Chapter 10: Figures in the Storm (1)

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  After Xu Shao-wen left the study, Li Wan-qi and his son Li Zhen-ning both fell silent for a while.

  "Dad, what do you really think about this matter?" Li Zhenning sat down on the chair that Xu Shaowen had just occupied at the desk, asking with a very curious tone. Now he was unsure about this matter, this big deal had a huge profit and was quite attractive, but profits were often directly proportional to risks.

  Li Wanqi did not rush to answer Li Zhenning's question about the deal. His face looked very tired, revealing a helpless expression. After a moment, he raised his head and seriously looked at Li Zhenning, saying: "Zhenning, you and Wen Yuan are good friends, aren't you?"

  "Dad, why are you asking this? I've known Wen Yuan since we were in Nanjing Army Middle School, and our relationship has always been very good." Li Zhenning looked at his father with a puzzled expression.

  "Didn't your father tell you yesterday that he hoped you could build up your own power? Li Wanqi's tone was somewhat melancholic. "I originally hoped that you could become good friends with Xu Shao Wen, and when you have your own army in the future, he would be able to help you well. But now it's different, in the future you must ensure your own position, you absolutely cannot make Xu Shao Wen an enemy. However, I have a premonition that you will become Xu Shao Wen's most powerful assistant."

  Li Zhenning was taken aback, his expression shocked and disbelieving as he stared at his father. Although he had always listened to his father's words since childhood and never intended to be an enemy of Xu Shaowen, the thought of becoming Xu Shaowen's trusted assistant made him feel unresigned in his heart. After all, he and Xu Shaowen were from the same period and department, starting from the same point, so how could he be inferior to the other?

  "Dad, what's going on..."

  "Zhennin, no need to say more," Li Wanqi knew that Li Zhennin must have felt unfair now, but he didn't plan to explain anything. "If you continue to maintain a friendly stance with Xu Shaowen, you will definitely find out later that you can only be an assistant. Unless you choose to confront Xu Shaowen, however, I believe this is not a wise choice."

  Li Zhenning furrowed his brow, looking somewhat displeased, but he didn't refute anything.

  "I've never seen anyone so young with such a broad mind and vision," Li Wanqi nodded solemnly, his eyes shining with determination. "Xu Shaowen not only admitted to eavesdropping on our conversation without hesitation but also proposed an even bolder speculative plan. It seems that what he's hiding in his heart is not magnanimity, but ambition and desire. Even I, who have lived for half a lifetime, haven't had such ambition!"

  Li Zhenning was silent for a moment before asking, "Dad, what are you really planning to do with this deal?"

  "I've made an estimate, even if your father wants to take on this deal, the total assets of our Li family in Shandong, Shanghai and Guangzhou can at most only swallow 40% of the goods." Li Wanqi replied calmly to Li Zhenning's words.

  "Four hundred million?! That's several billion, isn't it?!" Li Zhenning had never thought that in the years he spent studying abroad, his family had accumulated so much wealth, and a faint sense of pride arose in his heart.

  "There are many things you don't know, the businesses in Guangzhou and Shandong are not operated under the Li family's name, this is also to keep a low profile. Li Wanqi explained, he paused for a moment, then sighed again, "The speculative plan proposed by Wen Yuan is not impossible, I will discuss this matter with several big bosses in Shanghai in the next few days, if everyone is interested, it will be easy to handle."

  Li Zhenning originally wanted to say something else, but ultimately swallowed his words.

  Xu Shaowen actually still hopes to get Li Wanqi's support and complete his own international arms smuggling, but after all, this matter is too reckless. The inventory of US military goods is definitely not a small number, even if it can be taken down, it must quickly contact buyers from various European countries. What he is worried about now is not whether the US will sell so much goods, anyone who has money to make will not refuse, but whether European countries will trust this batch of goods, which requires a long time to negotiate.

  However, Xu Shaowen can still infer that Li Wanqi is interested in this plan. Moreover, the Li family's assets will not be only tens of millions as Li Wanqi said. If he and Li Wanqi successfully complete this international smuggling deal, the profit will definitely support the prosperity of three generations of the Li family. Of course, he also knows that he will gain a lot of benefits.

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  Time flies, and a week has passed.

  Li Wanqi's side was still quiet, but Xu Shaowen could see Li Wanqi's hurried figure every night when he returned to the Li family villa. These days, Li Wanqi had been going out very frequently, and sometimes he would still be busy going out after 10 pm.

  For these actions, Xu Shaowen just pretended to be unaware. He knew very well that if the speculation on military supplies could be done at the right time, Li Wanqi would tell him himself, although he had no capital and couldn't provide any political benefits, but he could provide a more detailed plan for reselling.

  Xu Shaowen gradually felt that he liked this kind of risk-free and high-return thing more and more.

  During this period, Xu Shaowen took advantage of the opportunity to perform his official duties to try to understand some of the influential figures in Shanghai at that time. This was very helpful for him to quickly get familiar with Shanghai and distinguish the situation. Although many of these big bosses had not been seen before, they were also heard from Hao Lieguang's mouth.

  Shanghai is a place with complex and divided powers, where big shots include both Chinese and foreigners. However, foreigners generally do not directly show off their power; instead, they will secretly support several Chinese representatives in the background, because this way can not only monopolize Shanghai's interests through Chinese hands but also make it easier for the Chinese to accept on the surface.

  When it comes to the most influential Chinese figure in Shanghai, it is naturally Huang Jinrong.

  There have been many rumors about Huang Jinrong throughout history, and Xu Shaowen has also had some contact with them. However, what impressed him the most was that in 1921, Chiang Kai-shek encountered a financial storm due to the stock exchange "Hengtai" he opened in Shanghai, eventually going bankrupt and owing a large sum of debt. To escape his creditors, Chiang Kai-shek finally turned to Huang Jinrong and became his apprentice. Later, on Huang Jinrong's 60th birthday in the 36th year of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek personally came to Huang Jinrong's mansion to celebrate his birthday.

  Nowadays, Huang Rong, a middle-aged man in the golden age, has become the only Chinese inspector of the French concession police station after fourteen years of struggling in the French concession. Of course, there are not a few foreigners who support him behind the scenes. Although he is the inspector of the French concession, those standing behind him are not just French people, but also British, Russian and American people who have colluded with him.

  At this time in 1914, Huang Jinrong had not yet become one of the three big shots of Shanghai with Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin, so he did not have much involvement in business transactions. However, whether it was in the Chinese concession or the French concession, all teahouses, underground casinos, brothels, and high-end prostitutes were under Huang Jinrong's control, and he would receive a substantial share of the profits every month. Moreover, even some of Shanghai's big bosses had to pay Huang Jinrong a certain amount of protection fees whenever they did business that passed through the French concession.

  Huang Jinrong has almost monopolized the underworld in Shanghai, and with the support of many foreigners behind the scenes, he is undoubtedly the number one figure in Shanghai.

  Apart from Huang Jinrong, the Yu family also had considerable influence in Shanghai. Yu Mengqing was mainly engaged in nightclubs and bars, with a wide range of connections, and also had British support behind his back. In these years, the Yu family assisted the British in smuggling many Chinese antiques, so the British generally gave him face.

  However, the Yu family still produced many truly prominent figures, including Yu Dianshu, who fired the first shot in the Wuchang Uprising and would be promoted to lieutenant general of the army a few years later.

  In addition, the famous patriotic businessman Yu Kuaiqing is also a well-known figure in Shanghai, and his seniority can be considered as Yu Mengqing's uncle. Just at the beginning of May this year, Yu Kuaiqing established his own Sanbei Company in Shanghai.

  Yu Kuai-chi had previously worked in the Shanghai Governor's Office for several years after Shanghai was first liberated, so he also had a considerable network of connections in official circles and had cooperated with Britain and Russia.

  However, people like Yu Kuaiqing and Yu Dianshu, who are related to Yu Mengqing, still have some distance between them. After all, they have different paths in life, and even if they are relatives, they belong to the more distant kind.

  The family that is equally famous as the Yu family, or even more so, is the Shanghai wealthy family, the Zhang family. The surname Zhang is a common one, and there are many Zhang families in the Songjiang area, but when people mention the Zhang family in Shanghai, everyone knows they are referring to Zhang Jingjiang. Zhang Jingjiang was a legendary figure, and Chiang Kai-shek's acquaintance with Sun Yat-sen can be attributed entirely to Zhang Jingjiang's efforts. Moreover, the Zhang family has been wealthy for several generations, and their businesses and companies have expanded internationally to Singapore and the United States.

  Zhang Jingjiang and Sun Yat-sen can be considered lifelong friends. The two met only once on a ship, but after chatting, Zhang Jingjiang admired and supported Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary move in his heart. From then on, most of the funds needed for Sun Yat-sen's revolution were supported by Zhang Jingjiang. On August 7, 1914, Sun Yat-sen reorganized the National Party into the Chinese Revolutionary Party in Japan and appointed Zhang Jingjiang as the Minister of Finance.

  In 1922, when Chen Jiongming betrayed the revolution and bombarded the Presidential Palace in Guangzhou, Sun Yat-sen was in a precarious situation. Zhang Jingjiang sent Chiang Kai-shek to accompany Sun Yat-sen on the Yongfeng warship for over 40 days, which led to Chiang's subsequent rise to prominence under Sun's trust.

  Even when Sun Yat-sen was critically ill, Zhang Jingjiang came to the Peking Union Medical College with a cane and accompanied Sun Yat-sen through his final journey. During this time, Zhang Jingjiang was anxious about Sun Yat-sen's condition and spared no expense in hiring doctors to treat him.