20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 738 Disintegration
In the north of Fengtian City, there is the Jiang family mansion.

The smoke of cigarettes rose in the shadow of the floor lamp, and there was the rustling sound of paper in the living room.

Jiang Lianheng and Hu Xiaoyan sat at the main seats, while Zhao Guoyan, Li Zhengxi and Hai Xinnian also sat around the coffee table and reported their intelligence findings of the day.

Hai Xinnian was talking about the demonstration on Sanwei Road. It seemed that not all the workers from the printing factory and the machinery factory participated, but there were still as many as three to five hundred people at the rally. The momentum was huge, the emotions were high, and the situation was almost out of control.

The demonstration lasted for nearly two hours before soldiers arrived and forcibly dispersed the crowd.

Hai Xinnian is not good at speaking and his speech is dry, but he avoids exaggerated emotional rendering and better restores the original appearance of the situation.

Jiang Lianheng only asked one question after hearing the last part: "Did the soldiers open fire?"

"No," Hai Xinnian said, "Those foreigners were watching inside the consulate, and some were taking pictures. The officers and soldiers didn't seem to dare to take action. At most, they used guns to scare the workers. Their main purpose was to protect the consulates."

"Did they arrest anyone?" Hu Xiaoyan asked.

Hai Xinnian nodded and said, "They were caught, I saw six or seven of them with my own eyes, otherwise they wouldn't leave!"

They only arrested people, without firing any shots or causing any bloodshed, which shows that the provincial government's actions were relatively restrained.

This move was certainly intended to avoid angering workers, but in the eyes of hardliners, it was a symbol of weakness and incompetence.

Lao Zhang was a very bandit-like person. He had once wiped out the Revolutionary Party and the Zongli Socialist Party in Fengtian. His methods were not weak at all. But Wang Tiekan was a scholar after all. He attached great importance to his reputation and integrity. He was inevitably restrained when dealing with such extreme situations.

Jiang Lianheng was not surprised at all. He turned to look at Xifeng and asked, "Have you figured out where those laborers who led the riot live?"

Li Zhengxi responded, "We have found out everything. For the other key targets, we have not only found out where they live, but also their family situations."

“Is there any way to cure their weakness?”

"Of course there are," Li Zhengxi said. "There is a man named Lao Meng in the printing factory. He lives on the street with ten rooms. He has a paralyzed mother in her 60s and a son and a daughter, both in their teens. They need money, but his wife is a worker in the spinning mill. The couple works in the mill, so they can make ends meet."

Jiang Lianheng snorted coldly upon hearing this: "No wonder he is not in a hurry to resume work. It turns out that his family has other income."

As he spoke, he suddenly turned around and whispered, "Guo Yan, tell Mr. Liu at the spinning mill tomorrow to fire this wife named Lao Meng. He is worried because the couple are not making any money."

Zhao Guoyan nodded silently.

Li Zhengxi continued, "In addition, there is a man named Xiao Mao in the printing factory, who is also the main force in leading the group to call for help. The situation at his home is -"

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Guoyan suddenly interrupted and said, "Wait a minute, this little Mao is one of ours!"

"What?" Li Zhengxi was stunned. "Whose brother? Why haven't I heard of him?"

"Don't say you haven't heard of it. I just found out about it today," Zhao Guoyan explained. "This little Mao is Wan Dewei's nephew's wife. He has been the family's 'helper' for two years, but he has never been needed, so he is usually not very conspicuous."

"Oh, so they are relatives!" Upon hearing this, Li Zhengxi simply stopped talking.

Nowadays, the Jiang family has countless disciples. Although the number of core members and thugs has always been maintained at around dozens of people and has never increased rampantly, the number of brothers who are "in the gang" and "relying on the gang" has long been too numerous to count.

These people can be used to strengthen the family's morale, and when the Jiang family needs people, they can be summoned and dismissed at will, but they do not work full-time for the Jiang family. On weekdays, they each have their own jobs, and they join the Jiang family just to avoid being bullied in the provincial capital. This is also the important foundation for the survival of all gangs.

It is a common phenomenon for lower-class laborers to join gangs, but as the head of the gang, Jiang Lianheng obviously cannot know every detail of every brother's situation, so it is inevitable that he may miss something.

Hu Xiaoyan is very meticulous. When the Jiang family first started, she was able to observe everything and was familiar with all the members of the family. However, one person's energy is limited after all. As the Jiang family continued to expand, her health became weaker, and she had to manage the accounts of various businesses, so she could no longer handle all the affairs of the Jiang family.

Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi didn't know about this brother, so Jiang Lianheng and Hu Xiaoyan naturally had never heard of him.

Wan Dewei is the "famous one" of the Jiang family. With his relationship, Xiao Mao from the printing factory can indeed be considered one of their own.

Having said that, Jiang Lianheng couldn't help but ask one more question: "What does he think now?"

Zhao Guoyan said: "I asked Wan Dewei to ask him, and he was straightforward. He said that no matter what the boss ordered, he would follow it."

"Give him 20 yuan in cash first," Hu Xiaoyan immediately took over the conversation, "tell him that if the workers who need a break in the printing factory have any difficulties, ask him to help them privately and improve their relationship. The family needs him to be elected as a labor representative, or at least one of the representatives."

"understood."

"Xifeng, go on."

Hu Xiaoyan turned to look at Li Zhengxi again, and then asked: "What's the situation at the homes of those key targets? Let's talk about the hard ones first. The others with weak points are easy to deal with."

Li Zhengxi nodded and said, "As for who is the tough guy, I don't know yet, but there is a guy named Zhang Lianfu in the printing factory. He is a bachelor with no relatives or friends in the provincial capital. If he is well fed, the whole family will not be hungry. He also has good relationships with people. There is nothing he can do to you."

Jiang Lianheng leaned over to put out his cigarette, sneering, "They are always shortsighted and think that since I am alone and have nothing to worry about, no one can stop me. In fact, the more people like this, the easier it is to deal with them. They disappeared inexplicably and no one went to look for them."

"Brother, this is not absolute, right?" Li Zhengxi frowned. "Zhang Lianfu has many friends in the printing factory. If he is lost for no reason, there may be friends looking for him everywhere."

"Don't talk nonsense. Apart from parents, wives and children, how many people in this world really care about their friends' lives? Even if they do care, they will just feel upset for a while and go out to look for a few days. If they can't find it, then forget it. If you give up your own life just to seek justice for your friend, how close of a friendship do you have to be?"

Jiang Lianheng spoke with certainty and there was no doubt about it.

After all, even a life-and-death friendship might not be like this.

What's more, ordinary people usually live a peaceful life. How could they have the chance to encounter a life-and-death situation?

Li Zhengxi pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and asked, "Brother, do you mean... inserted?"

"Don't worry, we have to keep him now!" Jiang Lianheng leaned back on the sofa and said slowly, "Wang Tiekan looks down on me and doesn't need me to mediate. So why should I dirty my hands? I'll wait until the government sends someone to invite me out of retirement!"

"No, this person can't be eliminated so easily." Hu Xiaoyan suddenly interrupted, "The workers are just starting to gain momentum and are at their most angry. It's hard to offend the public anger. If we get rid of him easily, it may not only fail to calm the situation down, but will also anger the workers. It will be troublesome if we bring trouble upon ourselves." Protests are no joke. Hundreds or thousands of people gathered together without strict organization, which is a mob. It seems that their purpose is clear, but in fact their emotions are out of control, often in an instant. If the Jiang family acts excessively, perhaps those workers will turn their spearheads and go straight to the Jiang family.

This situation is not uncommon.

For example, a few years ago, when the capital was in turmoil, thousands of students originally planned to demonstrate in front of the consulates of foreign powers, but were unexpectedly obstructed. So they suddenly decided to change direction and burned down the Cao family mansion in Zhaojialou Hutong.

Whether or not it should be burned is another matter, but this incident is enough to illustrate that group actions are often unpredictable.

Jiang Lianheng was fearless. When he heard this, his eyes were full of disdain.

He had defeated so many vicious gangsters and bandits, so when facing those laborers, he naturally subconsciously ignored them.

"I didn't say that he must be cleared, but in the final analysis, it depends on whether he knows what's good for him. If he's smart and knows when to quit, I won't make things difficult for him. But if he gets ahead of himself, even if I say let him go, will the government agree? In the end, we will still have to do the dirty work."

"It's possible to clear them, but we can't be too hasty." Hu Xiaoyan explained patiently, "Zhang Lianfu is a laborer in the printing factory, not a gangster, which is completely different. If you clear out a gang member, the government will not only not pursue the matter, but will also be happy to avoid trouble, and the people will also be happy to see it."

"I know," Jiang Lianheng said impatiently, "Isn't it just making up a story to make this matter reasonable? It's also simple. Just let Chuanghu take the time to arrange it."

However, Hu Xiaoyan said: "No, to get rid of people like him, it's not enough to be reasonable, you have to make everyone think he deserves to die."

"If he offends the Jiang family, he deserves to die."

"Tsk, I'm talking to you about serious matters, why are you making such harsh remarks at home?"

"So, how can such a good person make everyone think he deserves to die?"

"It's not easy, but even if we can't make everyone feel that he deserved to die, at least we have to make everyone feel that his death was not unjust."

Hu Xiaoyan coughed twice, took two sips of tea, rubbed her forehead, and muttered softly, "No, if Zhang Lianfu doesn't listen to our arrangements, we have to find a way to ruin his reputation and prevent him from establishing prestige among the workers."

Li Zhengxi frowned, thought for a moment, and said helplessly: "Sister-in-law, the key is that from what I have learned so far, there is really nothing wrong with this person in the printing factory..."

"impossible!"

Perhaps because she had a headache, Hu Xiaoyan's tone was a little impatient, and she said very firmly: "There is no perfect person in this world. If there is no problem with his work, then you can find fault with his personal morality, such as his gambling addiction, debts, alcoholism, swearing, and improper behavior..."

At this point, she suddenly paused, lowered her hand from her forehead, looked at Xifeng, and said, "You just said that he is a bachelor?"

"Yes!"

"How old is he?"

"About thirty-five or thirty-six."

"Could it be that you like men?"

"Ah?" Li Zhengxi was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help laughing and said, "This... shouldn't be possible. I'm afraid we need to investigate this matter."

Hu Xiaoyan was very serious and said solemnly, "If he were a normal man, he would have been married at his age. Although the income of a laborer is not much, he is not so poor. I think even if he is not married, he should at least have a lover."

Li Zhengxi didn't dare to laugh anymore, and quickly explained: "Sister-in-law, this is indeed possible. The street of Ten Rooms is full of prostitutes. Many of them are former prostitutes who went there to do business as 'half-closed doors'. If he is not a coward, he would have probably looked for him."

There is a saying in the classics: Food, sex, and love are the greatest desires of human beings; death and poverty are the greatest evils of human beings.

Although the times are progressive and many writers have called for a ban on prostitution in newspapers, after all, the government has not issued an explicit ban, and anything that is not prohibited by law is allowed. Although the matter is shabby, it cannot be considered a fault.

However, it is an indisputable fact that if a man has moral problems, nine out of ten times the problem is with women.

There is an old saying that nine out of ten deaths are caused by adultery - and many murders are caused by love.

"Investigate him thoroughly!" Hu Xiaoyan vowed, "I just don't believe that he is a bachelor with spare money and lives in ten rooms. At his age, he is still unmarried and doesn't even have a lover!"

After saying that, he turned and looked at Jiang Lianheng, as if seeking his opinion.

Jiang Lianheng did not express his opinion. He felt uneasy and his eyes were evasive. He said to himself, "You can investigate whoever you want, but just don't send people to investigate me secretly."

However, after finding out the truth, Hu Xiaoyan did not say what arrangements should be made next. Instead, she looked at Zhao Guoyan and asked, "Guoyan, what's the situation over there?"

"Sister-in-law, I really don't have a lover. Dong Erniang has absolutely nothing to do with me."

"I'm not asking you that!" Hu Xiaoyan frowned, "I'm asking you about the situation at the Fengtian Machinery Factory!"

"Oh, we've got the list of the leaders who called for a break." Zhao Guoyan came to his senses and quickly handed over the two pieces of paper in his hand. "There are a total of ten or so laborers leading the charge, five of whom are our own people. As for the others, if we use money, we should be able to bribe one or two of them."

Although there seem to be a lot of people on the list, if you look closely, they are actually Xiao Mao, Lao Meng and Zhang Lianfu, with only different names.

In short, there are always three types of people: the brothers who obey orders, the ordinary workers who can be threatened and intimidated, and the troublemakers who are the most difficult to deal with and may need to be killed.

After Hu Xiaoyan read it, she returned the list and said, "Use all means to get our people elected as labor representatives, at least more than half. During the labor-capital negotiations, let them make a demand: the Jiang family must mediate before they are willing to come to the table for negotiations and have a chance to resume work."

This is the ultimate goal of Jiang Lianheng and Hu Xiaoyan - the Jiang family must play an important role in quelling the labor unrest.

Zhao Guoyan did not dare to neglect and immediately nodded in agreement.

As he was talking, he heard a sound coming from the courtyard. The heavy iron door slowly opened, and he saw Wang Zhengnan hurriedly walking into the mansion...

(End of this chapter)