1928: The rise of giant merchants

January 25, the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929).

The National Government's Third Plenary Session was officially held at the Great Hall of the People in Jinling.

A total of 406 representatives attended the meeting, including 247 official representatives.

Ye Luo is one of these 247 people.

During this meeting, Ye Luo originally wanted to just close his eyes and sleep through it like last time.

Anyway, he is not a military or political figure, and he has little to do with the power transition and changes within the National Government. As a representative of the business community, what he has to do is to listen to the meeting, and then ask the accompanying secretary to extract the essence and return it to the General Chamber of Commerce. Fan.

At this time, Ye Luo was fully thinking about the subsequent business work.

The bicycle factory and electronic machinery factory that were mentioned as the highest priority in the Huade military cooperation project were his business core in the first half of the year, followed by the newly established Ye's Clothing Co., Ltd. with Hu Die's involvement. New underwear and other products will also be released quickly. , and then there will be supporting military industrial factories. This is more difficult, because everything is started from scratch, and the several arsenals taken over from the north have to be transferred to the south.

In 1929, there were two major opportunities: tariff independence and the global economic crisis. This was an opportunity for his rise that he must seize.

In troubled times heroes emerge.

Only when this kind of economic system collapses can an unshakable business empire be truly established.

In comparison, the battle with the three tycoons of Yongxing Company in Shanghai seemed a bit trivial.

Thinking this, Ye Luo's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the speech of Chen Zhengde, the editor-in-chief of the Republic of China Daily.

This guy has a loud voice. Since becoming the principal's mouthpiece, he has been constantly attacking celebrities from all walks of life. Even Ye Luo has been criticized by him.

".Any person who is certified in writing by the National Government as a reactionary element shall be punished by the court or other statutory acceptance authority for the crime of rebellion. If he is not satisfied, he may appeal. Only the superior court or other superior statutory acceptance authority shall be deemed to be a reactionary if it is certified in writing by the National Government. It should be refuted.”

In other words, according to him, as long as the National Government finds you guilty, your appeal will be useless, and the court will be in vain.

With a certificate from the National Government, you are guilty. Even if I, the King of Heaven, come, and Jesus comes, you are also guilty!

Isn't this dictatorship?

Ye Luo frowned.

He couldn't remember the specific time when the National Government took this path. Looking at it now, it turned out that at this meeting, there was a "loudspeaker" to speak out for the principal.

That's okay.

After all, the pace of history will not slow down because of Ye Luo, a little ant. What is supposed to come will still come.

But what Finance Minister Song Ziwen said next on stage was related to Ye Luo.

He talked a lot about people's livelihood and livelihood, and then brought the topic to the Jiang'an Lun incident, which has been a hot topic recently. He bluntly said that the collusion between government and businessmen led to more than 1,000 boxes of cigarettes being sent away under the eyes of countless people. It was really a misfortune for the country and the people. The misfortune.

Since the late Qing Dynasty, people and businesses have spread all over the country, and good and bad are mixed. Song Ziwen believes that proper rectification and management should be carried out, and Shanghai, as the economic center, is naturally the first to bear the brunt.

"It's coming." Ye Luo suddenly remembered that in March, a conflict would break out between Shanghai's business community and the city hall. In the end, the General Chamber of Commerce would be directly banned, the person in charge, Feng Shaoshan, and others were directly wanted, and the business community would be fully taken over by the Ministry of Finance.

This disaster in the business world paved the way for the "National Advancement and Private Retreat" campaign a few years later. At that time, the National Government was greatly enriched by the national crisis. Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi and others used their power for personal gain, annexing a large number of Chinese private enterprises and enriching their own pockets.

It has harmed the people and also harmed a group of industrialists who have always taken it as their duty to save the country through industry.

Ye Luo, who has already taken the path of Colonel Max, need not worry.

Even though he had a rift with Song Ziwen due to the Jiang'an ship and the Nissin ship, Tang Fuhe still came over in person to apologize and offer benefits.

Needless to say about the principal.

But this action caused suffering to other Shanghai tycoons.

Ye Luo listened to Song Ziwen's impassioned speech and felt that the rain was about to come.

After the problems in the business world are over, there really is nothing wrong with Ye Luo.

Another interesting thing about this Third Plenum Conference is that 80% of the representatives were appointed; among the reorganization faction and the Xishan Conference faction, except for Wang and Deng Zeru, no one was elected, which naturally caused dissatisfaction between the two factions. .

The reorganization faction and the Xishan Conference faction questioned the legitimacy of the meeting.

After the Third Plenum Meeting was held, Mr. Wang severely criticized the principal's authority and questioned the legitimacy of the meeting. As a result, most of the reorganization faction members were expelled from their hometowns and Mr. Wang was also given a written warning.

Under such circumstances, the reorganization faction used "saving the country" as their slogan for "anti-Chiang" and instigated warlords who had long been at odds with the principal over the issue of disarmament to rebel against Chiang on the military front.

This was also one of the triggers for the Central Plains War that soon followed.

Throughout history, it is precisely because of these subtle nodes and events that one grand historical event after another eventually evolved.

As a bystander and participant, Ye Luo found it novel and emotional.

The torrent of history is rolling, and it would be fine if you don’t get crushed to death, so don’t mention changing anything.

After the meeting, Ye Luo was left in the auditorium for dinner by Song Ziwenqiang.

To be honest, he really doesn't like the poor food here. It is indeed a National Government that is crazily corrupt from top to bottom. Even the food produced in the cafeteria is no different from pig food.

But today's ordinary dinner had extremely extraordinary guests.

The elegant principal's wife came over with a dinner plate and sat down next to Ye Luo. Ye Luo almost jumped away in shock.

"I have heard from Han Qing and Feng Zhi that they have a little brother in Shanghai. He is handsome, tall, and has a very flexible mind. He is also a top student studying abroad. 'Ten miles of foreign land, there will be a beach in the storm.' The largest city in the Far East that adventurers and speculators love to visit, the dragon that really occupies it is named Ye."

The principal's wife looked at him with a smile and said leisurely.

"Wow, you are so majestic. Have you been greedy for a lot of money?"

A small head emerged from the side of the principal's wife, looking directly at Ye Luo, with a playful and curious voice.

"Don't talk nonsense, Ajun." The principal's wife stared at the little girl in a small suit with a boyish look dotingly, stretched out her hand to touch her head, "Call my second brother quickly."

Ye Luo is the second eldest child in the family, and his reputation as the second young master is a sensation across the country. The principal's wife calls him this, which shows her respect.

This gave Ye Luo some peace of mind, at least the other party was not here to cause trouble.

The little girl playing next to the principal's wife was naturally Kong Xiangxi's second daughter, the later famous Miss Kong Lingwei, and now she is still called Kong Lingjun.

To be honest, after learning about this tomboy's resume, it is difficult for Ye Luo not to suspect that she is a "female copper". She likes girls to look like men, combs her hair with a slicked back, plays with guns and horses like a man, goes to and from romantic places, and even raises "canaries" .

Except that there is something missing below, he is really similar to a man.

She is most famous for being deeply loved by the principal's wife, who adopted her as her adopted daughter and keeps her company by her side.

I heard that she injured Kong Xiangxi's secretary while playing with a gun a while ago, and she probably came here to seek refuge in the past two days.

Even a big family like the Kong family would disapprove of a ten-year-old girl playing with a real gun and let her do what she did.

Kong Lingjun stuck out his tongue, a little unhappy, but seeing his aunt's expression, he reluctantly shouted: "Second brother."

"Madam, that's a compliment. Ye Er can't bear this kind of evaluation." Ye Luo waved his hand, but looked at the principal who was walking slowly.