1928: The rise of giant merchants

Duan Qirui, Wu Peifu, Cao Kun and others are famous apartment dwellers in Tianjin City. They are all the old and young children who were defeated during the warlord wars. After they left the country, they lived in the concession of Tianjin City. They were protected by foreigners and looked for a comeback. Opportunity.

Seeing that the principal from the south dominated the world and defeated powerful warlords such as Gui Clan and Feng Yuxiang one after another, these people felt that there was no hope of a comeback, so they all bet their money on the former Qing emperor Puyi.

They interact closely with each other and get what they need, becoming a small group in Tianjin.

As Puyi's family fortune disappeared, the attitude of foreigners was ambiguous, and it seemed that there was little hope of restoration. These people gradually alienated Puyi and looked for new candidates.

Today, at the Jingyuan banquet, Pu Yi saw them coming one after another. He felt that he was very proud. He didn't expect that these people would only exchange a few words with him after they arrived, and then swarmed towards Ye Luo.

This is the current celebrity in front of the principal and Zhang Hanqing. Isn’t he better than Pu Yi?

At this time, Wenxiu and Wanrong were serving Puyi on the left and right, and behind them were the real owner of Jingyuan, Lu Zongyu, and his daughter and son-in-law, Lu Jingyan and his wife. However, these people were now squeezed into the corner, no one cared about them, and the guests were all around. Swirling around Ye Luo.

Even the foreigners who usually had a good relationship with Puyi were eager to rush over and talk to Ye Luo in detail.

Puyi looked at this scene, his chest was depressed, he called Wanrong to hold her arm, and forced his way into the crowd, put on a smile and greeted Ye Luo: "The second young master is here, I am not welcome from afar, please don't do it" Sorry."

Haoran is his nickname. Now that he can no longer call himself "I" to others, he calls himself Haoran.

"Hello, Mr. Pu. I have long admired your name, and I am glad to meet you today." Ye Luo greeted with fists in his hands, and took Tang Yiying inside. "Dear friends, it is inconvenient for us to stand at the door to talk. How about we all go in?"

Everyone responded one after another and rushed into the Jingyuan, leaving the real owner Puyi behind.

At this time, the closest people to Ye Luo were Wu Peifu, Duan Qirui and Cao Kun. Wu Peifu and Cao Kun were both well-known figures among the Zhili clique warlords, and Duan Qirui was the top figure among the Anhui clique warlords. After they left power, they all Frequent operations, hoping to take advantage of the chaotic situation to make a comeback.

Now if you want to continue to control the army and fight for power, you must have people first and money.

The first point ultimately boils down to having money.

These people have a small amount of money, but they can no longer afford the big money. If they want to gather an army again, they must have a God of Wealth to protect them.

They consider themselves to be of extremely high status in the Zhili clique and the Anhui clique. It is not a problem to respond to everything at once. What they lack is military spending.

Puyi was bankrupt and could no longer help them run the army. Ye Luo, who suddenly came to Tianjin at this time, obviously met their psychological expectations.

Ye Luo knew exactly what they were thinking, and the reason why he was willing to chat with them for a while was because he wanted to discuss business later and they would be needed in Tianjin City, and because they at least had a good relationship after the Japanese invasion. Unlike Mr. Wang, who even lost his national integrity, he never agreed to the Japanese invaders to take up official positions in their puppet government until his death.

"The second young master came to Tianjin this time, I heard, to do business?" Duan Qirui saw that he didn't want to talk about politics at all, so he looked for an entry point in business, "I am well-known in the Tianjin business community. I don't know what the second young master wants to do. Maybe we can have a chance to work together."

"My children and nephews are also doing business. From Tianjin to Peking, I have friends on every business road." Wu Peifu was not to be outdone.

Cao Kun also said that he could contribute money and efforts.

He was a man who had been the president of the Republic of China, and he was accused of bribery to elect the president. It was not nice to hear, but it also indirectly showed that this warlord was very rich.

"Brothers, if you have a good business, why don't you invite me to join you?" A bald man with thick eyebrows and big eyes came over.

"Who is this?" Ye Luo asked.

"Second Young Master, this is the famous General Sun Chuanfang." Tang Yiying gently rubbed his palm with her fingers and whispered into his ears.

"Oh, it turns out it's General Sun. I'm disrespectful." Ye Luo clasped his fists and thought to himself, it turns out it's you, the turtle grandson.

He brutally murdered Jian Qiao's father before. After the defeat, he relied on the help of the warlords to get out of the country and hid in Tianjin as an apartment. He has always been very uneasy. He went to bewitch Zhang Hanqing every day to stick to the north. In the future, he and the principal would separatist power between the north and the south and fight for supremacy. The world.

Later, he found that Zhang Hanqing could not be persuaded, so he went to Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan to cause trouble.

The only thing worth mentioning is that he did not take refuge with the Japanese invaders and managed to maintain his integrity in his later years.

If history remained unchanged, Sun Chuanfang would have been shot to death by Shi Jianqiao in Tianjin Jushi Linfo Hall on November 13, 1935.

"Oh, how can one claim to be a general? He is just a lazy man. The Second Young Master is overly praised." Sun Chuanfang actually knew Ye Luo. In 1926, he retreated to Suzhou City and Shanghai Bund, and had a relationship with Lu Yongxiang, the King of Shanghai who occupied Shanghai at that time. At that time, the beach was full of soldiers, and a group of businessmen were shaken by two warlords.

Ye Yuqiao's Labor Union was not much better, and each of them gave one million yuan to save his family's life.

Ye Luo didn't know him because Ye Luo was still studying abroad at that time.

These are all the prestigious apartments currently staying in Tianjin. Behind them are a group of foreign consuls general from the concession. They want to cooperate with Ye Luo, mainly because of the influence of the consuls general in Shanghai.

After all, Goss, Barton, Verdy and others all made a fortune from Ye Luo. The former American Minister Ma Murui has now returned and regards Ye Luo as a brother with a different surname, which makes them even more eager to join the big ship of Ye Luo's investment.

Puyi finally squeezed back, and with Wanrong and Wenxiu, he pulled Ye Luo to sit at the same table. The group of warlords didn't want to talk to the former Qing emperor, but the seats were set, so they had no choice but to get together.

There are four people at this table, Puyi and his wife, Ye Luo, Tang Yiying, Duan Qirui, plus the Japanese Minister Yoshizawa Kenkichi, the American Consul General Hamilton, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Garrison William, and the belatedly arrived Lu Yongxiang. Everyone squeezed into the table, and even Lu Zongyu, the real owner of Jingyuan, couldn't get in.

The table was full of delicacies. Puyi asked someone to open his collection of French red wine and winked at Queen Wanrong to pour wine for Ye Luo herself.

Wanrong blushed. The former empress of the Qing Dynasty had always had others serve her. This was the first time she served tea and water to someone. Her movements were stiff and unfamiliar, which made Puyi very unhappy.

"Why can't you do such a small thing?" Pu Yi muttered in a low voice and scolded her.

Wanrong felt even more aggrieved.

Ye Luo didn't care very much. He had been chatting with William in English. William and the British Commander-in-Chief in Shanghai were classmates at the military school at the same time. Ye Luo got the two guns from his classmates. At this time, they talked about military and war. Ye Luo's vision and arguments instantly impressed William.

As countries recognized the Republic of China's tariff independence, some garrisons and bases were also withdrawing one after another. A large amount of military supplies and weapons and equipment were difficult to return home due to transportation problems, and many of them were already on the verge of being eliminated. William was having a headache with this problem.

He has only one way out now, which is to sell these military supplies to the principal at a low price.

If it was transported back to the country, he would have to pay for the freight and other costs himself. He did not have the money and was not willing to spend the money, so he stayed in the country and sold it to others. Selling arms was an act explicitly prohibited by the Jinling National Government, and no businessman dared to do it.

Even though Duan Qirui and the others were jealous, they didn't dare to do such a thing that was obviously seeking death.

Things just froze.

"Marshal Chiang's price is too low, alas." William sighed. "Although these tanks and artillery are old, they are far better than those used in their army. Purchasing them at such a low price is a clear sign of taking advantage."

"If the price is right, I can buy some." Ye Luo said with a smile, "Unlike those businessmen, I have Shang Fang's sword in my hand."

"Shang Fang's sword?" William's mind was full of questions.

Ye Luo nodded and smiled: "That is to say, my purchase of military supplies is legal and I will not be punished. Of course, I must report it to the Jinling National Government, and I cannot buy too much." (End of Chapter)