A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

In mid-May, just as Beisihang was about to announce that it held 25,000 bales of cotton yarn, something happened at the yarn exchange.

News came from the gauze exchange that a shareholder had committed suicide, and his family had brought his coffin to the exchange building to demand an explanation. This action was echoed by other bankrupt shareholders, and the situation was escalating rapidly, quickly becoming uncontrollable.

Behind this was actually Du Yuesheng manipulating things. The thugs Du Yuesheng sent to set up the mourning hall at the stock exchange were instructed by Du to "make a big fuss, the bigger the better."

At this time, the North Four Banks took a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, they announced that they already held 25,000 bales of cotton yarn in warehouses in the concession and that they would not default on the delivery by the end of May; on the other hand, they called the North-China Daily News and several foreign news agencies stationed in Shanghai to inform them of this news.

The reason for informing foreign news agencies stationed in Shanghai was that newspapers most welcome such news scoops, and the North Fourth Bank also wanted to make a big fuss about this matter so that the Commander-in-Chief could judge who was manipulating the market.

As is well known, before he rose to prominence, the Commander-in-Chief had dabbled in securities and stocks, and was quite familiar with the industry. He also knew that if a crisis occurred in securities trading, it could lead to financial turmoil in one country, multiple countries, or even the world. Therefore, he paid close attention to securities trading at that time.

The two-pronged approach taken by the four northern banks indeed yielded tremendous results.

Firstly, because they had acquired a large number of cotton yarn bales, delivery was no longer an issue, which greatly alarmed the Sanling Company and Du Yuesheng. This move had already ruined their previous schemes, and the stock of the Northern Four Banks also rose accordingly.

"The matter has been investigated and found out. The cotton yarn bag sold to Beisihang was sold by Xinfeng Textile, which is Chen Guangliang!" Du Yuesheng quickly found out the reason and came to Nanjing to report to Kong Xiangxi and his wife.

Kong Xiangxi and Sister Song were surprised. Then Sister Song said angrily, "Chen Guangliang is ungrateful. He doesn't take advantage of our friendship and instead stabs us in the back."

In her view, Chen Guangliang and his wife were close to her eldest daughter, and Chen Guangliang was also related to Du Yuesheng (Yan Renmei's younger sister, Yan Renyun, married Du Yuesheng's eldest son).

Du Yuesheng then said, "Chen Guangliang is only after profit and probably doesn't realize the unusual level of this transaction. It is said that Bei Sihang bought it for 290 yuan per pack, and Chen Guangliang made a profit of more than 250 million yuan."

Subconsciously, he was still working for Chen Guangliang, after all, he was also working for the Kong and Song families, and it didn't involve his own core interests.

Kong Xiangxi snorted coldly and then said, "Let's not worry about that for now. The Commander-in-Chief has already learned about this matter and has reportedly sent people to Shanghai to investigate. You should be careful."

Du Yuesheng exclaimed in surprise, "So fast?"

Kong Xiangxi said, "It was all because of your men that they welcomed the reporters' interviews and cooperated with them so readily. But unexpectedly, once the news was published, it actually helped the 'Northern Four Banks' out of trouble and alarmed the Commander-in-Chief."

Du Yuesheng was somewhat embarrassed, and in his heart he cursed Kong Xiangxi for crossing the river and burning the bridge. What did he mean by "using his own men"? He just wanted to make things bigger so that the Northern Four Banks would lose face.

Now look what's happened, it's my fault.

He chuckled and got up to take his leave.

After that, only Mr. and Mrs. Kong remained.

Seeing her husband still somewhat annoyed, Sister Song smiled and said, "Xiangxi, I actually foresaw how things would develop. Back when this major battle was launched, I accurately predicted a series of events, such as 'Xu Maochang will definitely be able to lure the 'Northern Four Banks' into the trap,' 'Brother Jie (her address to Chiang Kai-shek) will definitely be angry and send someone to investigate,' and 'the investigators will definitely react in a way that is unfavorable to our side.' Therefore, I knew exactly what was going to happen next!"

Seeing his wife's confidence, Kong Xiangxi said, "The one sent to Shanghai this time is Wu Dingchang. This Wu Dingchang has close ties with Zhang Qun, the backer of the Northern Four Banks and the head of the Political Science Clique. He is known in official circles as the 'echoing insect of the Political Science Clique,' and naturally favors the Northern Four Banks in secret. Perhaps he will arrest people soon, and I will be scolded by the Commander-in-Chief!"

This time, they mobilized Wu Qiding, director of the Tax Administration of the Ministry of Finance, and Sheng Shengyi, director of the unified tax bureaus of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, to use their official positions for personal gain and prevent cotton yarn from entering Shanghai from the four northern banks. This is quite serious.

Sister Song said, "Don't worry, Brother Jie has two unwavering principles: first, he values ​​family above all else; second, he's more compliant to gentle persuasion than to force. I'll handle this!"

Kong Xiangxi was taken aback, then said, completely convinced, "It has to be you."

He understood that as long as he insisted that he knew nothing about it, his wife would be able to solve the problem.

Meanwhile, Chen Guangliang saw Yan Renmei and her son Chen Wenming off on a ship to Hong Kong. He did not leave Shanghai immediately, but prepared to stand guard until the very end.

As they parted, Chan Kwong-leung said, "I will definitely come to Hong Kong in early July to reunite with you all."

Yan Renmei then displayed the demeanor of a 'mother of the family' and said, "Well, take care of things before you come back. We'll be waiting for you in Hong Kong. Although this is my first time traveling so far, I think it will go very smoothly this time."

Chen Guangliang nodded. The ship belonged to him, and there were many bodyguards and staff on board, as well as a batch of gold, namely the 4.9 taels of gold in Chen Guangliang's possession, worth more than 300 million.

After this batch of gold was transported to Hong Kong, the equivalent of 11.8 taels of gold belonging to Jiang Meiying, Yan Renmei, and Chen Guangliang had all been transported to Hong Kong.

"Well, things here are just wrapping up; nothing too serious."

In fact, it's mainly about some strategic planning, and since Xinfeng Textile has made a lot of money this time, they will consider distributing dividends.

Saying goodbye to Dad

Young Chen Wenming waved his little hands, forcing Chen Guangliang to pick him up again and cuddle him for a while before finally handing him over to the servants.

Watching Yan Renmei and Chen Wenming board the ship, Chen Guangliang was filled with mixed emotions; he had earned this money with trepidation.

Now that he is all alone in Shanghai, he must get to Hong Kong before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident to avoid putting himself in danger too early.

In order to obtain accurate and reliable intelligence, Chiang Kai-shek not only learned about the market through the Ministry of Finance and the Special Service Department of the Fuxing Society, but also arranged for people in Shanghai (some say they were fellow townsmen from Fenghua without official positions) to inquire about the market and rumors, so that he could make a comprehensive judgment.

Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek was already aware of the unusual circumstances surrounding this cotton yarn transaction. However, he did not anticipate that the situation would escalate to the point of being reported by foreign media and dubbed the "Shanghai Cotton Yarn Case." Consequently, Chiang Kai-shek dispatched Wu Dingchang, the Minister of Industry, and Dai Li, the Director of the Second Division of the Military Intelligence Bureau, to Shanghai to conduct a secret investigation into the "Shanghai Cotton Yarn Case."

Both Wu Dingchang and Dai Li were summoned directly by the Commander-in-Chief to accept the mission of investigation. However, neither of them knew that Chiang Kai-shek had sent someone else to Shanghai to investigate the cotton yarn case, in addition to sending his own side.

Wu Dingchang had close ties with Zhang Qun, the head of the Kuomintang's Political Science Clique and the backer of the "Northern Four Banks." He was known in official circles as a "yes-man of the Political Science Clique" and naturally favored the "Northern Four Banks" in secret. As soon as he arrived in Shanghai, he immediately ordered the arrest of Wu Qiding, the director of the Tax Administration of the Ministry of Finance of the Southern Whale Government, and Sheng Shengyi, the director of the Unified Tax Bureau of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui Provinces, who were considered to be directly responsible for the financial incident.

Dai Li learned of Wu Qiding and Sheng Shengyi's arrests immediately. He realized that the "Shanghai Cotton Yarn Case" was actually a power struggle between two political forces: Kong Xiangxi, Song Dajie, and the Political Science Clique. Based on his investigation, he concluded that the mastermind behind this financial event was actually Xu Maochang, the second young master who had been bullish on the market. Of course, Xu Maochang was definitely acting under the instructions of Du Yuesheng.

Based on the fact that Wu Dingchang has already arrested Wu Qiding and Sheng Shengyi, it is clear that the Ministry of Industry's investigation team is preparing to crack down on multi-headed groups. However, it is unknown whether Wu's move has been approved by Chiang Kai-shek. Therefore, Dai Li urgently telegraphed the Southern Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters overnight to inquire about the relevant situation.

The following day at noon, Dai Li received a reply stating that the Commander-in-Chief was furious upon learning the news, repeatedly saying "Wu Qiding and Sheng Shengyi are despicable," and even called Kong Xiangxi to reprimand them.

Dai Li thus learned of Chiang Kai-shek's intentions and immediately took action, ordering the arrest of Xu Maochang.

While the arrests were underway, Dai Li had already gone to Du's residence to personally greet Du Yuesheng, with whom he had a close personal relationship. He explained that he was "acting under orders and could not shirk his responsibilities" and hoped to gain Du's understanding. The worldly-wise Du Yuesheng, without hesitation, simply smiled and let it go.

At this point, three key figures from Song and Du's side have been arrested, and the situation seems extremely unfavorable to the bullish group.

However, Sister Song didn't care about this. Her title of "uncrowned queen" was not obtained by tyranny, but by her shrewdness and strategy.

As early as when she launched this major battle, she made accurate judgments about a series of situations, such as "Xu Maochang will definitely be able to lure the 'Northern Four Lines' into the trap", "Brother Jie (her address to the Commander-in-Chief) will definitely be angry and send people to investigate", and "the investigators will definitely make a reaction that is unfavorable to our side".

Therefore, she had already made thorough preparations for what to do after her protagonist was arrested. Sister Song understood two unchanging characteristics of Chiang Kai-shek: first, his family values ​​were paramount; second, he was responsive to gentle persuasion but not force. Based on this, she devised a plan to deal with him.

However, Sister Song did not act hastily. Instead, she waited three days until Chiang Kai-shek left Nanjing for Lushan before calling him and admitting that she was responsible for the "Shanghai Cotton Yarn Case" and that no one else was involved. The Commander-in-Chief had not expected that Sister Song was behind it. Upon receiving the call, he was momentarily stunned and then said, "We'll talk about this later," before hanging up.

Knowing Chiang Kai-shek's personality well, Sister Song knew that "Brother Jie" had begun to change his mind about the "Strike Hard" campaign. After hanging up the phone, she immediately called Du Yuesheng's mansion in Shanghai and instructed Du to do two things: first, to mobilize Xu Maoshang to "donate money" in the name of the Xu brothers, Xu Maoshang and Xu Maochang, to purchase an airplane for the country; second, to have Du go to Lushan immediately, without having to admit the matter to Chiang (because she had already taken the blame), but only to ask Chiang to release Xu Maochang.

Du Yuesheng acted immediately, chartering a ship from the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company and sailing directly to Jiangxi overnight. Upon arrival the next day, he immediately went to Lushan to meet with the Commander-in-Chief, and with just a few words, persuaded Chiang Kai-shek to agree to "treat him leniently."

So, just as Wu Dingchang and Dai Li received the Commander-in-Chief's instructions from the Chairman's Office to release Wu Qiding, Sheng Shengyi, and Xu Maochang, Sister Song had already assigned Bian Dingyuan, the head of the General Affairs Section of the Ministry of Finance, through Kong Xiangxi to pick up Wu Qiding and Sheng Shengyi; then, Xu Maoshang, who had received a call from Du Yuesheng, also went to Nanjing and picked up Xu Maochang from the Military Intelligence Bureau detention center.

Not long after, when Dai Li met with Du Yuesheng in Shanghai and mentioned this matter, he jokingly said that they were "a little too hasty".

The "Northern Four Banks" side capitalized on a blunder in Du Yuesheng's farcical funeral procession. After Wu Qiding, Sheng Shengyi, and Xu Maochang were arrested, they used domestic and foreign news media and their own organized street propaganda to vigorously expose the truth of the "cotton yarn case," finally stopping the wave of shareholders selling off "Northern Four Banks" stocks, stabilizing their position, and even causing a significant rebound.

On Song Dajie and Du Yuesheng's side, those who had been arrested had been released, and they had made the money they were supposed to make. Logically, the "Shanghai Cotton Yarn Case" should have come to an end at this point, but Song Dajie and Du Yuesheng believed that they had not achieved their goal of "bringing down the 'Four Northern Banks' and damaging the 'Political Science Clique' (which had long been at odds with Kong Xiangxi and had once opposed him at every turn)," so they wanted to continue.

When Du Yuesheng returned to Shanghai from Lushan, Sister Song made a special trip to Shanghai to meet with him and secretly discuss their next move.

A week later, Sister Song suddenly flew from Nanjing to Jiujiang and then to Mount Lu, where she appeared before "Brother Jie." She brought with her an "Investigation Report" concocted in collaboration with Du Yuesheng, as well as a batch of materials collected by the Ministry of Finance and people sent by Du Yuesheng. She claimed that the "Northern Four Banks," the main short-selling group in the "Shanghai Cotton Yarn Case," was secretly supported by the Political Science Clique and had stirred up trouble and engaged in short selling in the cotton yarn trade, and should bear the main responsibility.

The Commander-in-Chief, facing Sister Song, who rarely visited (and who had come all the way from Nanjing to Lushan), flipped through the "Investigation Report," but didn't even glance at the large stack of materials, repeatedly nodding and saying, "Good! Good!"

Then, he instructed his attendant to call Nan Jing and inform Wu Dingchang to come to Lushan immediately for a reprimand—implying that he was responsible for Wu's "ineffective investigation."

Because the Department of Political Science had an informant in the Chairman's office, the Department of Political Science quickly learned that Sister Song had gone to Mount Lu to see "Brother Jie," and Wu Dingchang was also notified to "make plans early."

Wu Dingchang was one of the financial magnates in northern China at the time, the big boss behind the private newspaper Ta Kung Pao, and also served as Minister of Industry and Minister of the Fourth Department of the Military Commission, holding positions spanning the financial, political, and newspaper sectors.

Such figures were extremely rare in the chaotic Republican era. Wu Dingchang was therefore quite arrogant, and with the support of the Political Science Department, he was not afraid at all when he discovered that Sister Song was the mastermind behind the "Shanghai Cotton Yarn Case".

After investigating Sister Song's situation, Wu Dingchang called the residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Whale Army to report. Chiang Kai-shek told him to "go ahead and investigate boldly, and I'll cover for you if anything happens."

But now the situation has reversed; the Commander-in-Chief has gone back on his word and is treacherous, even going so far as to question him. Wu Dingchang suddenly felt he was at his wit's end and couldn't handle the situation. After much thought, he finally had no choice but to seek advice from Zhang Qun, the head of the Political Science Clique.

Zhang Qun was a veteran of the Communist Party. In his early years, he studied at the Baoding Military Academy. In 1908, he went to Japan to study at the Zhenwu Academy, where he was a classmate of the Commander-in-Chief. He later participated in the Xinhai Revolution, the Second Revolution, and the Constitutional Protection Movement. From 1927, he successively served as the Director of the Ordnance Department of the National Government, the Mayor of Shanghai, and the Chairman of Hubei Province. In December 1935, he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Southern Jiangsu Government.

He had a close personal relationship with the Commander-in-Chief and participated in all of the Commander-in-Chief's major political decisions, so he knew Chiang Kai-shek's character and his interpersonal relationships with various parties very well. When faced with Wu Dingchang's tearful plea for help, Zhang Qun remained calm and composed, smiling as he gave a few words of advice. Wu Dingchang immediately beamed with joy, thanked him, and left.

Zhang Qun's solution was to call upon a savior—Ye Zhuotang. Ye Zhuotang was a fellow townsman of the Commander-in-Chief from Fenghua. In his early years, he worked as a comprador for the "Ruihe Foreign Firm" and a broker at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Later, he co-founded the International Savings Society with the French.

Judging solely from his career, it was not a glorious achievement, and history is unlikely to record much about him.

However, Ye Zhuotang's connection with the Commander-in-Chief was unparalleled. When Chiang Kai-shek was nearly destitute in Shanghai in his early years, Ye Zhuotang extended a helping hand to him, using his connections to allow Chiang to trade in and out of the stock exchange. After the Commander-in-Chief's stock speculation business failed, he was in dire financial straits and often couldn't make ends meet. Ye Zhuotang always generously helped him out.

Ye acted perfectly, never embarrassing the Commander-in-Chief, who had a very strong sense of pride. According to insiders, the Commander-in-Chief treated Ye Zhuotang with the respect due to a teacher. When he had free time to visit Ye's home, if Ye was receiving guests or playing cards, Chiang would stand aside and serve them tea and cigarettes.

Later, when the Commander-in-Chief was going to Guangdong to seek refuge with the Father of the Nation, Ye Zhuotang gave him three hundred silver dollars for travel expenses. After the Commander-in-Chief rose to prominence, he was very grateful to Ye Zhuotang and repeatedly offered Ye high-ranking official positions, but Ye Zhuotang only accepted the position of "government-owned director" during the reorganization of the Bank of China.

Several years later, after repeated requests from the Commander-in-Chief, he finally accepted the positions of General Manager of the Farmers Bank of China and Director of the Central Trust Bureau. According to Li Shuming, Ye Zhuotang's son-in-law, no matter what angered the Commander-in-Chief, Chiang Kai-shek would always give him face as long as Ye Zhuotang spoke up. Now, it was most appropriate for Zhang Qun to have Wu Dingchang approach Ye Zhuotang and plead with the Commander-in-Chief on his behalf.

Ye Zhuotang and Wu Dingchang were acquaintances and occasionally interacted. When Wu Dingchang came to ask for help, Ye readily agreed and immediately took his son-in-law Li Shuming to Guling in Lushan.

At this time, Mu Ouchu, the chairman of the Shanghai Cotton and Cloth Exchange, heard that the incident had reached the Commander-in-Chief and feared that he would be implicated. So he also took the initiative to go to Lushan to await Chiang's judgment.

Upon learning that Ye Zhuotang had come to the mountain, the Commander-in-Chief immediately hosted a banquet to welcome him. During the banquet, Ye Zhuotang briefly mentioned the matter entrusted to him by Wu Dingchang for a few minutes. The Commander-in-Chief nodded repeatedly and immediately ordered someone to inform the others that Wu Dingchang did not need to go to Lushan for training; Mu Ouchu, who was waiting to be summoned, could also return to Shanghai immediately.

When Sister Song heard about this, she was greatly disappointed, but knowing Ye Zhuotang's importance in the Commander-in-Chief's heart, she dared not pursue the matter any further.

Thus, the "Shanghai cotton yarn case" finally came to an end.

Sister Song, Du Yuesheng and the Political Science Clique fought to a draw, but those who followed them suffered greatly, losing all their wealth and even their lives.

But afterwards, Chen Guangliang, the biggest winner, emerged. After all, the sudden addition of 2.5 bales of cotton yarn to the North Fourth Bank was a crucial step. (End of Chapter)