1928: The rise of giant merchants

"Ye, this is the memorandum left by Colonel Max before his death. He specifically asked me to hand it over to you."

Knappe handed a small yellowed notebook to Ye Luo.

Ye Luo took the memo and opened it to read.

As in his previous life, Marx urged the president in his memorandum to reorganize the army and "massively reduce excess troops in order to concentrate existing financial and material resources so that the national army can reach a refined standard."

This was the suggestion that Ye Luo and Max made to the principal when they first established the Huade Military Cooperation Project.

In Ye Luo's view, in order to cope with the coming war of aggression, the principal should concentrate on training the Kuomintang army into an elite force with excellent training, complete arms and complete equipment.

Troops should focus on quality, not quantity, which is what the famous German military strategist Seckert said: "The fundamental problem of China's army is not to suffer from a small number, but from a large number."

On this basis, Marx also proposed that the key to forming a new elite army "lies in the quality of officers and the actions of battalion commanders and above. It is recommended that the National Government establish various special military schools to cultivate specialized personnel and improve the quality of officers and soldiers."

"The current goal is to establish a certain number of excellent divisions as the core of the Chinese army as early as possible, so that each of them can play a core role so that the army can be expanded quickly when necessary."

This was the secret behind Germany's military expansion after World War I.

The memorandum also mentioned that it was hoped that Ye Luo could fully take over the Hua-German military cooperation project and not let those unscrupulous and incompetent national army generals ruin his lifelong efforts.

Max's words were full of dissatisfaction and contempt for the generals of the Chinese army. It seemed that the performance of these generals during the Central Plains War greatly disappointed him.

Finally, he also hoped that Ye Luo could take care of his wife and children in Germany, as well as several lovers and children in China.

During the Republic of China, it was normal for foreigners to marry two wives and have numerous children.

Many foreigners were even ruthless. Once they wanted to return to the country, they would just slap their butts and leave without caring about the lives of their family members who were stranded in the Republic of China.

It is rare for a foreigner like Max to still miss his Chinese lover and children after his death.

After reading the memo, Ye Luo asked Ma Yongzhen to immediately arrange for people to bring all Max's relatives in China from Jinling to Shanghai, and they would be raised by Ye's Investment.

Because there were no secrets that could not be told, Ye Luo saw that Knappe was very curious and told him everything.

"Colonel Max is indeed a rare and outstanding soldier. His death is regrettable." Knappe said this, but felt bored in his heart.

He also thought that the memo contained some shocking secrets, or confidential information that Max had obtained within the National Army during these times.

The mourners waited until the afternoon, when the most important guests, the principal and his wife, arrived belatedly.

As soon as the bald principal in military uniform walked into the Consulate General, he was immediately surrounded by everyone and became the focus of the audience.

But the principal's expression was obviously very bad, and he was probably still having a headache about Hu Hanmin.

To kill or not to kill, he must weigh the chain reaction after doing it.

The principal's wife was wearing a tight-fitting cheongsam and was graceful. She swayed her hips and walked towards Ye Luo.

She is 34 years old this year, a full ten years older than Ye Luo. However, through better maintenance methods, her skin is still moisturized and firm, and there is no trace of time left on it.

Every time he saw this god-sister, Ye Luo would always unconsciously think of Jiang Mengjie, who played the principal's wife in "Ask the Cangmang". Jiang Mengjie was also 34 years old at the time, which was the age she was familiar with.

"A Luo, do you want to fuck your sister?" The principal's wife reached out and took Ye Luo's arm, acting affectionately, and pulled him towards the corner.

"I think so." Ye Luo catered to her falsely.

Since Ye Luo helped her resolve her personal financial crisis, the relationship between the two has become closer. Thanks to her often whispering in the principal's ear, Ye's investment can carry out various business activities in the south unimpeded.

Also because of the sibling relationship between her and Ye Luo, the warlords and senior officials did not make it difficult for Ye's investment.

"Huh, what a mouthful. If you really think about it, why don't you come to Jinling to see your sister?" The principal's wife pouted like a girl, and then sighed.

"Sister, are you worried about Hu Hanmin?" Ye Luo asked with a smile.

The principal's wife chuckled: "You are really a roundworm in my stomach. I can't hide from your eyes."

"This matter is getting serious, and the only beneficiary is Wang. I think it's best not to touch Hu Hanmin." Ye Luo hesitated for a moment, but still gave a little advice to the principal's wife.

Today's Republic of China, because of his arrival, has produced some slight deviations.

Moreover, there are also some people in this world who did not exist in the original history, such as Xu Wenqiang, Ma Yongzhen, etc.

Ye Luo really can't guarantee that everything will develop according to the original history. If the principal's head is wrong and Hu Hanmin is really suddenly confused, something big will happen.

The principal's wife nodded: "Yes, I think so too, but it's hard for anyone to say it now."

"Then tell the principal, I think so too." Ye Luo handed her Max's memorandum by the way, which contained the disarmament details. These are the principal's favorite views. With it, he can temporarily let him Take your energy away from Hu Hanmin.

"Okay, I'll tell him when we get back." The principal's wife took the memo, read it casually, and immediately became happy.

In fact, her headache is not Hu Hanmin's life and death, but that as the first lady, if what she says cannot affect the principal at all, then she must not be looked down upon?

She has a strong desire to interfere in government affairs and hopes to demonstrate her ability in these matters. If word spreads that she saved Hu Hanmin's life due to her pillow talk, her reputation will become even higher.

This is what she really wants.

This was also the reason why she insisted on marrying the principal despite her family's objections.

What she loved most was always power and popularity.

That night, after reading the memo and listening to the words of the principal's wife, the principal slapped his thigh and felt that it was indeed the case. He suppressed his murderous intention and finally planned to let Hu Hanmin go.

But if you think about it, think about it, and do it when you do it.

Not killing him does not mean that he will not continue to be under house arrest.

Hu Hanmin had to wait until September 18th, when the principal would reluctantly let him go.

In addition, in order to thank Yip Luo for his advice and Yip's investment in controlling the price of silver, the principal is planning to reorganize the Southern General Chamber of Commerce!

Although the principal now only unifies the country in name only, this kind of central government is a powerful weapon.

Just like Cao Cao in history who used the emperor to command the princes, the Kuomintang's party headquarters spread to all parts of the country in the name of justice, and any local organization must nominally obey the control of the party headquarters.

In the past few days, major chambers of commerce in the south have experienced many changes due to fluctuations in silver prices and tariffs. Businessmen are using money to fight, making people's lives miserable.

In order to make these businessmen stay in peace and stop causing trouble, the principal informed Kong Xiangxi, and then the Ministry of Industry and Commerce ordered the reorganization of the Southern General Chamber of Commerce.

Soon the Southern General Chamber of Commerce started a new round of elections in Shanghai. Naturally, the president and vice president were appointed by default, as well as most of the committee members.

At the general election meeting, all important officials of the Kuomintang party and government departments in Shanghai and Jinling were present. Zhang Qun also personally led the elected members of the Chamber of Commerce to swear an oath, which read: to abide by Mr. Sun's will, obey the arrangements of the Jinling National Government, and abide by the principles of the President. of laws.

The leaders of the major chambers of commerce in the south had to attend in person and promised to join the Southern General Chamber of Commerce and obey the instructions of the president, vice president, committee and the Jinling National Government.

They didn't want to hear it, but looking at the armed Nationalist troops and the Kuomintang bosses on the scene, no one could say the word "no".

Ye Luo didn't go.

That day was a belated ceremony for the two little guys, Ye Hao and Ye He (Ye Luo was busy pursuing gold in Japan when he was one year old). This time, Ye Luo, the father, could not miss anything.

His absence from the Southern General Chamber of Commerce's election ceremony will not prevent him from being elected as president.

It's just a group of businessmen saying their oaths secretly, but even the president is not there, looking quite happy.

This stumped the reporters who came to interview. They wanted to take pictures, but the president was not here. What should they do?

I don’t have PS technology these days, so I can’t put Ye Luo up.

The reporter who made the final declaration came up with a clever idea and directly vacated the president's seat in the middle. Everyone gathered around an empty chair and wrote the title "Although President Ye Luo has not arrived, his spirit is with all the members."

In this way, everyone who reads the newspaper will know that the president is Ye Luo, and can use their imagination to make up for the photo.

A few days later, Ye Luo was holding a newspaper and laughing and cursing while watching Hu Diepang beat his twin children.

I don’t know which reporter came up with the idea, but it looked like a funeral.

However, he did not expect that a hundred years later, this out-of-print photo would be collected in the Palace Museum and hailed as a transformative scene in the southern business world.

"Hit well, hit hard!"

Ye Luo watched Hu Die teach his children and said Gong Huo.

Hu Die became even more angry after hearing this.

Such a grand Zhou Zhou arresting ceremony, unexpectedly, his son Ye Hao grabbed the woman's bellyband who didn't know who put it on, but Ye He held on tightly and refused to let go!

It would be okay if the two kids were the other way around, but now it's really a big joke.

Little Ah Qiao, who was watching the show on the side, suddenly felt more balanced.

Ye Zhuohua didn't do much better when he caught Zhou. He fell in love with the mahjong tiles at first sight and was laughed at for a long time.

But compared to my brother who likes bellybands and my sister who likes guns, it seems a little better. (End of chapter)