1928: The rise of giant merchants

December 2, the seventeenth year of the Republic of China (1928).

The Jiangan Lun incident, which caused quite a stir in late November, intensified after the arrival of the task force, and reached its climax at the end of the month.

Major newspapers and the general public were waiting for a reply. However, the reply was delayed for several days. Not only did the city hall not make any substantive statement, but even the violent public opinion was suppressed in waves.

The headlines in declarations and newspapers were no longer about the Jiangan ship, but about the German military advisory group that had just arrived in Shanghai and came to visit and cooperate with China.

Other newspapers followed suit and exaggerated the matter, calling it an important opportunity for the Nationalist Government's military rise. They also said that the German military advisory group intended to open factories in China and had set its sights on Shanghai, Suzhou, Jiacheng and other places.

People's hearing and seeing are easily confused.

As long as no one mentions Jiang Anlun again, everyone will probably forget about it in ten days and a half.

There was no news from Zhang Zhijiang that night. Ye Luo went to the city hall several times and was told that the task force was sorting out files and reports and had no time to socialize.

Zhang Dingyao and others seemed to be deliberately avoiding him, so he could only give up and wait for the follow-up results.

However, judging from various trends, Ye Luo probably guessed that the Jiang Anlun incident was going to be scandalous, and felt a little emotional in his heart.

If this is true, it means that the top leaders of the National Government have made a decision and would rather protect the man behind the scenes than quell public anger by selling cigarettes.

These days, Bai Xiongqi repeatedly warned Ye Luo not to mess around anymore, and to concentrate on arranging the wedding of the century for him and Bai Xiuzhu on December 5th, so as to settle their names and get married as early as possible.

While the Ye family was busy with the wedding, Zhang Hanqing, who was far away in the northeast, received another secret message from the principal.

Yesterday, he received a formal invitation to the wedding banquet from Ye Luo, and he was going to go south again to bless his little brother. He also stopped by Jinling to meet the principal.

The biggest question before him now is whether to be autonomous or to change the flag.

This morning, he just wrote a handwritten letter to Zhao Zhibai, the representative of the Nationalist Government in Peking. The gist of it is: "First, our internal affairs are getting stronger day by day, but diplomacy is still difficult. Please introduce the special situation to the people of the country to avoid misunderstanding; second Second, I have long been determined to reunify, and I have vowed to implement the change of flag, but there are many unresolved matters that must be settled first; third, I will never betray the country, but there are things that must be done because of the general trend. This is weak. People should forgive the fact that the nation is being oppressed."

In fact, in his previous phone conversation with Ye Luo, his thoughts were obvious.

Zhang Hanqing himself prefers the National Government.

The reason is also very simple.

First, in the Huanggutun incident, he had a sworn feud with the Japanese invaders. The Japanese invaders wanted to prevent him from uniting with the National Government, so naturally he would not go along with the Japanese invaders' wishes.

Second, nominal unification is also something that the people long for. People in both the north and the south hope that at this moment, the country will not continue to have warlords fighting as in the past, allowing foreigners to take advantage of it.

Third, he himself has strong patriotic feelings.

Fourth, after his father's death, the northern army was not harmonious, and its actual combat effectiveness was not as good as before.

Fifth, the international situation is very suitable for him to unite with the National Government.

At the same time, the development of the international situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable to the Japanese invaders.

Out of their own interests, the United States, Britain, France and other countries repeatedly put pressure on the Japanese aggressors, causing the Japanese aggressors to become diplomatically isolated.

Domestic anti-Japanese public opinion is rising day by day, and the boycott of Japanese goods movement is getting stronger and stronger, causing their foreign trade losses to continue to increase.

In Japan, some people, led by Minister Yoshizawa to China, were worried that excessive interference by the Tanaka cabinet would cause dissatisfaction with European and American powers, and therefore opposed the Tanaka cabinet's China policy.

The opposition Democratic Party also accused Tanaka of "poor diplomacy" and took the opportunity to step up its campaign to overthrow the government.

This is the best time for him to act.

At this time, the Japanese invaders advanced instead of retreating. The Japanese Consul General in Fengtian, Hayashi Jiujiro, wrote a letter to Zhang Hanqing in the name of Tanaka Yiichi.

The content is excerpted as follows:

In particular, I, the Prime Minister, have deep sympathy for you and a father-son relationship, and will definitely provide you with family-like support. Now, in order to make the foundation of the new regime more stable, we are ready to do our best to provide assistance.

He clearly killed his father, but still told himself that he had a "father-son bond". This directly touched Zhang Hanqing's lifeline. He was so angry that he tore the letter into pieces, which further strengthened his heart to fall to the National Government.

Yu Fengzhi saw that he was angry so early in the morning, so he quickly brought tea and comforted him: "Han Qing, what are you doing so early in the morning? If you are so angry, won't you give others an advantage?"

"Well, these things are giving me a headache now." Zhang Hanqing took a sip of tea and didn't want to continue talking about politics. Instead, he smiled and said to her, "It's A Luo's wedding on the 5th. You can come with me to give your blessings." .”

"Okay, last time we said goodbye, I missed sister Xiuzhu." Yu Fengzhi has a good impression of Ye Luo and Bai Xiuzhu, especially Bai Xiuzhu. Although she has a delicate temperament, she is very much like her little sister. , she is very doting on him.

After returning to Fengtian, Yu Fengzhi often called Bai Xiuzhu and secretly taught her many tips on caring for husbands and raising children. He was bound to let his little sister tightly grasp Ye Luo, the restless second young master.

"I miss Ah Luo too." Zhang Hanqing chuckled. Ye Luo helped him put Miss Zhao Si at his side. Zhang Hanqing trusted him very much when doing things.

"Speaking of which, it seems that the recent smoking commotion in Shanghai has something to do with your little brother. Should we go over and have a chat?" Yu Fengzhi asked in a low voice, "The anti-smoking meeting has just been held. If he is involved, If you don’t help me if you have some connections, something will happen.”

"That's natural, and with his character and character, it's impossible for him to get involved in things that harm the country and the people. Don't worry about it." Zhang Hanqing nodded.

On the afternoon of the 2nd.

Ye Luo, who was at Ye Mansion, suddenly received a call from Zhang Hanqing.

Hearing that this thick thigh was also coming to congratulate him on his wedding, Ye Luo felt relieved. After chatting with him for a few words and asking about the progress with Miss Zhao Si, the two of them laughed in a tacit understanding between men.

After hanging up the phone, Xiaoli said that there were dignitaries and guests outside.

Ye Luo took someone out to take a look and found that it was Wei Daoming with a bad look on his face.

Wei Daoming went to the study room on the second floor with him, and before closing the door, Wei Daoming let out a deep sigh.

"Where's Mr. Zhang?" Ye Luo asked.

Wei Daoming shook his head: "He said he was too shameless to see you, so he asked me to come and let him know. After your wedding, we will return to Jinling to resume our lives."

"Has the case been investigated?" Ye Luo raised his eyebrows.

"That's it, don't check anymore." Wei Daoming spat out these eight words.

Ye Luo looked stern: "What's going on?"