Seeing that the Spring Festival is approaching, the three towns of Wuhan, which have been devastated by the war and depression, are still unable to regain their former prosperity, and the wet streets are full of garbage, pedestrians are scarce, and even the melodious whistles that resound on both sides of the river day after day are difficult to hear. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

The old military governor's mansion in Wuchang City could no longer see the slightest shadow of the Wuhan Nationalist Government, and the dense party flag, military flag, and national flag were gone, and they were under strict alert inside and out.

Without the thousands of enthusiastic cheering crowds, without one impassioned speech and agitation after another, there were only three steps and one post, five steps and one sentry of the Gui officers and men, standing solemnly in the fluttering cold rain.

Li Zongren sat on the Western-style high chair that Wang Jingwei once sat on, ignoring the luxurious furnishings in the spacious space, and his flickering eyes kept staring at the "Chutian Daily" in front of him, silently listening to Bai Chongxi's slightly playful words:

"My brother probably doesn't know that the major shareholder behind this influential newspaper in the Lianghu region is Zheng Heng, the eldest son of the Zheng family and the current commercial counselor of the British Consulate General in Hankou."

"And Zheng Yi, the general who annihilated the new first division of the Hunan Army in only half a day a few months ago, is Zheng Heng's half-brother, right? Ha ha! ”

Li Zongren's eyes widened in astonishment: "Such a coincidence? I always thought that this newspaper was run by the Zheng family of Wuchang, who opened a bank, ran a bank, and was keen on education, but I didn't expect it to be the Zheng family in Hankou, whose family became British citizens...... In this case, we really can't afford to recklessly close this newspaper. ”

Bai Chongxi nodded: "You really need to be cautious in your actions, but you must not let it go...... Since the beginning of its establishment, the position of this newspaper has been clearly biased in favor of Lao Chiang, and if it is left unchecked, it will be very unfavorable for us to govern the two lakes. ”

"Therefore, I want to make an appointment with that Zheng Heng as soon as possible, move him with affection, know it with reason, with the wisdom and wisdom of the eldest young master of the Zheng family, he will not refuse to cooperate with us."

"At present, in the entire Lianghu region, the largest pharmaceutical company is a joint venture between the Zheng family and the British and Germans, and the drugs we operate are all urgently needed, especially the special drug sulfonamide, which has been popular all over the world for more than a year, which is a good thing that money can't buy!"

"Taking a step back, even if Zheng Heng is unwilling to cooperate with us politically, he will no longer recklessly make unfavorable remarks against us...... Businessmen, who would not be happy with money? ”

Li Zongren smiled slightly and asked curiously, "How old is this Zheng Heng?" ”

"At the age of twenty-five or sixteen, he looks quite mature and steady, and a person who can become a counselor of the British Consulate General will naturally not be far from his ability and vision." Bai Chongxi replied with a smile.

Li Zongren sighed with emotion: "This Zheng family in Hankou is amazing! ”

"Zheng Lanting, the well-known head of the family, is now the first Chinese affairs officer in the Governor's Office of Hong Kong, and was also awarded a knighthood by the British Queen, but the eldest son of the Zheng family stayed in the war-torn country, and while making a fortune in the country, he also shouted for the old Jiang......"

"If I think about it carefully, I have a little doubt, the reason why Zheng Yi, who is from the Zheng family, joined the Communist Party is not the advance layout of a wealthy family?"

Bai Chongxi was slightly stunned, and quickly understood: "It is very likely that the three leaders of the Zhuge family during the Three Kingdoms period were not the same as Liu Bei, Sun Quan and Cao Cao?" ”

"Such examples are not uncommon in thousands of years of history, and after my brother's reminder, I remembered Zheng Xuan, the eldest daughter of the Zheng family...... This girl is also a heroine who returned from abroad, she married into the Feng family, a well-known family in Shanghai, and is also the big boss of the influential Oriental News Agency in the French Concession, and the reporters employed are nearly half foreigners, and their "Oriental News" not only has the best printing quality, but also often causes a sensation in the news and commentary it publishes. ”

"This Zheng Xuan is inextricably linked with celebrities in the national business and cultural circles, and is deeply respected and praised by all walks of life, the first issue of "Oriental News Weekly" issued on New Year's Day this year, the cover character is the resurgent old Jiang, which shows that the eldest daughter of the Zheng family is also very unusual!"

Li Zongren had a bit of a headache: "The Zheng family straddles the political and business worlds, has deep roots, is intertwined, rich and powerful, and has the support of foreigners, and controls public opinion, demagoguery, which is very annoying!" ”

"It's really not good, I'll visit him in person and give him a face."

"You don't have to!"

Bai Chongxi shook his head slightly: "No matter how you say it, my brother is now the leading figure in the country, and there are only three or two people in the world who can make my brother go out in person, and Zheng Heng alone has no such face, just let the younger brother take a trip, and buy a batch of medicines urgently needed in the army by the way." ”

"Although the trade embargo imposed on Wuhan by our joint Xishan faction and Jiangsu and Zhejiang chaebols has been lifted, it seems that at present, it is difficult for the whole situation to return to the level of the early stage of the Northern Expedition in less than half a year, and even the Hanyang Arsenal, which we have high hopes for, has also stopped production for many days, and most of the foreign technicians and skilled workers have been lost, and a total of 300,000 funds have been invested in the past month, but it has still not been able to resume production."

"It can be seen that in terms of people's livelihood, we still need to work harder!"

Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi never expected that just when they were sighing for a long time about such a "social tumor" as the Zheng family, the adjutant knocked on the door and came in, handing over a delicate gold silk greeting note with both hands:

"There is a young manager surnamed Xu from Yinghua Pharmaceutical Company who has gone downstairs and begs to meet Degong!"

Li Zongren was quite surprised after reading the post, and handed it to Bai Chongxi, who was also a little surprised: "Jiansheng, look at the payment behind the post." ”

Bai Chongxi took the post, and suddenly looked up in less than three seconds: "It turned out to be Zheng Yi's name...... If it's really Zheng Yi's post, this guy is too bold, right? ”

Li Zongren suddenly showed an interested smile: "I have an intuition, it should be him, don't forget the days when the Northern Expedition fought Pingjiang, we did a lot of business with him, haha!" ”

Bai Chongxi immediately stood up: "Go, invite people here, be respectful!" ”

"Yes!"

……

……

In less than three minutes, Xu Maofu, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes and had a dignified appearance, followed the adjutant to Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi, he quickly took off his Western-style wide-brimmed top hat and bowed to Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi in a proper manner:

"In Xu Maofu, the son of the Zheng family, and my second brother Zheng Yi are the brothers from childhood to adulthood, last night, I and the eldest brother Zheng Heng suddenly received a telegram from the second brother from Hong Kong, telling us to meet Degong and General Bai as soon as possible, and ask if the place where the work is effective......"

"This is a telegram from the local telegraph office, please take a look at it from Duke De and General Bai."

Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi were disappointed when they saw that it was not Zheng Yi himself, and then when they heard Xu Maofu's words, they knew that the other party was trying to prove their identity, so they smiled and asked him to sit down, and Bai Chongxi politely greeted Mr. Zheng Heng if he was okay? He immediately took the telegram and read it carefully, and quickly handed it to Li Zongren for review. (To be continued.) )