1928: The rise of giant merchants

"The Northern Expedition has reached a fever pitch, and the situation in the north is precarious. The Northern Expeditionary Army from Jinling crossed the Yellow River at noon today, and Beiyang Marshal Zhang issued an order in the afternoon, ordering the troops to evacuate Beijing and Tianjin and retreat toward the Luanhe River."

"The latest news is that the Jinling side has appointed representatives Nan Guixin and Kong Fanwei to Peiping to negotiate with the Feng faction representatives Zhang Shaoshuai and Yang Yuting on the peaceful takeover of Beijing and Tianjin. It was agreed that the Jinling side will provide convenient conditions for Fengjun's retreat. Before Fengjun completes the retreat, Jinling The Fang army will not pursue."

"Before Fengjun retreated, Marshal Zhang sent a telegram to the whole country, calling for peace, saying that Fengjun had stopped attacking, and he hoped that the people would make a fair judgment on the domestic situation!"

On the Crystal Radio, various stations were busy broadcasting the various news about the Northern Expedition that had just been delivered!

Today is May 30, which is also the day when the Beiyang army was completely defeated!

In fact, Marshal Zhang was still holding on this morning, seemingly unable to accept the current situation.

He ordered Zhang Zongchang, Chu Yufeng and others to garrison in Cangzhou, and ordered Sun Chuanfang's men to garrison in Qingyun and Yanshan areas. Then he asked the direct line of Fengjun and Sun Chuanfang's main force to defend Hejian with the strongest troops, preparing to start a final battle with the Northern Expedition!

During this period, Feng Yuxiang betrayed his teammates, causing Yan Xishan to go deep alone and fall into a heavy siege by Feng Jun. Thanks to the Northern Expedition's detour to the capital of Shandong Province, Yan Xishan was rescued and the final victory was established.

Although the Northern Expedition is coming to an end, in order to fight for this so-called nominal unification, a group of soldiers and civilians in the capital of Shandong Province became victims and were brutally killed by the Japanese invaders!

Listening to these reports, Ye Luo and Xiao Aqiao both looked sad, but they were worried about different things.

Ye Luo was upset about the harm the war had done to the people. Although he knew this in advance, his own powerlessness also made him quite irritated.

Under the general trend, there was too little he could do on his own. He could only continue to work hard to make money and bring the business community in Shanghai under his control, and then he would have the opportunity to do something in the future.

As for little Ah Qiao, her soul almost flew away when she heard the news that the Northern Expedition was about to win.

She doesn't care much about current affairs and politics. Anyway, she has been living in Shanghai. No matter which king she changes to, her life is the same.

But this time it's different.

The failure of Fengxiang meant Lu Yongxiang's complete loss of power.

This also means that the Ye family, which relies on Lu Yongxiang, will truly lose its backer!

Previously, all the forces were eyeing the Ye family and the Labor Federation, but due to the unclear outcome of the war, the war situation was still anxious. Seeing Ye Yuqiao decisively washing his hands and disbanding the Labor Federation, they turned a blind eye.

But now, it's all settled.

The biggest supporter is gone.

The Ye family has really become a soft persimmon that everyone can rub against.

Little Ah Qiao never understood why the second young master insisted on staying on the beach and refused to leave.

Previously, she thought that Ye Luo converted all the money into U.S. dollars and deposited it in Citibank just for emergencies.

Once the war has a decisive outcome, they will leave Shanghai first and then control Zhou Xiangsheng and others here to continue doing business.

But now, it's too late!

The account books in Xiao Aqiao's hands had just been spread out. Originally, when she came back at this time, she and Ye Luo would carefully check the latest account books and calculate the true financial status of Ye's Investment Company.

But now, you still check the damn account books!

She reached for the phone: "Second Young Master, I will help you book a ship ticket to go overseas right away!"

"Ship tickets? What's the hurry?" Ye Luo was interrupted by her words, woke up, and pulled the account book with a smile, "Start checking the accounts quickly."

"Hey, Second Young Master, Luoluo! Brother Luo! It's already this time, why are we still investigating?" Xiao Aqiao was so anxious that she was sweating profusely. She is the proprietress of Fengming House. Apart from the Ye family as her backer, and other The forces are also quite intertwined.

She stays in Shanghai and nothing will happen to her.

But Ye Luo is different.

This time when he returned from studying abroad, he offended countless people——

The three tycoons of Yongxing Company, General Chamber of Commerce, Automobile Commerce Association, Yu Likui, Ye Chen and so on.

None of these people wanted to kill him!

"Be obedient, and I'll check the accounts if I say so." Ye Luo reached out and pinched her beautiful face, with an unafraid expression, and looked at the account book first, "Believe me, little Aqiao."

Little Ah Qiao was shaken by his last words and recalled the past.

At that time, he smuggled himself to Shanghai and mingled among the refugees. Fortunately, he was bought by Ye Luo, who was only fourteen years old.

This is what Ye Luo told her when she was most lonely and helpless.

"Believe me."

"Yeah!" She nodded heavily, gathered her emotions, and secretly decided in her heart that no matter what happened tomorrow, since the second young master didn't leave, she wouldn't leave either. Even if she died with him, she would die together.

The two began to quickly look through the ledger.

An hour later, the situation of Ye's Investment Company was sorted out.

The current gross profit of Ye's Automobile Company is about US$170,000, and the charitable foundation has invested a total of US$80,000. All previous new and revised strategies have totaled a total expenditure of US$200,000.

Liangyou Pictorial had a net profit of 8,000 yuan.

The net profit of Huashang Advertising Company was 13,000 yuan.

Fengming Tower's net profit was 64,000 yuan.

The Labor Federation imposed sanctions of US$440,000, of which US$240,000 has been received.

Ye's Automobile Company has one hundred Chevrolet 490s used as taxis, and 80 are in storage for sale. 500 new Chevrolet 490s will arrive in Shanghai in early June, and the last 500 will arrive in Shanghai in mid-June.

The deposit for the 2,000 cars was paid by Ye Luo out of his own pocket and Fengminglou's deposits over the years. The remaining payment was provided by a loan from Citibank. Currently, he still owes Citibank a total of 1.153 million in principal and interest.

In addition, Ye Luo owed a total of 350,000 yuan in principal and interest to Shanghai Comprehensive Savings Bank, Tan Si, Jingwu Sports Association, Lin Ruxian and others.

"Second Young Master, we owe too much money. You also said that the U.S. dollars in the account cannot be touched. If this continues, even if we add the tens of thousands of dollars that our little sisters have scraped together, it will be a drop in the bucket. It is completely useless. It’s not enough.”

In order to support Ye Luo in this fight between dragon and tiger, Xiao Aqiao had already taken out all the private money and dowry that had been hidden for many years and gave it to Ye Luo.

Not only did she empty out her own savings, but she also resolutely gave a total of one hundred thousand oceans to Ye Luo free of charge.

But all this money was spent by Ye Luo a few days ago!

In order to maintain the vitality of Ye's Motor Company and fight the final battle with Galt's Ford Motor Company, Ye Luo needs to make connections everywhere, and then spread the money like water in the car dealership.

As soon as he increased the money, Galt couldn't sit still. He also used his connections and lowered costs to continue playing in the ring.

Now, the General Chamber of Commerce and a group of foreigners and Chinese who are observing from the sidelines have already understood that this is not a fight over the car rental business, but a fight for life and money. It is the first head-to-head confrontation between Chinese businessmen and foreign businessmen!

The final outcome will also determine the future trend of Shanghai's business community.

"How many days do we have enough money to last?" Ye Luo knew that he would win this battle. In fact, as long as he was willing to spread the dollars he had in his hand, the situation would be certain.

But one dollar of these dollars is equivalent to a loss of two dollars.

What a loss for dealing with a mere Galt.

After adjusting the strategy, upgrading the car dealership, and rising anti-Japanese and patriotic sentiments, the "40000" reservation number began to be gradually used even without him deliberately promoting it.

At this time, I couldn't help but use US dollars, so my previous actions of borrowing money were all a slap in the face.

He guaranteed US dollars, firstly to make a profit from the big exchange rate fluctuation next month, and secondly, to confuse Galt and others, making them think that he had been making an escape plan, and that the money was the capital he deliberately saved when he fled overseas.

In this way, they will be sure that they will evacuate decisively when the Feng faction loses power.

Give them the illusion that as long as they grit their teeth and persevere, they can wear themselves to death over time.

In this way, you can maximize your benefits!

"Three days at most." Xiao Aqing calculated in his mind and whispered.

Ye Luo raised his head: "Three days? Okay, three days is enough!"

At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the room on the third floor. It was Ma Yongzhen who was guarding outside.

"Second Young Master, something happened! Yu Likui's people are surrounded downstairs. You and your sister-in-law leave first, I will stay in the bungalow to break up the rear!"