that began in 1930 (Shōwa 5) and was a result of the Showa Panic.

Earthquake Bills (Shinsai Tegata)
Earthquake bills were bills that became unpayable due to the Great Kanto Earthquake.
They were commonly referred to as “shinte” in the media at the time. 

Special earthquake bills were not issued; rather, only those bills related to the disaster areas that were in general circulation were eligible for a moratorium or compensation through re-discounting by the Bank of Japan under an emergency imperial ordinance or laws. 

In essence, they were part of handling bad debts.