Chapter 100: Union and Continuous

Yufengli, an old district in the French Concession in Shanghai, is located between the east-west Aidoya Road and the French Main Road. This newly expanded Lilan Road connects the bustling Old Beimen Street in the east, and the Medean Road where French expatriates and wealthy businessmen gather in the west. It is only 1.3 kilometers away from the bustling Bund on the Huangpu River to the east.

Since last year, more and more expatriates from various countries and wealthy Chinese classes have flocked to the French Concession, which has beautiful environment and complete facilities. Under the strong appeal of political circles, business people in China, and wealthy Chinese bourgeoisie, the French Concession Industry Department had to relax its relocation policies. On the basis of successfully expanding the concession area to the west, new concessions regulations were issued in April this year, allowing Chinese wealthy businessmen and well-known people to move in and settle in a condition, and allowing Chinese consortiums and individuals with strong funds to purchase concession real estate.

So, Sassoon, a real estate tycoon who discovered business opportunities, bought the old alleys in the old concession area, and used the method of making up for the difference to easily acquire the real estate of more than 40 owners in the alley, and persuaded the owner of the Far East Post, Amo Nasri, who was the most famous and occupied the most land, to obtain the right to renovate the road and houses from the Industrial Department, and invested huge amounts of money to demolish and rebuild the old buildings in the alley.

In just half a year, five five acres of garden villas were built on both sides of the newly expanded road, and 35 three-story arcade-style joint-piece foreign buildings. Before the sale, the newly built luxury community was given a very Chinese name - Yufengli.

The only regret that the real estate giant Sassoon was that he failed to acquire the Far East Post in the east of Yufeng, and the garden-style villa opposite the newspaper industry. Xu Weiyue, a former fourth-rank official from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, bought the entire Far East Post and its industry for 80,000 silver dollars. With a large amount of money, he left behind seven French journalists and printing factory technicians. He began to rectify the newspaper, repair offices and affiliated printing factories, and purchased the latest printing equipment from the French foreign companies, and formulated an ambitious publishing and distribution plan.

What made Sassoon feel more comfortable was that on November 15, the first day of the property's sale, this down-and-out Chinese official and the young and thin general manager of the "West China Industrial Company" from far away western China bought him two three-story villas and two luxurious villas with gardens from the newspaper, which allowed Sassoon to make a net profit of more than 30,000 silver dollars at once, far higher than the sales profit of other similar properties in the region.

Because of this, Sassoon was very generous in nailing the new door signs of No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 7 to the granite pillars of the newspaper and the gates of the five villas.

It often drizzles in Shanghai in winter, and the cold wind blowing from the sea is very humid.

In the evening, the concession street was shrouded in the hazy drizzle, with few pedestrians, only rickshaws and various cars carrying the canopy shuttle back and forth.

Just after 8 o'clock in the evening, a Citroen luxury car with a French concession license plate turned from Laobeimen Street into Yufengli. The car came to the gate of the No. 4 Garden Villa opposite the newspaper, and slowed down slightly. The wide cast-flowered iron door was then opened from the inside. The bridge car entered the rear iron door, and the iron door closed.

The car turned a corner along the garden and stopped in front of the exquisite villa gate.

Two agile young men had already held up an umbrella and opened the car door. They sent the two bosses with suits and ties and talent into the villa hall. They then took their woolen coats and top hats and hung them carefully in the open wardrobe cabinet behind the door.

Sitting together, the young and capable entourage brought hot tea. The shorter young boss whispered a few words to the entourage and warmly greeted the guests to use tea first. This person is Major General Liu Bingxian, director of the professorship department of the Sichuan Army Officer School who has been in Shanghai for ten days. Today he will entertain an old friend here.

Facing the exquisite tea set, comfortable French leather sofa, luxurious crystal chandeliers and elegant and expensive hall decoration, the tall and bright young guest was very calm. His deep eyes swept over the four followers standing at the solemn door and at the stairs, nodded slightly, picked up the teacup, took a sip and then put it down:

"Zi Cheng, I didn't expect that your life is so prosperous now. There is such a luxurious comfort in Shanghai, where every inch of land is valuable. This three-story western-style building with interior and exterior decoration will probably cost 100,000 yuan?"

Liu Bingxian, who was sitting on the sofa on the side, replied with a smile: "To be honest, Brother Jieshi, I really don't know how much it costs to buy this place. Everything was handled by Brother Xu Weiyue and West China Company that I told you. It looks really good... How do you feel? When Brother Xu comes, let's go up and take a look?"

Chiang Kai-shek nodded with a smile: "This large villa with a garden is grand enough. It is located in the center of the concession and is quiet in the midst of the chaos. It is surrounded by bustling blocks and has very convenient transportation. I am afraid that there are not many local rich people who can afford to live in it. It is a great place!"

Liu Bingxian said disrespectfully: "There are so many rich people in Shanghai. They may not have experienced the benefits of living in the concession for a while, and they are still living in their own spacious yards... In a few years, it will probably be difficult to buy such high-quality real estate in such a good location!

"How is it? If my brother likes it, just move here. The places in Zhabei Station and the Municipal Bureau are too complicated. Today, my brother accompanied me around. No matter how you look at it, it is not as clean and safe as our Chengdu. My brother actually lives there. I feel very surprised and worried."

Chiang Kai-shek was quite moved and shook his head and sighed:

"My foolish brother wasted his time for several years and has accomplished nothing. He always felt ashamed when he thought about it. How could he be more willing to enjoy it at this time? It's a joyful congratulations to me! In the past six months, our Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been criticized by the Party, but my brother and I have never had any fear or retreat. My brother still took on all the work of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang branch, raising funds for Mr. Zhongshan. In order to support the uprising in Guangzhou, he even sold all his houses, but did not get a single good word from the party. He fell to the current level. It was so sad and lamentable..."

"Brother Jieshi, don't be so pessimistic. I am also a firm member of the Kuomintang. I still keep the two letters of appointment signed by Mr. Zhongshan and Mr. Keqiang... Besides, although our party has suffered many hardships, isn't it still growing? The difficulties are only temporary. I believe that the darkness will pass soon and the light is ahead." Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was depressed, Liu Bingxian took the initiative to comfort him.

Chiang Kai-shek smiled bitterly, sat upright, and looked at Liu Bingxian quietly: "Zicheng, you are not here to visit Yingshi and Brother Yu this time, right?"

Liu Bingxian nodded without hesitation:

"I am indeed visiting the two brothers... I came to Shanghai with me, and General Bao Jiqing, the chief of staff of the Sichuan Border Army. Unfortunately, you were in Nanjing a few days ago. He couldn't wait for you to come back and rushed to Beijing to save General Zhong Ying's life... Before I set off, my third brother Xiao Yimin told me very seriously that Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang are extremely important strategic areas. Although our Sichuan Democratic Party and the Kuomintang led by Mr. Zhongshan are two different political parties, their goals are completely the same, but the means are different. I asked me to contact more Kuomintang members in Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It just so happened that my thoughts were also held, so I came happily."

Chiang Kai-shek asked in surprise: "Your third brother didn't ask you to leave our Kuomintang?"

"Never, he respected the political choices of everyone under his command very much and never forced anyone. Even the more than 30,000 border defense army he led did not join any political party, and he did not allow it." Liu Bingxian replied.

Chiang Kai-shek opened his eyes in disbelief: "More than 30,000? Do you think Yiming's border guards have more than 30,000?"

Liu Bingxian focused on the key points: "To be honest, the Sichuan border army includes two mixed brigades of Sichuan and Kang, as well as four infantry regiments stationed in Chengdu, Ya'an and Mianyang, plus a cavalry regiment, an artillery regiment, a spy regiment and a teaching regiment, the total number of officers and soldiers reached more than 38,000, and this number is only on the surface. If the two Sichuan Army divisions who are loyal to my third brother, the total strength is almost 60,000, all German equipment, plus the increasingly famous Sichuan Army Officer School, had already exceeded 60,000. This is the main reason why Yuan Shikai never dared to attack Sichuan."

Chiang Kai-shek was stunned for a long time, then smiled bitterly with a sad face: "When Yang Shukan came back from Sichuan, he passed by Shanghai. My elder brother and I welcomed him, bought him a ticket to Japan, and finally sent him to the passenger ship safely, but he did not reveal this important news to us."

Liu Bingxian quickly explained: "Brother is probably wrongly blamed Brother Cangbai. How could he know any military affairs? When he arrived in Chengdu, he contacted my third brother for party affairs. Finally, he talked with Democratic Party Chairman Mr. Zhang Lan for six days behind closed doors. It was all about whether the two parties could merge and how to cooperate... To put it bluntly, he is a nerd, just like Hu Hanmin, Wu Zhihui and other brothers in our party, he is a nerd!"

Chiang Kai-shek's face looked better, and Liu Bingxian continued:

"Yiming still has a good impression of our Kuomintang, but he just doesn't agree with the measures we took in the revolutionary movement... There is one thing you may not believe. He set up a "countermeasures department" specializing in the Political Department directly under the Border Defense Army Command to study the Kuomintang and the Three Principles of the People, recruited seven legal and philosophical talents who returned to China after studying in Europe, studied more than a dozen important speeches by Mr. Zhongshan every day, summarized every declaration and statement since the founding of the Tongmenghui, and every policy and every riot, providing multiple research reports for the party affairs construction of the Sichuan Democratic Party. A group of party leaders of the Democratic Party have benefited a lot, which has led to the good situation in Sichuan Province today. In contrast, our Kuomintang has too much internal friction, which is indeed not as good as others. I feel ashamed to think about it!"

"Yes, internal friction, constant internal friction, even our Jiangsu and Zhejiang branches are excluded from the core of leadership. Now, except for asking for money, the headquarters and Mr. Zhongshan almost only ask about the development of our Zhejiang and the serious problems encountered. It's difficult!" Chiang Kai-shek sighed.

Liu Bingxian comforted: "Brother, don't be discouraged. Our party has a very basic foundation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. As long as you persist, you will definitely grow and grow. This time, I came here, first, to visit Brother Yingshi and his brother, and second, to ask for your brother's opinions. Can you avoid the restraint of those pedantic people in the party and promote cooperation between the Sichuan branch and the Jiangsu branch?

"I know, my brother is still a military member of the Sichuan branch. Although there are not many people left in his subordinates, I still have the right to make decisions in military decisions."

Chiang Kai-shek was overjoyed, and then hesitated to think of Xiao Yimin behind Liu Bingxian, and asked, "Zi Cheng, is this your personal meaning, or Yiming's meaning?"

"It's my intention. Yiming also agreed with me and told me to come to Shanghai to talk about cooperation with you." Liu Bingxian answered truthfully.

"Are you mistaken? Yiming and I have never met each other. How did he understand me?" Chiang Kai-shek asked in confusion.

Liu Bingxian couldn't figure it out: "I'm wondering... Logically speaking, the reason why Yiming knew you, brother, was almost learned from the correspondence between me and my elder brother Zeng Chaoran. But I recently discovered that he knew you very well. Once he drank too much, he smiled and said that there were many talents in the Kuomintang, but only Jiang Zhiqing from Fenghua, Zhejiang, who can really take on great responsibilities!

"I was shocked at that time. Afterwards, I asked him, but he just laughed and didn't answer, but I was sure that he respected my brother very much. He entrusted me to invite my brother to have time to gather in Chengdu, and said that as long as I could help my brother, I would let me do my best."

Chiang Kai-shek was shocked. Xu Weiyue came at this time and met Chiang Kai-shek enthusiastically under Liu Bingxian's introduction. After a few words, Chiang Kai-shek and Xu Weiyue were very excited. One was from Fenghua and the other from Shaoxing. Not only was his hometown only more than a hundred miles apart, but Chiang Kai-shek's sworn brother Chen Qimei and Chen Yingshi were also old acquaintances. The Xu family and the Yang family had a good relationship.

Under Chiang Kai-shek's inquiry, Xu Weiyue explained the details of how he left Shaoxing and went to Beijing to take the exam, how he followed Zhao Erfeng on his career after failing the exam, how he went to Sichuan and Tibet to quell the rebellion, and how he moved to Shanghai to settle down in a disheartened manner. He heard Chiang Kai-shek's emotions and had a deeper understanding of Xu Weiyue's younger brother Xiao Yimin.

Xu Weiyue admired Chiang Kai-shek, who was well-behaved and mature. He took out the letter written by Xiao Yimin from his suit pocket and handed it to Chiang Kai-shek with a smile:

"My brother Jieshi might as well read this letter. After reading it, you will know how respect my junior brother respects you."

Chiang Kai-shek took the letter with both hands, hesitated for a moment, but pulled out the letter paper and read it carefully. After reading the letter, Chiang Kai-shek finally understood Xiao Yimin's good intentions.

Chiang Kai-shek took the letter and returned it to Xu Weiyue, his eyes full of excitement:

"I don't have a reputation, and I have been working hard for many years and have achieved nothing. I don't know why Yiming likes me, but I remember the deep friendship between Yiming and I am willing to cooperate with Yiming. I dare not say anything else. It is absolutely fine to cooperate with Yiming's trading company in the Shanghai Public Concession and the Shanghai Office of the Sichuan Federation of Industry and Commerce. This is a great thing we can't ask for!

"Also, if Brother Xu has any instructions in the future, please call me directly or send someone to contact me. I will definitely support Brother Xu in order to handle the newspaper well. After I return, I will report to Brother Yingshi for other things and strive to give a clear reply within a week."

Xu Weiyue was very happy when she heard this, and took Chiang Kai-shek's hand and pointed at the room:

"This courtyard is No. 4, Courtyard No. 2 at the intersection of the east street, Courtyard No. 3, Courtyard No. 5, and Villa No. 7 opposite are all our own property. Brother Yu's family lives in Courtyard No. 3 next to the newspaper opposite. Brother Jieshi, if you don't mind, move here to live. If you think the transportation is inconvenient, tomorrow we will go to the French foreign company east to buy a car. Just find someone to drive by yourself. If there is no one for a while, please transfer a driver from the newspaper. Zicheng brought me more than a dozen newly retired brothers, and several of them could drive."

"No, no! Zhongzheng must not accept such a generous gift. It is already a blessing for Zhongzheng to meet Brother Xu today." Chiang Kai-shek quickly refused.

Liu Bingxian smiled and said, "Brother, why are you polite? You don't want a house or a car, so don't you want weapons and ammunition?"

Chiang Kai-shek was stunned for a moment, and then asked in surprise: "I really give me weapons and ammunition?"

Liu Bingxian nodded: "It's a gift from my third brother to give me a meeting gift to my brother. However, there are no German guns, only American and British rifles and pistols. If you want any weapons and ammunition, you only need a telegram to send to Chengdu. The other side will notify the shipment of Jardine Mahjong in Shanghai. However, after the warehouse is released, you can only rely on your brother to find a way to do things... Now Yuan Shikai is under control, and it is not easy to do several European and American companies that cooperate with Yiming's company to do too out of order."

"As long as it is within Shanghai, there is absolutely no problem!" Chiang Kai-shek smiled confidently.

Liu Bingxian said again: "There is another thing. Mr. Roberting, deputy general manager of Jardine Mahjong, has a very good relationship with Yiming. His son-in-law Zhuang Sen is Yiming's friend. He has 30% of the shares in Yiming's import and export company. He occupies half of the Chinese market. This is Mr. Roberting. He has cooperated well with each other over the past few years and the import and export business is getting bigger and bigger.

"Yiming said that there are many armed factions in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Kuomintang, and the generals are all in a bad way, and each has their own thoughts. It is not easy for Brother Jieshi to build his own armament. If you need any other imported goods, please make a list and send it to West China Company in the public concession. West China Company will handle it as quickly as possible."

Chiang Kai-shek was so moved that he could not speak. He knew how heavy this love was. As long as he accepted it, it would be a huge debt of favor! But looking at the entire Shanghai and even China, who could generously give him and the increasingly desolate Chen Qimei like Xiao Yimin?

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ps: This is an outbreak of monthly tickets of 1150 yuan!

This chapter just now was a five thousand-word chapter. The emperor was exhausted after writing it, but if the brothers could still get twenty-three monthly tickets, then there might be a fourth chapter today!

Miracles must be accumulated by votes, let’s work together!

...
Chapter completed!