Chapter 47: Desperate Counterattack (Part 2)
In a crowd of people, you need to learn to unleash your animal nature, while in a pack of beasts, you need to learn to use your human nature... This was a theory that Tan Xiao's advisor, who liked to lecture others, once told him. When facing a group of wild animals, the radiance of your humanity can bring them a sense of security, they won't harm you, on the contrary, they will be willing to approach you and trust you... Obviously, this doesn't work for Song Kong. Song Kong is human, at least that's what they think of themselves, civilized people. Civilized people don't like playing with guns, they like playing sneaky; they like to let others do the killing, so their hands can stay clean.
So, to deal with Song Kong, one must use a beastly nature, an extreme beastly nature that will make humans' subconscious fear! Tan Xiao used it, using self-hypnosis to intensify his hatred consciousness to the extreme, and then attacking his opponent with it. He wants to make Song Kong and others wake up in their sleep, he wants them to tremble when they hear his name. Due to extreme anger, Tan Xiao broke through the last transparent paper that separated them - no quarter asked or given! I'm going to kill you all! Tan Xiao, in order to make these enemies truly feel fear, even disregarded using his spiritual attack directly on his opponent's children!
Song Ailing regretted it, she had once warned her son not to confront Tan Xiao directly, but to kill him with a borrowed knife. But this time, she messed up herself, thinking that Tan Xiao wouldn't find out, but Tan Xiao unexpectedly knew, and he did what made her most afraid: he didn't play tricks on you, he told you straightforwardly that he wanted to kill you!
Kong Xiangxi and Song Ziwen felt an unprecedented fear, they were used to those political borrowings and tricks, those sinister and ruthless ones, but they were not adapted to this; Tan Xiao didn't haggle or look around, he just told you that he wanted to kill you! What made them even more afraid was the moment when Chiang Kai-shek walked out from behind, Tan Xiao's ferocious face suddenly filled with sunshine and purity!
Of course, there was another person in the room who completely collapsed under Tan Xiao's spiritual attack: Kong Lingjun. The spoiled and pampered Miss Kong from a young age had always been the darling of her elders. This morning, after finishing a popular new romance novel, she followed her parents to Chiang Kai-shek's palace for a family banquet, where she also saw that handsome-looking archenemy of her parents. Originally, her slightly rebellious personality had already given her a special liking for this family enemy; however, just as these feelings were becoming clearer and stronger, suddenly, Tan Xiao's spiritual attack came! Tan Xiao himself didn't know that his attack had completely ruined this little girl: Kong Lingjun from then on rejected all handsome young men, even men in general! She became a lesbian!
Tan Xiao wants to continue refining the railway plan with Chiang Kai-shek after dinner - this is his arrangement, and he doesn't give Song Kong and others a chance to report. And after tonight, just report casually! See if old Chiang believes it! Moreover, they won't have a chance to report tomorrow either, Tan Xiao knows.
In the dead of night, at Tan Xiao's luxurious residence, Huishan Manor, a meeting had just begun: The Blue Clothes Society General Assembly Standing Committee Meeting. Tan Xiao, having gone through the recent food incident, deeply felt the importance of allies and realized that he couldn't take on everything by himself, so he initiated this meeting. The theme of the meeting was simple: When there's wealth, everyone gets a share!
"Everyone is now clear about the Chinese Railway Company's affairs. I called you all here so late today just for this!" Tan Xiao said after introducing to everyone Jiang Jieshi's newly signed plan for the Chinese Railway Company to fully undertake the construction and management of railways in six provinces of China, and began his first real agenda as the convener of the meeting: "We are revolutionary soldiers with a heart for the country. We will not engage in corruption or bribery, nor will we exploit the people... However, for our cause, for the various righteous actions that we have been quietly working on but cannot make public, we need money! If there is an opportunity to earn money properly, why not take it? The Chinese Railway Company is just such an opportunity now. The profits from the project are open and aboveboard, while secretly, things like land acquisition, material supply, labor, etc., are all good opportunities to make money. So, I asked you all to come here so late today because this matter is of great importance, and we need to discuss how to create better material conditions for achieving our ideals!"
To better fight for everyone's lofty ideals, Tan Xiao proposed to set up a company specializing in providing supporting supplies for the Chinese railway, including land use and development of surrounding land, extending to all material supplies after railway operation. This plan, of course, received strong support from everyone! And everyone was willing to contribute to this cause. In less than an hour, a new company called Hua Tie Investment was born, with shareholders including "Dongfang Eyesnake" and all the blue-shirt society's core members from the general chamber to branch chambers and sub-chambers; and reserving some shares to be managed by the General Chamber of Commerce for future allocation to new core members. This meeting enabled all the blue-shirt society's core members to gain long-term benefits from the railway plan, while Tan Xiao took this opportunity to "hijack" the entire blue-shirt society with tangible interests. From now on, harming Tan Xiao's interests would be equivalent to harming the interests of the entire blue-shirt society and the central military system!
Tan Xiao's wealth has earned everyone a profit, and his generosity has not let anyone down. At once, it has also raised his prestige in the Blue Clothes Society by several levels. Now, in terms of popularity, he already has the potential to rival He Zhonghan.
Compared to the joyful and warm atmosphere of the Ju Hui Mountain Villa, Song Ziwen's office is now filled with gloom and desolation. It wasn't until the Song family returned that they learned about the earth-shattering changes that had taken place outside!
Without the theme of Hunan's military disaster, how can grain prices be driven up during a bumper harvest?! Tan Xiao's move was self-destructive and hurtful to others, completely without reservation. He even sacrificed his own future father-in-law, directly sealing off all of Song Meiling's later moves, making it impossible for her to make another move! Why provoke this crazy person who is willing to die together with his enemy?! The Song Kong family is now filled with regret in the aftermath!
Bad news always comes in bunches, and soon they learned that almost all the personnel from the two companies who were arranged to come and collect grain earlier were detained along with their goods on charges of disrupting the national economy!
Kong Xiangxi immediately picked up the phone and dialed the Zhongxing Company's Suining Branch Special Affairs Office, because the expenses of the Special Affairs Office were always secretly paid by the Ministry of Finance, so he was still able to exert control over the various branches.
But this time it's not going to work, the head of the Lingling Special Affairs Office replied: "Our special affairs office only handles arrests, and releasing people is under the jurisdiction of the Lingling Garrison..." It was clearly Tan Xiao's backhand punch!
Until dawn, Song and Kong were busy non-stop, finally figuring out that more than 600 people, including big and small officials sent to Hunan on business and joint merchants, had been caught, with over 570 of them arrested!
At this time, there are only two ways to deal with the situation: either spend money to settle it or ask Chiang Kai-shek for help. If spending money is the option, how much would be enough? If the other party were someone else, Kong Xiangxi might have been able to resolve the issue just by showing his face, but now it's Tan Xiao... If asking Chiang Kai-shek for help, that means openly admitting that this grain incident was our doing. When having lunch with Chiang Kai-shek, he personally said: "When ordinary people don't have rice to eat, they will rebel..." It is clear that Chiang Kai-shek wants them to back down. If they had shown some remorse at the time, Chiang Kai-shek would probably have been more willing to talk things through, but since they didn't show any signs of regret, can they still be spoken to now? Moreover, in order to make up for their losses, they will go back and stir up more trouble in Shanghai. If we were to ask Chiang Kai-shek for help, what would happen next?
Finally, they thought of asking Dai Li for help. Dai Li was always relatively easy to talk to, and they also had a common interest: the Shanghai Da Yun Company.
Dai Li agreed to help mediate, and this group finally felt a little more at ease.
Dai Li answered the phone with Tan Xiao standing beside him.
"Brother, you've struck it rich this time! I reckon you'll at least get 30 to 50 million!" Dai Li said with a smile as he hung up the phone and spoke to Tan Xiao.
Xian Tan shook his head and Dai Li was slightly surprised: "Would rather punish than release? Not necessary, I suppose..."
"We'll take the money, of course, but not three to five million, it's fifty-seven million! Tan Xiao added: 'An average of one hundred thousand per person, tell him that if he doesn't pay up, he'll be shot tomorrow, and we'll directly publish the names of these lawless businessmen in the newspaper! I wonder how Soong Tse-ven and Kong Xiangxi will show their faces after this!"
Dai Li's mouth was agape for half a day... "...... Five hundred and seventy million!?"
"Right, you told me that last year they made over 1 billion just from opium. I estimate that the two families took at least 60% of it, plus other things, they can afford to pay! Tan Xiao said: "I estimate that the total assets of the two families will not be less than 6 billion. This small amount of money is nothing! ...By the way, if they are unwilling to pay, they will look for the principal, so Yu Nong brother should notify them after the principal gets on the plane. Here, it's just you and me, the money, two one plus five!"
Tan Xiao didn't go to Shanghai Bund to tie up tickets, it's really a loss for the entire ticket-tying industry! Dai Li thought. Now, he is full of expectations for Hua Tie's stock investment!
Chiang Kai-shek is leaving today after personally overseeing the arrival of British military supplies.
Because this batch of military supplies was a big deal, the original plan was to import them from Shanghai, but Tan Xiao changed his mind in order to save time and instead went through Qinzhou Bay; they landed under the guise of Chen Jitang's Guangdong Army cooperating with the British to open mines in western Guangdong. Qinzhou Bay was originally lent by Chen Jitang to the Gui faction, so there was no problem; moreover, the person who came to make contact was Chen Jitang's aide Chen Chong. As a result, a large batch of military supplies was taken away by the First Army under the banner of the Guangdong Army, and the officer in charge was indeed a member of the Guangdong Army: Chen Kuanzi, who had just been promoted to regimental commander. Seeing that it was people from the Guangdong Army who came to receive the goods, and the fleet transporting them was actually the British Royal Navy, the Gui Army personnel wouldn't care after receiving their red envelopes.
Chen Chong and Chen Kui-zi, two old acquaintances of Tan Xiao's in the Guangdong Army, have now become external personnel of the Wild One Army after weighing their options. In fact, Chen Chong has already started scouting for more "nails" for Tan Xiao within the Guangdong Army!
Because he knew that this time he might meet the chairman, Chen Chong personally led the team north. As a staff member who could be light or heavy, Chen Chong still accurately saw the future of following Tan Xiao; therefore, he resolutely decided to become the inner response of the Wild One Army in the Guangdong Army, and when the Central Army wanted to conquer Guangdong, he would be the first meritorious official!
To cope with this massive military transport, the First Army mobilized six regiments and all cars, each regiment had more than 4,000 people! Including the personnel of the Taxation Police Regiment brought by Sun Li-ren, they all became porters; The last batch of goods just entered Jiangyong territory, and the first batch of goods that arrived on the shore was already unloaded at Xiaoshui. This batch of military supplies included the last 1,400 British-made six-pound cannons and 800 old-style 57mm anti-aircraft guns, as well as all 350,000 P-14 rifles; There were also equipment from Indian arsenals for the First Army's own use. These military supplies, reported to be mining equipment, were all packaged with thick wood and iron sheets, and were transported directly without opening the boxes at the port.
Because it was a big deal, only a few people knew that the military supplies were coming to Hunan by land. Chiang Kai-shek's attendants didn't know until they arrived at the dock today and thought they had come from the Yangtze River. As he watched his staff contacting Jiang Yong on one side and the endless stream of military supplies disembarking on the other, imagining a transportation artery connecting Jiangyong to Lingling, even Chiang Kai-shek was excited: this is the powerful Chinese army!
In the tent by the river, Chiang Kai-shek personally met with Chen Zhong and Chen Kui-zi, moving these two minor figures to be at a loss for what to do! Through his simple conversation with Chen Zhong, Chiang Kai-shek became even more convinced of Tan Xiang's plan to conquer Guangdong and Guangxi.
Because the Lingxing camp didn't have enough warehouses to store both new and old equipment at the same time, the troops were notified branch by branch. They first went to the camp to exchange their old equipment and then went to the riverbank to receive the new equipment. For a while, the riverbank was filled with a large gathering of troops, as if a great battle was imminent, which suddenly inspired the generals leading the army!
Because the various types of anti-aircraft guns in the first batch of equipment for the First Army were all adopted by Chiang Kai-shek as the latest German models, and the supplies from India and the six-pound cannons belonging to the First Army were directly unloaded at Yangjiaotan, the First Army only played a supporting role this time and did not receive any supplies. This made the various departments that came to receive supplies highly praise the First Army's selflessness. The handover procedures for these supplies had to be carried out continuously for two days and two nights, so after Chiang Kai-shek witnessed the spectacular scene of several divisions being fully equipped, he was about to fly to Kunming.
This time, Chiang Kai-shek became more cautious due to the recent Japanese attack and only a few people such as Tan Xia and Dai Li knew that he was leaving today. So when he left with his entourage, it was very quiet; he just sent someone to inform Tan Xia and told him not to see him off. Tan Xia naturally had to pretend to be reluctant to part with the servant who informed him, but in fact, his mind had already flown to the 57 million yuan!
He dared to ask for 10 million, but Dai Li didn't have the guts to do so, and in the end, he only asked for 1 million. That is to say, if this extortion was successful again, he could really make a reserve for the War of Resistance.
The matter of handing over to Song Kong was followed up by Dai Li, and Tan Xiao really couldn't get away - those newly equipped division commanders were all eager to invite Tan Xiao for a drink, and it was hard to refuse the kindness! Before leaving, Dai Li handed Tan Xiao an envelope and whispered to him: "This is the most suspicious person in the Wild One Division!" Tan Xiao quickly handed over the document to He Shao Tang for safekeeping, as he had to go drinking tonight.
He Shaotang couldn't help but be curious, pulled out the first one and took a look, his face twitched several times: Ye Xingyun! Next to it was a red circle with a large Arabic numeral inside: 1.
Tan Xiao made an appointment with everyone, and after the gathering at Xiangxiang Building that night, he hurried to the camp. He was eager to know a number: the number of Type 38 Arisaka rifles exchanged by each department!
In order to save every penny for material reserves, he was exhausted. He had long been eyeing the old weapons of various departments, and since the equipment of the First Route Army's rifles was based on the Type 38 Arisaka rifle, he had been quietly aiming at this area. Today, he would come to see how much more he could secretly squeeze out from Chiang Kai-shek - now he felt that Chiang Kai-shek could even go down in history as a master accountant!
The result was quite satisfactory, with a total of 184,455 rounds! Adding the more than 500,000 rounds he had obtained through various channels before, he now has more than 700,000 rounds. If the next batch of troops can also obtain this proportion, then his army of 1.2 million will basically not need to spend money on rifles anymore. Moreover, since each army replaced their 6.5mm rifles with 7.62mm caliber P-14 rifles this time, all the original 6.5mm rifle ammunition was also unloaded, which is a valuable resource! Although Tan Xiao often made big moves in the military market, he was very clear about the consumption of war: why could those large cannons that had experienced great wars be placed in museums with red ribbons? Because there were really few weapons that could still be used after experiencing several major battles! He remembered that in later generations, an old cadre visited the base and talked about the various firearms he had used. Tan Xiao asked him a question: Didn't you use many guns? The old man told him: After one intense battle, at most only half of the soldiers used their original assigned guns!
So, Tan Xiao has always had a concept: fighting must win! As long as one defeat comes down, it is very likely that an army will be re-equipped! This is also the reason why he has been worried about material reserves - it is impossible to really win every time? Even if you win all the way, various accidents such as discarding materials during forced marches make people heartbroken! After counting and calculating the reusable materials, the remaining weapons will be used for reserve troops or security teams after inspection and maintenance. The army must not only regularize the regular army but also strengthen all levels of echelons at the same time!
Tan Xiao was meticulously considering the troops when Song Kong and others, who were also meticulous about their own pockets, had to go ask Chiang Kai-shek for 57 million! Let them kowtow to Chiang Kai-shek too!
But they were unable to see Chiang Kai-shek, as the guards outside would not let them in!
This was Tan Xiao's arrangement. In order to ensure the secrecy of Yuan Shuai's itinerary, all the guards at the palace would not see guests or pass on messages before Yuan Shuai appeared in public elsewhere. Who among those guards could have imagined that there was a conspiracy behind this? Especially when Tan Xiao deliberately asked them directly: "If it were Minister Kong Xiangxi or Mr. Song Ziwen, how would you handle it?" At the time, everyone replied: "The leader is attending an important meeting and will not see guests! Will not pass on messages!..."
When Kong Xiangxi and Song Ziwen personally came to see Chiang Kai-shek, they received such treatment! Soong May-ling in the car behind could only come out to mediate, but she also did not get a better result.
Chiang Kai-shek was really furious about the grain incident they designed! So this time, Chiang Kai-shek will definitely let Tan Xiao handle them! Even all of this is being manipulated by Chiang Kai-shek, and Tan Xiao is just a hatchet man! This is the unanimous conclusion reached by the three of them! Is it possible that Chiang Kai-shek really wants to abandon the support of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang financial group, break the original tacit understanding, and monopolize power? It's very likely! Chiang Kai-shek has been restrained for too long! Now, once the military is reorganized and with the strong support of the Germans, it's not surprising that Chiang Kai-shek wants to take back all his powers!
Now Song, Kong and the three are extremely afraid: in fact, compared to Chiang Kai-shek's fear of losing the support of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang financial group, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang financial group is more afraid of losing Chiang Kai-shek's backing! In their most profitable year, they helped the National Government finance 40 million yuan in public bonds, but they made 150 million yuan in opium trade that year.
If it were during the warlord era, they would even fund others to coerce Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing government, but what about now? Is there any warlord who dares to confront Chiang Kai-shek head-on? The Central Army's rectification campaign has begun irresistibly under Tan Yankai's command and will surely succeed! In the face of political power, all kinship is useless!
Three people were lost in thought, regretting what had happened - how did they end up using the grain incident to such an extreme extent? Chiang Kai-shek had hinted at giving them a chance at the last moment, but now there was no room for recovery! As for the only thing that can be done at present: admit defeat and surrender to Tan Xiao, no, surrender to Chiang Kai-shek!
57 million, they have cash on their account! Because in Shanghai they raised 300 million to maliciously speculate on grain.
Under the ingenious arrangement and the deception of Song, Kong and others who were misled into thinking that Chiang Kai-shek was making a move against them, before sunset, 57 million was transferred to Tan Xiao's account at the HSBC in Shanghai!
Tan Xiao appeared at the door of the luxurious room in the back of Xiangxiang Building after confirming that he had received a large sum of money. He wore a smile from the bottom of his heart, enjoying everyone's warm welcome. Due to his new world blueprint, due to his amazing military talent, due to those Huatie investment shares, and due to today's military equipment and ammunition - all of which everyone knew could be obtained at an ultra-low price by Tan Xiao alone; now, Tan Xiao has become the leader of the Blue Shirt Society and even the entire Huangpu system!
In the first round of the war between He and Song Kong, Tan Xiao sacrificed his future father-in-law's political prospects in exchange for a miserable victory! The prize was a good reputation for being righteous and cruel, as well as the general contract for the six-province railway, and of course, 47 million yuan in prize money.
This is just the first battle!
"Everyone, thank you so much! I've collected 2,000 now! Keep going! Please recommend this book to your friends and collect more!! Thank you!!!... After two chapters of transition, the plot will enter a new stage... Air Force... making big money... hehe..."
