20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 524 Axe Gang Takes Order

Li Guodong hurried through the corridor, his footsteps were sonorous and powerful, and he sounded confident.

In a moment, the light and shadow changed, and he arrived as promised. He pushed open the vermilion lacquered door, but saw that the house was full of wealthy people and there was a gloomy atmosphere.

This is the conference room on the second floor of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company.

Outside the window, the autumn weather is clear and the sun is bright.

In contrast, the atmosphere in the conference room seemed extremely gloomy and depressing.

The workers at the Shilipu dock have been calling for a break for three days. Countless merchant ships have been forced to stay at the ferry, and goods from the north and south are piled up like mountains.

The closure of the dock not only damaged the interests of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, but also shook the foundation of Shanghai.

In just three days, both the Chinese and foreigners, as well as the business community, were shaken.

The China Merchants Steam Navigation Company owned half of the docks in Shilipu and could not escape blame, so they had to hold an emergency board meeting to discuss countermeasures. Naturally, Li Guodong, who was in charge of the dock business, became the target of public criticism at the meeting.

As soon as he sat down, the condemnation and accusations from major shareholders came roaring in.

The one who quarreled the most fiercely was the General Manager of Mines of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company.

This man's surname is Tang, he is in his forties or fifties. Although he is a businessman, he has been registered in the Green Gang and has a high seniority. He has quite a bit of influence and reputation in the foreign concessions.

At the beginning of the meeting, he took the lead and slammed the table and glared, "Li Guodong, it's been three days and the Shiliupu Road has not resumed work yet. Can you solve the problem?"

Li Guodong calmly argued: "General Manager Tang, it's not that I can't solve it, it's that you don't agree with my solution. What can I do?"

"That's not a plan, that's weakness!" General Manager Tang said firmly, "Don't even think about raising the workers' wages. We need to be tough, tough, and tougher!"

As the person in charge of the dock, Li Guodong has been in contact with the workers during these three days.

The workers at Shilipu Wharf were mainly from northern Anhui, and they put forward two main demands: one was to increase their wages; the other was to replace all the dock managers at Shilipu and have them be taken over by the Anhui Provincial Hometown Association.

However, the hardliners on the capital side, led by General Manager Tang, refused to give in and received the support and approval of the majority of directors.

No one wanted to compromise easily. Money was secondary. What they were most worried about was that the dock workers would become more demanding in the future.

Hearing this, Li Guodong couldn't help but shrugged: "Then there's nothing we can do. We can only continue to fight them."

The remaining dovish directors immediately shook their heads: "No, no, no, how can that be possible? As long as the dock does not resume work, China Merchants will lose money. Our losses are much greater than theirs."

"It's not just a matter of China Merchants losing money, the stocks we hold will also depreciate!"

"Moreover, in the past two days, the government and the Chamber of Commerce have been urging us to resume work as soon as possible, seven days at most. If it exceeds seven days, Shanghai will be in chaos. Let's think of a solution as soon as possible!"

"What else can we do?" Someone suddenly sneered, "The root of the problem lies with Director Li. Two contracts were signed for one dock. I think Xu Huaimin should be fired directly. If the workers insist on a pay raise, then we can just take it out of Director Li's dividends!"

Some sensible people objected immediately: "What kind of talk is this? We are a whole company, and we should be united in everything we do. Now the workers haven't even split up, but we are the first to fall into chaos. How shameful!"

President Tang curled his lips and said, "Then we should clarify the responsibilities first. We all know whose fault it is that such a big trouble has occurred. The board of directors should also take this opportunity to reshuffle the cards!"

Li Guodong was unwilling to sit still and wait for someone to take advantage of the situation, so he retorted on the spot: "Shiliupu is mainly staffed by Anhui workers. Letting the Anhui Association take over is most conducive to the stability of the dock. Lou Jingyuan previously fired workers without reason, causing dissatisfaction among the workers. I signed a new contract to replace him for the sake of the overall situation."

"How can you have the nerve to say such a thing?" General Manager Tang retorted, "Business requires credibility. Can you unilaterally make or break a contract as you please? Is there any law?"

Li Guodong ignored him and turned to look at the other directors, asking, "Everyone, I would like to ask, when did the dock business in Shiliupu become settled by contract and law?"

Hearing this, all the major shareholders could only nod silently and remain silent.

Everyone knows that what Li Guodong said is true.

The difference in the dock business is that there are too many gangs involved, and Shilipu is located at the intersection of the French Concession and the Chinese Concession, with chaotic public security and the jungle law of the survival of the fittest.

Although Jinyuan Wharf is an asset of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, in reality, the company has never been able to appoint a wharf manager at will.

The reason is very simple. The foreman recognized by the capital side may not be recognized by the labor side.

If the foreman does not have enough prestige, chaos will inevitably arise at the dock in the long run.

Whether it was Xu Huaimin or Li Guodong, they could only sign contracts based on the victory or defeat between gangs, and the effectiveness of the contract always depended on the strength of the gangs.

It is not uncommon for various docks to switch sides. Using this as an excuse to criticize Li Guodong for dereliction of duty is only theoretically valid and has no practical significance at all.

After thinking for a long time, several hard-line directors expressed their opinions.

"In that case, I think we should stop talking to them and just go find Mr. Du Yong to resolve the issue, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes. The trouble in Shanghai is best handled by the Green Gang. Mr. Du Yong is very thorough and should not leave any evidence behind."

"Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Tang for help and ask Mr. Du to come."

Upon hearing this, General Manager Tang couldn't help but feel proud. As a big figure in the Green Gang, even though he was no longer in the underworld, he was confident that Du Yong would give him some face.

After a few words of flattery, he nodded and agreed with a smile: "It's easy, as long as you trust me, I will go to the Du Mansion to discuss it on behalf of the Merchants Group tonight."

However, these words immediately angered Li Guodong.

The reason why his power over the dock has always been in a semi-empty state is that it is often controlled by gang forces, among which the most influential are the Green Gang disciples.

Unfortunately, his roots in Shanghai were too shallow and he lacked connections with the Green Gang. Therefore, whenever the dock encountered trouble, the major shareholders would often ask General Manager Tang to intervene and overstep his authority.

If it were in the past, Li Guodong would probably have just endured it.

But now seeing that the Axe Gang was becoming so powerful, as a fellow Anhui province native, he naturally had no reason not to unite with external forces and consolidate his power, so he flatly rejected the proposals of all major shareholders.

"Everyone, Shiliupu Wharf is owned by the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company. We can't just go to the Green Gang to settle the matter whenever we run into trouble, right? I've already talked to the labor side, and they won't accept a meeting with other representatives."

"Li Guodong, what do you mean?" General Manager Tang immediately questioned, "I think you are colluding with the Anhui Province Association and blackmailing the Merchants Group, right?"

"I'm just telling the truth." Li Guodong turned to other directors for support, "Everyone, as long as you give me full authority to negotiate with the labor side, I guarantee that the port can resume work tomorrow."

As soon as these words were spoken, the major shareholders immediately started arguing again.

Gradually, the board of directors also split into two factions.

The hardliners, who are in the majority and headed by General Manager Feng Tang, advocate uniting the Green Gang, government officials, the police station, and even the troops stationed in Shanghai, and using all means, both hard and soft, to completely defeat the enemy.

The doves are in the minority, led by Li Guodong. They advocate that he should negotiate with the labor side based on his status as a fellow villager and make appropriate concessions in order to resume work as soon as possible and avoid greater losses.

As usual, the shareholders' board meeting of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company started and ended with a quarrel.

There was a lot of noise and debate, and it was not until dark that everyone's throats were hoarse that the meeting entered the voting stage.

With his background in the Green Gang, Tang Zongban finally seized power after repeatedly putting pressure on the board of directors. The China Merchants Steam Navigation Company finally decided to authorize Tang Zongban to seek help from the Green Gang and mediate the dock call with a tough attitude.

At the same time, due to dereliction of duty by Li Guodong, he withdrew from the board of directors, the terminal business was taken over by General Manager Tang, Xu Huaimin was fired, and all personnel appointments were re-determined.

Before you know it, the sun and the moon are changing outside the window, and a transfer of power is taking place inside the room.

The hawkish directors were triumphant and cheerful; the dovish directors were unhappy and worried.

Li Guodong walked away angrily, looking as panic-stricken as a dog that had lost its home.

General Manager Tang enjoyed everyone's praise and flattery in the conference room.

The major shareholders did have high hopes for him. They shook hands with him one after another and said, "Manager Tang, we are very sorry for your hard work this time. I hope the dock can resume work soon so that everyone can have a better life."

"You're welcome. Thank you for your trust. I will do my best. Please wait for my good news!"

After a while, when the lights came on, Mr. Tang finally left the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company building, hailed a rickshaw, and headed towards the French Concession.

……

As the saying goes, when the spring breeze comes, the horse gallops fast.

Mr. Tang was in a very good mood, and even the rickshaw was running unusually briskly.

However, he didn't expect that as soon as the driver turned into an alley, two figures suddenly appeared from the side, holding sticks and coming towards him.

Manager Tang was humming a little tune when he suddenly realized that a bad wind was blowing in front of him. People and cars were intersecting, and in just a moment, before he could come to his senses, a stick had already hit him on the head.

But then I heard a crisp "dong" sound, and it was indeed a good head!
Just as Mr. Tang screamed, his cheek was hit by another blow from the stick. His whole face immediately swung to the right. There was a loud "shua" and three front teeth fell to the ground.

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me. I have money! I have money!" He quickly stretched out his hand to beg for mercy.

However, the two men didn't say a word and started beating them up first, then gagged one and tied the other's hands. Their movements were quick and efficient without any delay.

Manager Tang was trying to parry left and right, but was unable to hold back. Within ten seconds, he saw a sack with its bloody mouth opened, heading towards him.

"Uh-uh-"

No matter how hard he struggled, he fell into the sack in the blink of an eye.

Then, the rickshaw driver closed the awning and quickly took Mr. Tang into the dimly lit alley.

The kidnapping process is very quick and there may be witnesses who notice it, but it is better to have less trouble than more. Even if there are witnesses, they will most likely not take the initiative to report to the police.

After struggling for a while, Mr. Tang gradually became exhausted. In addition, his mouth was blocked, so he could only open his nostrils and gasp for breath. Due to lack of oxygen, his consciousness gradually became blurred.

By this time, he had already guessed that these two people should be related to Li Guodong, so he always felt that he at least had a chance to speak.

As long as you can speak up, there is room for easing everything.

What's more, he is nominally a disciple of the Green Gang. If he says so, the little scoundrels in the underworld should be a little afraid of him.

Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished. The rickshaw went somewhere unknown. He waited in the sack for a long time, but no one came to talk to him.

I don't know how much time passed, but he became more and more tired, and finally he slowly fell into unconsciousness.

……

……

Late at night, the moon is bright, at the ferry crossing on the west bank of the Huangpu River.

Not far away, Chen Lixian flipped the paddle and slowly moved a small sampan towards the approach bridge.

At the bridgehead, a camel carried a squirming sack on his shoulder, threw it onto the sampan, and then jumped on it himself.

"Uh-uh-"

Mr. Tang screamed desperately in the sack.

Unfortunately, the cry for help was not as clear as the sound of the river water hitting the table.

He felt his body floating up and down, and the sound of water in his ears gradually became heavier, which meant that the three of them had slowly arrived near the center of the river.

Suddenly, the bag was opened and a breath of fresh air filled my heart.

General Manager Tang struggled to stick his head out, but saw a man with protruding ears and a hunchback sitting at the bow and stern respectively. There were no lights on the boat, so he couldn't see the specific appearance of the two men clearly.

Seeing this, Chen Lixian raised his foot and stuffed General Manager Tang's head back into the sack.

Then the camel stuffed a few heavy stones into it.

"Uh-uh-"

Mr. Tang was still struggling hard, always feeling that he could at least say a word, give his number, beg for mercy, admit his mistakes. Even if it was in vain in the end, at least he would die without regrets.

After all, that's what it says in novels, but he didn't realize that when someone really wants to get rid of another person, there's never any bullshit involved.

Chen Lixian and Luotuo just stuffed stones into the sack, and after a short while, they sealed the sack again.

Immediately, the two men lifted the sack together, and the sampan tilted slightly.

"Uh-uh-"

"Gudong——Hualala——"

The sack fell into the river, and the ripples it created gently pushed the small sampan away, and a layer of fine foam and bubbles suddenly appeared on the surface of the river.

The two did not leave in a hurry, but stood quietly at the bow and looked down.

Manager Tang seemed to struggle for a moment. After the sack was completely filled with river water, he gradually fell silent. He never found a chance to speak from beginning to end.

Soon, there was no movement on the dark river surface, not even a ripple could be found.

Chen Lixian and the camel then sat down, flipped up the oars, and slowly sailed back to the ferry pier.

At this time of year, the lights in the foreign concessions are bright, and there is singing and dancing. It is a prosperous scene. You can even hear faint laughter coming from afar. The buildings on the Bund are reflected on the dark river water. As the boat passes by, the reflection becomes distorted and sick, as if it is two different worlds...

----

PS The modification is completed, please forgive me.

(End of this chapter)