1928: The rise of giant merchants

Chapter 154 Sit back and wait for them to beg me (two-in-one, updated to 8,000 words+)

After sending Fan Juli away, Ye Luo did not rush to the French Consulate General in Shanghai to find Verdi's theory. Instead, he first called Ye Hao, Ding Li and Ma Yongzhen, and ordered them to send someone to thoroughly investigate the true situation of the matter, and By the way, I went to comfort Wu Tonggen's family.

At six o'clock in the evening, Ye Luo had dinner at Ye Mansion, and Ye Hao came back with the truth of the matter.

"Arlo, we investigated more than a dozen witnesses and went to the tram company to inquire about their rules and regulations. This matter is exactly the same as what Miss Fan said. It was just five ghost guys who got drunk and made trouble. One of them was arrogant and domineering and dissatisfied. With Wu Tonggen’s attitude, he started killing people!”

Ye Hao's face was ashen. He learned about this at the Jingwu Sports Club. At that time, he happened to be competing with Shi Jianqiao and Huo Ting'en in martial arts. When he heard about this tragedy, he almost brought people to the French Embassy in Shanghai. Consulate General.

Fortunately, Ye Hao is not what he used to be. He is calmer and calmer than before. He did not act impulsively. Instead, he went home to discuss with Ye Luo first.

"What is the attitude of other forces?" Ye Luo took a sip of tea and was not impatient.

"What other attitude can there be? Except for our Ye's Investment Company, no force dares to argue with the French Consulate General in Shanghai. The French Concession, led by the Youth Gang, is assisting the police to suppress the people in an attempt to calm the situation." Ye Hao was angry and unfair. , "Before we went there, people from the Youth Gang came to Wu Tonggen's house and threatened and lured his wife and children. Fortunately, we arrived in time, otherwise..."

"I understand." Ye Luo stood up immediately.

Ye Hao thought he was going to the French Consulate General in Shanghai to argue, so he quickly followed him: "Arlo, is it too dangerous for you to go alone? This matter is making a fuss now, and the city is full of troubles. Even if you have a good relationship with the French Consul General, you have to Beware of other people's cold arrows."

"Ah? Why should I go to the Consulate General?" Ye Luo looked at him confused, "Verdi will definitely try his best to protect those five soldiers. Even if I drag people to argue with them now, do you think I will be more respectable than the Sixth Commander?"

"Then what are you doing?" Ye Hao was confused, "Didn't you promise Miss Fan to help solve this matter?"

"I'm going to the Black Cat Dance Hall to see how the preparation work is going." Ye Luo went downstairs and called Xiaoli to bring her a coat. While putting on her clothes, she smiled and said, "Brother, do you want to go to the dance hall with us to see how it is?" ?”

"Oh, when is this? Why do you suddenly want to go to the ballroom?" Ye Hao was completely confused. He hesitated again and again, but quickly followed Ye Luo and left Ye Mansion.

The heavy rain that lasted for several days finally stopped.

As we approach the end of September and enter autumn, the weather gradually turns cooler. After this heavy rain, the temperature suddenly dropped from an average of 20 degrees to an average of more than 10 degrees.

Ding Li opened the car door and was surprised to see the eldest young master also there.

The eldest young master usually manages the business of Ye's Security Company and rarely goes out with the second young master.

There was still little Ah Qiao sitting in the back seat of the car. Ye Hao simply got into the passenger seat. He was still worried about the Wu Tonggen case and couldn't bring up the interest in going to the dance hall.

"Baby, have you done everything I asked you to do?" Ye Luo came to the back row and gently held little Aqiao's slightly cold hands to help warm her up.

The weather was getting colder, so little A Qiao was still wearing a thin tight-fitting cheongsam with a shawl thrown over it. She gained grace but lost her warmth. However, this was also good for her because she had a reason to stay close to Ye Luo. Got it!

"It's done! The employees of the French tram company and the water company have been oppressed by the French businessmen for a long time. Usually they dare to be angry but dare not speak out. Now with our support, and with this tragedy, starting from tomorrow, they will Strike until the Consulate General addresses this issue."

At first, little Ah Qiao didn't understand why Ye Luo asked her to go to the president of the Chinese union in the French Concession in person and ask him to encourage the Chinese workers to strike collectively.

On the way to work, she experienced the discriminatory attitude of the public affairs office against Chinese people, coupled with the indifference and indifference of both the Consulate General and the National Government to this matter, and she finally understood.

To seek justice for Wu Tonggen is equivalent to regaining the human rights of the Chinese who have long been exploited and oppressed in the French Concession. This is a very difficult matter.

Under the resistance from all parties, even if Ye Luo takes action, it will be difficult to achieve a good result.

So Bai Xiongqi called in the morning and told Ye Luo not to pay too much attention to the matter. The Jinling National Government had arranged for a commissioner to negotiate with the consulate and the matter would be settled soon.

What they call settlement is actually to send the murderers back to the country and suppress the workers' protests!

If you want to take back your human rights, you can only unite!

Ye Luo wanted to awaken their self-awareness, rather than simply intercede and let Wu Tonggen rest in peace.

That doesn't make much sense.

This Wu Tonggen is smiling, but what about the next Wu Tonggen and the next Wu Tonggen?

Ye Hao was even more confused when he heard that Xiao Aqiao went to instigate a strike.

"There are strikes every year, but I don't see any reaction from these people."

"It's different. I have sent someone to write down the entire incident in French, and added some details to link the murder case with the strike wave. This investigation report should be submitted to France tonight through Mérieux. On the desk of the ambassador to China, it is then passed to the Paris headquarters through the ambassador.”

Ye Luo answered with a smile.

Ye Hao looked at him in confusion: "So what? Even our city government dares not take care of it and doesn't want to take care of it. How can their ambassadors and ministers be willing to help us?"

"Of course it will. As long as this matter really affects the normal work of the workers and the current relationship between the Chinese and the French, they will definitely take action to manage it. Brother, have you forgotten? The situation today is different from that of the Beiyang government. Before that The Beiyang warlords are fighting in chaos, and there is no recognized official government. Now there is the Jinling National Government, and it has issued a foreign declaration with the support of the United States. The United States was the first to recognize the legitimacy of the National Government and fully supports tariff independence. You Guess why?" Ye Luo asked him.

Ye Hao shook his head mechanically.

Little Ah Qiao and Ding Li also listened with interest, curious about what the second young master, a man who claimed not to understand politics, had to say about the political situation.

"Brother, you should know that the stock market in the United States is rising crazily. Their national power is increasing day by day, and they are bound to actively promote their foreign expansion strategy, but this will inevitably be opposed by Britain, France, Japan and other countries who are also great powers. Paris a few years ago At the Peace Conference, the United States, like us, failed completely in diplomatic negotiations and did not achieve its expected goals. Therefore, it has shifted its expansion targets to the Far East and the Pacific in recent years, and regards the Chinese market as its first target!"

"This is why American businessmen have been so active in Shanghai in recent years! The largest city in the Far East is a treasure that everyone wants to own. Why do we have so many concessions here? Because they all want to be in Shanghai Digging for treasures and exploring here will yield huge profits. The fundamental reason why foreign companies suppress Chinese businessmen is market competition."

"The meat is so big, but there are so many mouths to eat it, so we Chinese businessmen can't get to the table at all. Even if we can have a sip of soup, we are just compradors of the foreign companies and have no real say. And there is competition between them, just like Their respective countries are competing with each other for territory in the Far East. So the best way to attack their opponents is to take back the privileges of other powers in Shanghai and compress their commercial markets and interests. The cakes of other powers will be less, and their own cake will be reduced. It becomes more.”

Ye Luo looked at them with a smile and compared Shanghai Beach to a huge cake.

Nowadays, only the great powers are dividing the cake, and the Chinese cannot get on the table. Whoever eats less can eat more.

With such an explanation, even Ye Hao, who didn't understand business, suddenly understood.

"No wonder the United States took the lead in supporting the policies of the Jinling National Government. I thought their conscience found out. It turned out that it was for their own interests and to suppress other competitors." Ye Hao was itching with hatred.

"I also understand this. In order to take over all the brothel business in Fengminglou, it won't matter if we take a little less profit. We have to drive other brothels out of the rental industry first." Xiao Aqing made it clear. In fact, this The growth of Fengming Tower in the past few years is due to Ye Luo instilling this kind of business philosophy in her, which can achieve such outstanding results.

"That's right. So it's not just the United States, it's also the case with Britain, France, and Japan. In this way, under the most anxious situation, a tragedy like this suddenly broke out in the French Concession on the Bund in Shanghai, which affected the struggle between the higher levels and made France deal with Britain, the United States, and Japan. At a disadvantage, do you think the ambassador and minister will sit back and watch?”

Ye Luo looked at them with a smile.

"I understand! So after the massacre in the capital of Shandong Province, the Japanese businessmen in Shanghai stood on our side. International public opinion and their internal forces also denounced the arrogance and atrocities of the army. It was because of the Japanese massacre of people in the capital of Shandong Province. The bandits have affected the interests of their superiors in China." Xiao Ah quietly turned around and looked at him with a pair of big eyes, seeking praise and recognition, "To a certain extent, that army is just like the French soldiers who are killing people now!"

"So smart, baby~" Ye Luo hugged her cheek and kissed her.

Xiao Aqian's cheeks turned red and he couldn't dodge, so he had no choice but to let him bully him.

"Since no one is willing to help, let's make the matter bigger so that they have to solve the problem. You see, these people will still have to come to me when they come back, right?"

Ye Luo chuckled lightly and looked at the night view outside the window.

"Whether it's business or government affairs, it's just like marching and fighting. The aggressor and the active party can easily become the passive party. Only those who sit firmly on the Diaoyutai may become the final winner!"

After some explanations, the three of them all had strong admiration for Ye Luo.

Seeing such a thing, Ye Luo could also involve his own business interests. Ye Hao was relieved and felt disappointed.

As the eldest brother, he always felt that the gap between him and his younger brother was getting wider and wider, which made him sigh.

But soon, Ye Hao smiled again when he saw Ye Luo playing and playing with Xiao Aqiao like a child in the rearview mirror.

That's fine too.

Ever since Ye Yuqiao completely disappeared behind the scenes, the Ye family has been taken over by the two brothers.

Now one is the marshal who coordinates the overall situation and mobilizes all parties, while the other is the general who charges into battle and lives towards death.

He had a strong premonition that the Ye family would surely get better and better in the hands of the two brothers, and become a truly wealthy family.

The next morning.

French Concession, Consulate General of France in Shanghai.

Verdi was still in his sleep when he was suddenly awakened by loud shouts.

He struggled to get up, got dressed, and when he looked through the window sill, he was startled.

At some point, a large number of Chinese working in the French Concession gathered in front of the Consulate General.

They waved flags, shouted, and held up banners, seeming to be protesting and striking loudly.

Fan Erdi quickly finished washing up and came to the office. When he saw Fan Juli working at her desk, he quickly asked: "Fan, what's going on outside? Didn't you tell the patrol room to disperse them?"

"Consul General, the Chinese workers who came this time were not just for the case that day. They also accused the French businessmen of oppressing and bullying them for a long time and demanded the same treatment as the French workers. Otherwise, they will go on strike until they get your answer." Fan Juli looked helpless and felt in her heart. But he was secretly happy.

The second young master is indeed amazing!

Just in the morning, several telegrams were sent from Peiping. They were handwritten letters from the French Minister and Ambassador to China, asking Verdy to handle Wu Tonggen's case properly immediately and avoid delays that would lead to a large-scale strike wave!

She also showed the telegram to Verdy.

The expression on Verdy's face finally became extremely solemn.

At this moment, the phone on the table nearby rang, and Verdi quickly picked it up.

The caller was a French business tycoon. He expressed strong dissatisfaction, believing that Verdi's delay caused his workers to also go on strike, causing him to suffer an unreasonable disaster.

Not only that, he also mentioned that the Paris headquarters has also begun to pay attention to the situation here. If it is not handled well, they will consider re-selecting suitable people to serve as the consul general and general director!

Verdi didn't expect that just one day had passed, and things suddenly took a direction that he couldn't solve!

"Fan! Can't the patrol room and the Youth Gang continue to suppress it?" Verdi did not give up. In his opinion, his side had an absolute advantage and there was no need to surrender to the Chinese.

"Fern Erdi, things are almost out of control, haven't you noticed?" Fan Juli is Verdi's fiancée after all. She can't bear that he really steps down because of this matter, so that she loses her support. "The strike wave will only get worse. You must We have to deal with that case as soon as possible.”

"Is it true, as they said, that they would severely punish the murderer, then pay the money and publish an apology in the newspaper?" Verdi shook his head repeatedly, "Fan, if I agree to such a request, the ambassador will not let me go."

"what do I do?"

Verdy was completely at his wits end.

He was extremely upset.

If I had known earlier, I should have agreed to Han Qing's request on the day he came and settled the matter, and there wouldn't have been so much trouble.

"Fan Erdi, there is someone who may be able to help you solve this problem." Seeing the opportunity, Fan Juli approached him and whispered.

"who?"

"The second young master of the Ye family, Ye Luo."