Yufengli in the old area of the French Concession in Shanghai is located between the east-west Aidoya Road and the French Road, this newly widened lane road is connected to the busy old Beimen Street in the east, and the Madian Road where French expatriates and wealthy businessmen gather in the west, and is only 1.3 kilometers away from the bustling Bund on the bank of the Huangpu River in the east.

Since last year, more and more expatriates from various countries and wealthy Chinese strata have poured into the French Concession, which has a beautiful environment and well-equipped facilities, and under the strong appeal of the political and business circles of European and American countries in China and the wealthy Chinese bourgeoisie, the Ministry of Industry and Bureau of the French Concession has no choice but to relax the policy of moving in, and on the basis of successfully expanding the area of the concession to the west, it promulgated a new concession regulation in April this year, conditionally allowing wealthy Chinese businessmen and well-known personalities to move in and settle down, and allowing Chinese consortia and individuals with strong funds to purchase real estate in the concession.

As a result, Sassoon, a real estate tycoon who found business opportunities in it, bought the old alleys in the old concession area, and easily acquired the real estate of more than 40 owners in the alleys by making up the difference, and persuaded the most famous and most occupied owners in the alleys, the owner of the Far Eastern Post, Aimo. Nasri, who obtained the right to renovate roads and houses from the Ministry of Industry, invested heavily in the demolition and reconstruction of old buildings in the alleys.

In just half a year, five garden villas covering an area of five acres and 35 three-storey arcade-style western-style western-style buildings were built on both sides of the newly widened road.

Xu Weiyue, a former Chinese official from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, bought the entire Far Eastern Post and its properties at a price of 80,000 silver dollars, and hired seven French journalists and printing house technicians to begin to reorganize the newspaper, repair offices and affiliated printing houses, and purchase the latest printing equipment from the French foreign firm, and worked out an ambitious publishing and distribution plan.

To Sassoon's great relief, on November 15, the first day of the sale, the down-and-out Chinese official and the young and emaciated general manager of the "Huaxi Industrial Company" from far western China bought him two three-story villas and two luxury villas with gardens in the immediate vicinity of the newspaper office, and Sassoon immediately earned a net profit of more than 30,000 silver dollars, far higher than the sales profit of other similar properties in the region.

Because of this, Sassoon was very generous in nailing the new house numbers of No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 7 Yufeng Lane to the granite pillars of the newspaper office and the gates of the five villas.

Winter in Shanghai often drizzles and the cold wind blowing from the sea is very humid.

In the evening, the Concession Street, shrouded in a hazy drizzle, is sparsely populated by pedestrians, except for rickshaws and cars that hold up the canopy and shuttle back and forth.

Just after eight o'clock in the evening, a Citroen limousine with a French concession license plate turned into Yufengli from the old Beimen Street, and the car came to the gate of the No. 4 Garden Villa opposite the newspaper office and slowed down slightly.

The sedan turned a corner along the garden and stopped in front of the beautiful villa gates.

Two agile young men had already opened the car door with umbrellas, and sent the two owners in suits and leather shoes into the lobby of the villa, and then took their tweed coats and top hats, and carefully hung them in the open cloakroom behind the door.

Sitting down with each other, the young and capable entourage brought hot tea, and the slightly shorter young boss whispered a few words to the entourage, and then warmly beckoned the guests to use tea first, this person is Major General Liu Bingxian, director of the professor department of the Sichuan Army Military Academy, who has been in Shanghai for 10 days, and he will entertain an old friend here today.

Facing the exquisite tea set, comfortable French leather sofas, luxurious crystal chandeliers and elegant and expensive hall decorations, the tall and bright-eyed young guest was very calm, his deep gaze swept over the four attendants standing at the door and staircase, nodded slightly, picked up the teacup, took a sip and put it down:

"Zicheng, I didn't expect you to live so prosperously now, and there is such a luxurious comfort nest in Shanghai, where every inch of land is valuable, this spacious three-story western-style building and the decoration inside and out, I'm afraid it will cost 100,000 yuan, right?"

Liu Bingxian, who was sitting on the sofa on the side, replied with a smile: "Don't hide it from Brother Kai-shek, the younger brother really doesn't know how much it costs to buy this place, everything is done by Brother Xu Weiyue and Huaxi Company as I told you, it looks really good, how do you feel?" Wait for Brother Xu to come over, let's go up and have a look? ”

Chiang Kai-shek smiled and nodded: "This big bungalow with a garden is magnificent enough, located in the center of the concession, quiet in the middle of the noisy, surrounded by bustling neighborhoods, the traffic is very convenient, I'm afraid that few local rich people can afford to live, it's really a good place!" ”

Liu Bingxian said disapprerovingly: "There are many rich people in Shanghai, I am afraid that they have not experienced the benefits of living in the concession for a while, and they are all guarding their own wide yards for a few years, and it may be difficult to buy such a high-quality property in such a good location!"

"How? If my brother likes it, I will ask for the surname to move over and live there, Zhabei Station and the Municipal Bureau are too messy, today my brother accompanied me around, no matter how you look at it, it is not as clean and safe as our Chengdu, my brother actually lives there, and my younger brother feels very surprised and uneasy. ”

Chiang Kai-shek was quite moved in his heart, shook his head and sighed:

"The foolish brother has been stumbling for several years, and so far he has achieved nothing, and every time he thinks of it, he is deeply ashamed, how can he be embarrassed to pay attention to enjoyment at this time? However, the virtuous brother has found the right path of development, which is gratifying! In the past six months, our Jiangsu and Zhejiang departments have been criticized by the party, but my brother and I have never been afraid and retreated, and my brother still took on all the work of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang branches, raising funds for Mr. Zhongshan everywhere, and even sold all his houses in order to support the uprising in Guangzhou, but did not exchange for half a good word from the party princes, which is why it has fallen to this step, which is sad and lamentable."

"Brother Kai-shek, don't be so pessimistic, the younger brother is also a staunch member of the Kuomintang, and I still have the two letters of appointment signed by Mr. Zhongshan and Mr. Keqiang. Difficulties are only temporary, believing that the darkness will soon pass and the light is ahead. Seeing that Chiang Kai-shek was depressed, Liu Bingxian took the initiative to comfort him.

Chiang Kai-shek smiled bitterly, sat upright, and looked at Liu Bingxian quietly: "Zicheng, you won't make a special trip to visit Yingshi and Brother Fool this time, right?" ”

Liu Bingxian nodded without hesitation:

"It is true that I came to Shanghai with the two brothers and the younger brother, as well as General Bao Jiqing, chief of the general staff of our Sichuan border army, but unfortunately you were in Nanjing a few days ago, he couldn't wait for you to come back, and urgently rushed to Yanjing to save General Zhong Ying's life Before the younger brother set off, my third brother Xiao Yimin said to the younger brother very solemnly, Shanghai and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions are extremely important strategic places, although our Sichuan Mingzhuo Party and the Kuomintang led by Mr. Zhongshan are two different political parties, but each other's goals are completely the same, It's just that the means are different, and the younger brother is required to contact the Kuomintang people in Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It just so happened that the younger brother also had this idea, so he came over happily. ”

Chiang Kai-shek asked in surprise: "Your third brother didn't ask you to leave our Kuomintang?" ”

"Never, he respects the political choices of everyone under his command very much, and never forces anyone, not even the 30,000 multilateral defense forces he leads, and he does not join any political party, he does not allow it." Liu Bingxian replied.

Chiang Kai-shek's eyes widened in disbelief: "More than thirty thousand? You said that there are more than 30,000 border guards in Yiming? ”

Liu Bingxian nodded heavily: "Don't hide it from my brother, the Sichuan border army includes the two mixed brigades of Chuankang, as well as the four infantry regiments stationed in Chengdu, Ya'an, and Mianyang, plus a cavalry regiment, an artillery regiment, a special service regiment and a teaching regiment directly under the headquarters, the total number of officers and soldiers has reached more than 38,000 people, and this number is only on the surface, if you count the two Sichuan army army divisions loyal to my third brother, the total strength of the army is almost 60,000, all German equipment, In addition, the Sichuan Army Military Academy, which is becoming more and more famous, has already exceeded 60,000 people, which is the main reason why Yuan Shikai never dared to attack Sichuan. ”

Chiang Kai-shek was stunned for a long time, and then said with a wry smile on his face: "Yang Shukan passed through Shanghai when he came back from Sichuan, and my eldest brother and I picked up the wind and dust for him, bought a ticket for him to go to Yuben, and finally sent him safely on the passenger ship, but he did not disclose this important news to us. ”

Liu Bingxian hurriedly explained: "Brother I'm afraid it's wrong to blame Brother Pale, where does he know anything about military affairs?" When I arrived in Chengdu, I asked my third brother to contact the party affairs, and finally talked with Mr. Zhang Lan, the chairman of the Mingzhu Party, for six days, all about whether the two parties could merge and how to cooperate. ”

Chiang Kai-shek's face looked better, and Liu Bingxian continued:

"Yiming still has a good impression of our Kuomintang, but he does not approve of the methods we have adopted in the revolutionary movement, and you may not believe it when you say it, he has set up a 'countermeasures section' in the Political Department directly under the command of the Frontier Army Command, which specializes in the study of the Kuomintang and Sanming Cooking, recruited seven talents in law and philosophy who have returned from studying in Europe, studied more than a dozen important speeches of Mr. Zhongshan every day, and summarized every declaration and statement, every policy, and every insurrection since the founding of the League. It has provided a number of research reports for the party affairs construction of the Sichuan Mingzhuo Party, and a group of party leaders of the Mingzhuo Party have benefited a lot, which has led to the good situation in Sichuan Province today. In contrast, our Kuomintang has too much internal friction, and it is indeed inferior to others, so it's a shame to think about it! ”

"Yes, internal friction, non-stop internal friction, even our Jiangsu and Zhejiang branches are excluded from the leadership core, and now in addition to reaching out for money, the headquarters and Mr. Zhongshan almost only ask us about the development of Zhejiang and the serious problems encountered, difficult!" Chiang Kai-shek sighed.

Liu Bingxian comforted: "Brother, don't be discouraged, our party still has a very good foundation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and as long as it persists, it will definitely be able to develop and grow." This time, the younger brother came to visit Brother Yingshi and his brother, and secondly, he also wanted to ask his brother's opinion, can he avoid the restraint of those pedantic people in the party and promote the cooperation between the Sichuan branch and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang branches?

"My brother knows, my younger brother is still the military commissar of the Sichuan Branch, although there are not a few people left under him, but in terms of military decision-making, my younger brother still has the right to decide."

Chiang Kai-shek was overjoyed, and then thought of Xiao Yimin behind Liu Bingxian, and couldn't help but hesitate and asked: "Zicheng, is this your personal meaning, or is it Yiming's meaning?" ”

"It's what the little brother meant, Yiming also agreed with my idea, and told me to talk to you about cooperation when I arrived in Shanghai." Liu Bingxian answered truthfully.

"Are you mistaken? I've never known each other all my life, how did he know me? Chiang Kai-shek asked puzzled.

Liu Bingxian couldn't figure it out: "The younger brother also wonders, it stands to reason that the reason why Yiming knows about you, brother, is almost all from the correspondence between the younger brother and the eldest brother Zeng Chaoran, but the younger brother recently discovered that he knows you very well, and once he drank too much, he said with a smile, there are many talents in the Kuomintang, but the only one who can really take on the big responsibility is Jiang Zhiqing in Fenghua, Zhejiang!"

"At that time, the younger brother was startled, and asked him afterwards, he just laughed and did not answer, but the younger brother was sure that he respected his brother very much, and he entrusted the younger brother to invite the elder brother to have time to gather in Chengdu, and said that as long as he could help the elder brother, he would let the younger brother do his best."

Chiang Kai-shek was stunned, Xu Weiyue arrived at this time, and met Chiang Kai-shek enthusiastically under the introduction of Liu Bingxian, a few words, Chiang Kai-shek and Xu Weiyue were excited, a Fenghua person, a Shaoxing person, not only the hometown is only more than 100 miles apart, but also Chiang Kai-shek's righteous brother Chen Qimei Chen Yingshi and Xu Weiyue are still old acquaintances, and the Xu family and the Yang family have a lot of friendship.

Under Chiang Kai-shek's inquiry, Xu Weiyue told in detail how he left Shaoxing and entered Beijing to take the exam, how he followed Zhao Erfeng to his official career after failing the list, how he entered Sichuan and Tibet to quell the rebellion, and how he moved to Shanghai to settle in discouragement.

Xu Weiyue admired the mature and steady Chiang Kai-shek very much, he took out the letter written by Xiao Yimin from the pocket of his suit and handed it to Chiang Kai-shek with a smile:

"Brother Kai-shek might as well take a look at this letter, and after reading it, you will know that my little junior brother respects you."

Chiang Kai-shek took the letter with both hands, hesitated for a moment, or took out the letterhead inside and read it carefully, after reading the letter, Chiang Kai-shek finally understood Xiao Yimin's good intentions.

Chiang Kai-shek put away the letterhead and returned it to Xu Weiyue, his eyes full of excitement:

"The little brother's reputation is not obvious, running around for many years without accomplishment, I don't know why Yiming likes the little brother, but Yiming Xiandi's deep friendship with the younger brother, the younger brother remembers it, and is also willing to cooperate with Yiming Xiandi, nothing else dare to say, and Yiming in the Shanghai public concession trading company, Sichuan Federation of Industry and Commerce Shanghai Office to cooperate is no problem, this is exactly what we can't ask for!

"Also, if Brother Xu has any instructions in the future, please call or send someone to contact the younger brother directly, and the younger brother will fully support Brother Xu to run the newspaper well, and report other things to Brother Ince after the younger brother goes back, and strive to give a clear answer within a week."

Xu Weiyue was very happy when he heard this, took Chiang Kai-shek's hand, and pointed to the room:

"This courtyard is the No. 4 courtyard, the No. 2 courtyard at the east street entrance, the No. 3 courtyard opposite, and the No. 5 and No. 7 conjoined villas, all of which are our own property, and the foolish brother's family lives in the No. 3 courtyard next to the newspaper office opposite. Brother Kai-shek, if you don't mind, just move here, if you feel that the traffic is inconvenient, tomorrow we will go to the French foreign company in the east to buy a car, you can find someone to drive, if there is no one for a while, first transfer a driver from the newspaper office, Zicheng brought me more than a dozen brothers who have just been discharged from the army, and several of them can drive. ”

"No, no! Such a generous gift, Zhongzheng must not accept it, and it is already a blessing for Zhongzheng to see Brother Xu today. Chiang Kai-shek hurriedly excused himself.

Liu Bingxian smiled and said, "What is my brother's politeness?" You don't want a house, you don't want a car, so don't you want weapons and ammunition either? ”

Chiang Kai-shek was stunned for a moment, and then asked in surprise: "Really give me weapons and ammunition?" ”

Liu Bingxian nodded: "Really send, it is a meeting gift entrusted by the third brother to my brother, but there are no German firearms, only American and British rifles and pistols, what weapons and ammunition do you want Brother make a list, just send a telegram to Chengdu, and the British Jardine Matheson in Shanghai will be notified to ship the goods, but after leaving the warehouse, things can only rely on the brother himself to figure out a way Now Yuan Shikai's political axe is tightly controlled, and several European and American foreign companies that cooperate with the company under Yiming are not too out of line." ”

"As long as it is within the scope of Shanghai, there is absolutely no problem!" Chiang Kai-shek smiled confidently.

Liu Bingxian said: "There is another thing, Mr. Luo Baiting, the deputy general manager of the British Jardine Matheson Company, has a very good relationship with Yiming, his son-in-law Zhuang Sen is a close friend of Yiming, and has 30% of the shares in Yiming's import and export company, and the British Asian kerosene and gasoline, which occupy half of the Chinese market, is in charge of this Mr. Luo Baiting, and has cooperated well with each other for several years, and the import and export business is getting bigger and bigger.

"Yiming said, there are many armed factions of the Kuomintang in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the generals are anticlimactic, each with their own thoughts, it is not easy for Brother Kai-shek to establish an armed force of his own, if you still need any other imported goods, please make a list and send it to the Huaxi Company in the public concession, and the Huaxi Company will definitely do it as soon as possible."

Chiang Kai-shek was so moved that he couldn't speak, he knew how heavy this affection was, as long as he accepted it, it would be a huge debt of human affection! But looking at the whole of Shanghai, and even the whole of China, who else can give him and the declining Chen Qimei so much support as generously as Xiao Yimin?

(To be continued)