Chapter Fifty-Four: Behind the Casino

  Rong Hui once said in front of Tan Xiao that Shanghai was her home turf, and this wasn't just boasting. In this era, the prosperous areas of Shanghai were only in the hands of Chinese people, and then there were the surrounding counties; the truly flourishing parts of Shanghai were almost entirely occupied by the French Concession and the Anglo-American International Settlement. This included "Ai Lu", where Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling lived after their marriage, which was located on Avenue Joffre in the French Concession. Next to this "Ai Lu" building, there were over a dozen villas, all of which were properties owned by the Soong and Chen families, including Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu.

  Now, these villas surrounding the "Ai Lou" of the chairman are the general headquarters for Song Kong Group's manipulation of grain prices this time. Those relevant staff and market representatives, due to confidentiality reasons, were all arranged to live in these villa groups.

  In the conference hall of one of the villas, it was filled with top figures of Chinese officials and businessmen: Soong May-ling, Soong Tse-vin, Kong Xiangxi, Chen Lifu, Zhang Xueliang, Yu Hongjun, etc., as well as a new face named Ji Xin-zhu. This Ji Xin-zhu is actually Yoshikawa Shōzō, who is now an old friend of Zhang Xueliang and a mysterious tycoon from Northeast China who controls the underground economy. As he was the biggest backer of this operation, he was invited to attend with great fanfare. The matter was of great importance, as Chen Lifu himself attended this meeting - CC Group had many commercial organizations participating in this operation, and just these two brothers alone invested 20 million shares! This was both for their own gain and to stand on the same side as Soong and Kong - due to the railway plan, they now regarded Tan Xiang as their number one enemy, even surpassing Yang Yongtai's position.

  "Starting from tomorrow, we will begin to push up the price in a soft and forced manner, making it difficult to raise the price every day, making it look like it's about to collapse, and there must be a price drop at the end of each trading day..." The traders under him began to report their operations and plans: "The current market activity is much higher than we expected, everywhere is 'grabbing hats', according to our investigation, some speculators from Ningbo and Guangdong have arrived, basically they are making small profits every day by selling high and buying low, it's very lively."

  "Alright! First fatten it up, then kill it!" Song Ailing spat out the word "kill" with a gentle face.

  "There are many rice, flour and other grain merchants from all over the country who have made their moves, and it's estimated that in no time, this market will be more explosive than ever! After a pause, the thin middle-aged man continued: "According to our estimates, within ten or so days, there will be over 1 billion yuan of speculative capital entering the market. Currently, we are long on three and short on one, holding positions in both directions, accounting for about 15% of the total market position. Judging from the current market activity, it's estimated that in another three to four days, we can occupy up to 40% of the long positions..."

  "Are we going to fry it up? Why open an empty head?" Ji Xin Zhu seemed to ask in confusion.

  "When you first start sucking in a warehouse, you have to open it in both directions quickly, and then gradually flatten the empty warehouse..." The thin man explained patiently.

  Seeing Song Ailing seemed a bit impatient, Ji Xinzhu looked at Zhang Xueming and smiled: "If you say open-pit mining, fur trade I'm great, but this futures thing I really don't understand. Zhang brother, as long as I make money, everything is up to you! I trust you! Trust your friends!"

  "What are you looking at? Isn't all of this for Madame Kung?" Zhang Xueming said ingratiatingly to Soong May-ling. Originally, as the director of the Tianjin Police Department, he wouldn't have been able to enter this circle, but he was Zhang Xueliang's younger brother and had cooperated with the Soong and Kung families many times in the government's big opium trafficking case in 1933, so his face was very thick; moreover, this time they had brought 1.5 billion, more than the investment of the Soong and Kung families!

  "Just now, after listening to that brother's report, if there is still a large amount of capital entering the market, can we afford to swallow them up?" Ji Xintu asked again.

  "This is no problem, are you afraid of opening a restaurant with a big appetite?" Song Ailing smiled: "We will put more money in later, we can't borrow your money to take the lead, right? In short, this time in this market, we are all-inclusive, and we welcome everyone!"

  Yoshikawa Shuzo's goal is to get Song Kong and others to make additional investments, he wants to find a way to drag the two families into it! After today's meeting, he will go to report to Tsuchiya Kikancho. So, he was in a hurry to leave, except for Zhang Xueming, no one pretended to persuade him to stay.

  Tofu is going to Hong Kong, and on the way, he will stop in Shanghai for two days to let those women from Fushimi Palace who have been cooped up in the palace for a long time take a look at the sights and sounds of the concession; and also listen to Kiyokawa's report. The amount of money involved this time is too large, if there is any mishap, it will even cause chaos in Japan's financial industry! So, even someone as arrogant as him can't help but be on high alert. Of course, if this succeeds, it would be a disaster for China, and the entire Nanjing government would collapse! Of course, they won't let that happen, as long as the Nanjing government hands over all the land north of the Yellow River... Also, they want to hand over Tan Xiao and Dai Li, those two arch-enemies of the empire! Just thinking about these two people makes Tofu hate them so much he wants to kill them. Ah, yes, use the same trick they used on Tanaka Hisashiro to deal with them!

  The Japanese were one step ahead of Wong Yiu-ming, but the Hong Kong Special Action Unit was one step ahead of the Japanese in arriving at Hong Kong. Now they are surveying the action environment.

  They were viewing a villa. The villa was located on High Street, a road in the Western Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong. As its name suggests, High Street is built halfway up a mountain. Walking two hundred meters uphill and crossing a small street called Bonham Road would lead to the University of Hong Kong. Following the steep road downhill for five minutes would bring you to the waterfront. This was one of the main entrances and exits of Victoria Harbour, where people often fished or caught crabs, so there were always several boats parked there.

  "With a boat to pick us up, it's actually quite easy to retreat, what a great place for committing crimes!" Mo San exclaimed, still having his unique and twisted perspective despite admiring the location.

  "I think it's quite secluded around here, and if we do something at night, we don't necessarily have to rush away." Ding Lushan said: "Look, this yard is so big, even if someone shouts for help outside, no one will hear it, and even if they do, they won't take it seriously. So, I'm thinking whether we should just get rid of everyone in the house!"

  "Lao Ding's appetite is getting bigger and bigger!" Mo San said: "Maybe killing people slowly in someone else's house can be very stimulating..." His gloomy tone made even Ding Lushan, who was beside him, feel a chill.

  "What a pity, now we are soldiers and can't do that... In the past in Vietnam, I tried to rape the wife of a French farm owner, hehe, that big-bellied beauty..." Mo San was still savoring his perverted history.

  "There are a few Japanese girls inside, but aren't you afraid that the boss will use your own tricks against you?" Ding Lushan was actually itching in his heart as well. On days when he specifically went out to collect debts, he would occasionally moonlight as a bandit. As for beautiful women who were robbed, he never let them off."

  Towards Tan Xiao, Mo San was extremely reverent. He had personally witnessed the growth of Ye Yi Jun's army and knew that this commander who could create such a miracle in such a short time was absolutely the best support for his survival as a small person like him. Moreover, he knew that Tan Xiao appreciated his perversity! So, he suddenly became very serious and said to Ding Lu Shan: "If you are joking, then I remind you, brother, don't make fun of Jun Zuo; if you're telling the truth, I tell you, I won't violate discipline!" His seriousness startled Ding Lu Shan.

  Bring Mo San to Hong Kong, it's absolutely the right thing to do. This perverted thief quickly examined the surrounding environment and recorded all the blind spots and usable environmental shelters of this large house. Because the opponent is a Japanese spy, not an easy one to deal with, they are particularly careful; changing locations and angles, observing very carefully from the mountain. Thanks to the team's observation and drawing training, it was actually dissected by them in just one day from the outside!

  This large Western-style mansion, on the surface owned by a foreigner, is actually an enterprise of the Japanese special agency in Hong Kong; often arranges for those domestic figures to stay here when they come to Hong Kong, like Tōyama Kanken who stays here every time. Ren Pingwei had already set up a surveillance network here after investigation.

  As the sky grew darker, they decided to head back, but near this large courtyard, there were still many of Ren Pingwei's men keeping watch. Some of these watchers were even Hong Kong patrol officers; Ren Pingwei's personnel in Hong Kong were quite effective.

  "Let's take it easy tonight, Tofu is still in Shanghai!" Ding Lushan began to miss the scenery of Tangxi again, after all, he had been cooped up in the army camp for too long.

  "Shall we bring that cowboy along? He seems like a fun guy!" Mo San said with a smile.

  That cowboy was none other than Dekken Rogers. He was brought out by Ren Pingwei's men yesterday and is now being kept under guard in a secluded mansion, as Ren Pingwei fears he will cause more trouble.

  Rogers returned to the United States after parting with Tang Xiao and really inquired about the P14 rifle production line. As a result, he found four old production lines at Winchester Company, Remington Arms Union Metallic Cartridge Company, and the latter's subsidiary, Eddystone Factory. Although some parts had been repurposed and others were damaged from years of poor storage, Rogers judged that they could be easily repaired based on his experience fixing cars. So he inquired about the purchase price of these "junk scraps" and finally settled on a purchase price of $12,000 for all four lines.

  After he got the production line, he also managed to get the production management procedure of the production line at that time; then, he personally supervised and spent $20,000, a higher price than the purchase price, to repair them, and went to Lingling himself.

  This time he didn't go through Shanghai, but came from Guangdong via Hong Kong. Unexpectedly, he lost all his money in a black market casino in Hong Kong and even owed a large sum of usury, which got him detained. Of course, he has been rescued by Ren Pingwei's people now.

  Rogers is now muttering dirty words in English under his breath, feeling that he is still being held captive because those three people won't let him take a step out of the yard! However, he only dares to scold in a low voice, because those three people can easily bail him out from the casino without spending too much money, so he knows they are not easy to mess with. Moreover, this captivity is better than the casino, where he didn't get slapped around...

  The three people who rescued him were all intelligence personnel developed by Ren Pingwei as soon as he returned to Hong Kong. They were originally disciples of the Jingwu School in Shanghai, and later escaped to Hong Kong after killing Japanese people in a fight in Shanghai. The eldest was named Deng Xiaolong, the second was named Chang Baoguo, and the third was named An Qing, and they are all police officers in Hong Kong now. Because they originally had a blood feud with the Japanese, when Ren Pingwei introduced himself as having joined the Wild One Army and briefly explained the background of the Wild One Army, they joined too, and are also personnel under the Military Intelligence Bureau now. When Ding Lushan and Mo San asked them if they could take Cowboy out to mix around, they flatly refused, and told the two that they would be sending Cowboy to Guangzhou tonight.

  As for the situation entrusted by Rogers, Ren Pingwei had already telegrammed Tan Xiao in the first place, and it was natural that Tan Xiao was overjoyed to get those four production lines. However, he couldn't be happy now because he had another telegram in his hand, which was sent by Lin Wei, about the approval of selling the grain he collected to Shanghai.

  After discussion in the attendants' room, it was believed that this batch of grain was equivalent to about half a year's rations for an army of 400,000 men. Therefore, it was suggested that he sell it locally to various troops, which would also avoid the trouble of purchasing and transporting grain at their garrison locations. The reason is very sufficient and reasonable, but there is one thing that makes Tan Xiao feel very uneasy: the telegram mentions that this decision has something to do with Soong Mei-ling!

  It's clear that Soong Mei-ling is now paying close attention to every move of Ye Yigong, which is why she added her hand to this grain sales application. In other words, Soong Mei-ling has joined the front line in dealing with Tan Xiao directly. Then, what changes will there be in the situation in Shanghai? Tan Xiao is still relatively worried. Now Rong Hui and others are still drifting on the Yangtze River, but they must also be informed of this situation immediately, fortunately, Sha Xun's yacht has wireless equipment.

  In order to win the battle of Shanghai, Tan Xiao also went all out. Today, he finally sent the Brandenburg training camp in Xipu on board. This time, in order to allow the people of the Brandenburg training camp to disguise themselves as British, French and American troops at the right time, they were equipped with a large number of British and American weapons, including Enfield rifles, Springfield 1903 rifles, and Thompson submachine guns, as well as military uniforms. However, these special forces members felt that it would be exciting to play the role of enemy troops in advance and cause trouble behind enemy lines. Under Goodrian's instigation, they set off one by one with the feeling of being German heroes.

  Since Soong Mei-ling already knew about the grudges between her family and Tan Xiao, and had taken action, now Song Kong and others finally understood the truth behind their crushing defeat in Hunan: Chiang Kai-shek never made a move against them! It was all Tan Xiao's scheme! This made them regret the 57 million affair even more, and at the same time, they hated Tan Xiao even more intensely.

  "Little sister just came to tell me that Tan Xiao actually wants to sell the grain in his hands to the Shanghai Stock Exchange! Little sister has already refuted him!" Song Ziwen came out from the inner room and said: "This Tan fellow dares to be at odds with us, humph, after we win this battle, let's see how he dies!"

  "Why did he reject it? Why wait until the battle is over?" Song Ailing suddenly said: "Hurry up and send a telegram to Little Sister, see if you can change this rejection!"

  Everyone was stunned and suddenly understood: Song Ailing wanted to directly eliminate Tan Xiao in this manipulation! Yes, Tan Xiao is also considered wealthy, but he still has to build railways, how much money can he have on hand? The tens of millions they extorted from them are now worth several billion in their hands! They are not afraid of others coming to be their opponents, and they would welcome it! As for the tens of thousands of tons of grain, what does that amount to? It's likely that before Tan Xiao's grain convoy even reaches Shanghai, it will have exploded! Moreover, as soon as Tan Xiao's grain convoy leaves Hunan, they will have plenty of ways to delay them on the road!

  Soong Tzu-wen wanted to get through this layer and hurriedly ran towards the study room.

  In fact, Chiang Kai-shek was aware of and agreed with Soong Mei-ling's intention not to approve Tan Xiu's sale of grain. He knew that Tan Xiu's trip to Shanghai to sell grain would definitely be a show of force against the Soong family, and he also knew that the Soong family would definitely try to drive down grain prices in Shanghai. He didn't want these two major forces to clash again! Therefore, when he saw Soong Mei-ling's intention was not to approve, he gladly agreed.

  "Darling, I've been thinking, Tan Fengshan is busy mobilizing troops in Hunan and also building railways, so he must be quite tight on resources. Or, maybe it wouldn't be bad to let him release some grain..." said Soong Mei-ling to Chiang Kai-shek, wearing her nightgown.

  Chiang Kai-shek, who was about to rest, heard her say this and remained calm on the surface, but in his heart he was quite dissatisfied: You just know how to take revenge! You just want to harm my great general! I still need him to recover Guangdong and Guangxi!

  "This thing, let's talk about it tomorrow, I'm tired today!" Chiang Kai-shek thought he could drag it out and forget about it.

  "Alright then, I'll go and get Weiwen to revise the telegram tomorrow...". Soong Mei-ling was unexpectedly stubborn!

  "Well... suit yourself, I'm going to sleep, I'm really tired..." Chiang Kai-shek readily agreed and walked towards the bed.

  Chiang Kai-shek is not such a simple person, in an instant he already had a plan: at that time let Tan Xiao go sell grain, just calculate the transportation capacity, directly register the grain as warehouse receipts, transport and sell as much! Even if you raise the price to the sky, it's up to you to see what you can do about him!

  The next morning, Chiang Kai-shek had Lin Wei change the telegram of consent in front of Soong Mei-ling and sent him to Lingling to hand over his note to Tan Xiao. It was an instruction to Yu Qichang to expedite the registration of the grain warehouse receipts transported by Tan Xiao! The reason for this move was that Gu Zhenfu, who controlled the miscellaneous grains and oil cake market in Shanghai, did not get along with the Nanjing government but had a good relationship with Yu Qichang. Chiang Kai-shek was afraid that Yu Qichang would stand entirely on the side of Song Kong during this war; This letter also had the meaning of warning Yu Qichang.

  After Soong Mei-ling left, he again instructed Lin Wei to tell Tan Xiao that he must not be greedy and must ensure that the grain is transported before placing an order, guaranteeing that the quantity of the order has a warehouse receipt as proof, and not allowing the quantity of the order to exceed the quantity of the warehouse receipt! Lin Wei naturally understood what Chiang Kai-shek was thinking and couldn't help but sigh at Tan Xiao's favoritism, which had never been seen before in the Republic of China.

  Tan Xiao had been depressed for a night and when he received the telegram, he still thought he was dreaming. How could things have turned around overnight? He didn't think deeply about the meaning behind it, anyway, he wasn't familiar with the futures market, as long as he did his part to cooperate with Rong Hui and Sha Xun's work, that was enough; now, he believed that with Lin Wei's batch of goods arriving soon, this battle would definitely not be lost!

  Everyone was delighted in the morning, Tan Xiao was overjoyed to get Chiang Kai-shek's approval for selling grain; The Soong family in Shanghai was thrilled to have the opportunity to take down Tan Xiao once and for all after learning that Chiang Kai-shek had approved Tan Xiao's sale of grain; Rong Hui and Sha Xun on the ship received Tan Xiao's new telegram, swept away last night's gloom, and were already thinking of congratulating him in advance on his great victory; The Japanese, upon hearing the news, were also elated at the prospect of devouring both Soong and Tan Xiao at the same time.

  Tan Xiao hastily ordered his subordinates to wait at the airport early, looking forward to Chiang Kai-shek's golden certificate.

  Song Kong Group then recalculated whether the funds needed to swallow up Tan Xiao and his team were sufficient, and once again made contact with Jiang Zhe financial group and CC system business association, preparing silver roots for a big feast.

  Rong Hui still on the ship, has sent a telegram to arrange for his men to purchase rice in various places in Nanyang and directly arrange for shipment to Shanghai. Even using military transport ships!

  The Japanese took advantage of Tofukawa's last day in Shanghai to continuously submit applications to the military department, explaining the importance of this matter, and finally got the support of the Bank of Korea and other domestic financial giants, adding 3 billion yuan to the original plan!

  What a pity, I'm going to Hong Kong soon... However, maybe after finishing things in Hong Kong, the big battle in Shanghai is just beginning, and I should be able to rush back in time to direct the troops! Tofukuro Hidenori didn't expect it to evolve into such a large financial war when he approved the plan at first; now, he has decided to take command personally! Of course, there's also personal interest: if this battle is won, the profit will exceed Japan's annual fiscal revenue; for Japan, which is already facing a severe fiscal deficit, this is undoubtedly a godsend! How can such a great achievement be given to Yoshikawa Osamu?!

  Tofu, who was thinking of the big event that would happen in Shanghai, would never have thought that there would be another historic event happening in Hong Kong; he even sent a proposal to Tokyo and planned to leave for Hong Kong that night, cutting short the royal ladies' Shanghai vacation by one day.

  In the eyes of predators, everything is food. Now, in the eyes of Song Kong Group, the entire market is their mouth-watering fat meat, including Tan Xiao. In the eyes of Japanese people, all Chinese business and financial circles who intervened in this grain speculation are their delicious meal, even including the Nanjing government. And Tan Xiao, Rong Hui, and Sha Xun are calculating the numbers they might make.

  All participants are determined to believe that they will win the final victory in a high-stakes gamble, which is destined to be an earth-shattering and stormy battle!

  (Author: Fixed computer today, late, sorry...... thanks for everyone's support)