20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 755 Sturm und Drang
"It's bound to be chaotic, we just have to see how chaotic it will be."

Jiang Lianheng did not hold out any luck and said confidently: "The newspaper industry is so developed now, news spreads very quickly, and Fengtian is an important town outside the Great Wall. Over the years, from the Twenty-One Demands to the Hongxian Empire, to the burning of Zhaojialou, has Fengtian not responded every time?"

Everyone nodded silently, especially at this critical moment when merchants and citizens in the provincial capital were becoming increasingly dissatisfied and had no place to vent their dissatisfaction.

Wang Zhengnan looked around and said, "So many people died in the Shanghai case. This is a major news that cannot be concealed. The Municipal Administration will probably make preparations in advance. I just don't know how much impact it will have on us."

"What don't you know?" Xue Yingqing seemed a little bored, and his tone was particularly lazy. "We can only take care of ourselves and not rush to take on tasks. Just follow the crowd and we will naturally minimize the impact."

Zhao Guoyan frowned and said, "That's what you said, but the Jiang family is a big family. We want to wait and see how others react, but they may still be waiting for us to express our opinions!"

"I think so too," Li Zhengxi looked at Jiang Lianheng, "Brother, you are the leader of the line, you can't avoid this kind of thing."

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said, "Yes, I would like to play dumb, can I?"

"Pretending to be deaf and dumb is also a statement of opinion." Hu Xiaoyan corrected, "Foreigners killed Chinese people, and Chinese people protested. This matter is already just. If you don't express your opinion, you will be wrong in the eyes of outsiders. This crime will become a handle for the Jiang family in the future."

"Yes, yes, sister-in-law is right." Wang Zhengnan quickly agreed, "Even if we don't consider our online reputation, we still have seats in the Chamber of Commerce, the Provincial Council, and the United Xijia Bank. It would be unreasonable not to express our stance."

"Of course I know that, too."

Jiang Lianheng picked up the telegram on the table, glanced at it again, and murmured, "The problem is that the Shanghai case was caused by the Japanese factory. If Fengtian gets into trouble, it will also blame the little Japanese. But Marshal Zhang relies on the little Japanese. Can he allow anti-Japanese activities to break out in the provincial capital?"

"There are so many things he doesn't allow, and every time there's no trouble?" Xue Yingqing asked back.

Wang Zhengnan took over the conversation and said, "Well, it's hard to go against the will of the people. For major cases like this, with bloodshed, even Marshal Zhang wouldn't dare to say openly that the people were wrong. He could only try his best to restore order and prevent the situation from escalating."

In the final analysis, it is just pretending to obey while actually disobeying.

But someone has to do this dirty and unjust thing, and everyone knows who will do it.

The study suddenly became quiet, and everyone's face was filled with reluctance.

After a while, Zhang Zhengdong said in a deep voice: "We just settled two cases last month. If there is a commotion this time, I'm afraid it will be our job."

"Brother Dong, this is different." Li Zhengxi said, "Last time the printing factory and the machinery factory called a halt, that was our own business, in the final analysis, it was just to increase wages. This time it's foreigners killing Chinese people, and the Jiang family stepped in to mediate, wouldn't they be scolded to death?"

Zhang Zhengdong said: "I know it's different, but in the eyes of the office, unrest is unrest, no matter what the reason, we will order it to be quelled."

"That's true," Xue Yingqing turned to look at Jiang Lianheng, "When the time comes, you will most likely be assigned to do these dirty jobs. You will either be asked to gather intelligence on the gathering or to lead others to act as a thug. Just wait and see. If this matter is exposed, the Jiang family will surely be called a traitor. There will be so many jealous people online staring at you. If you bear this infamy, it will just give them a reason to beat you up."

Zhao Guoyan frowned and said, "Boss, don't accept this kind of job. The secret societies in Shanghai are all supporting the workers. As the leader of Fengtian, the Jiang family must set an example, otherwise it will lose the support of the people."

Li Zhengxi went on to say, "Besides, there are many of our 'Zaibang' brothers in the factories. They don't like Japanese foremen. If you ask them to back off for a little money, that's fine, but if you ask them to give in on something like this, they won't agree."

Wang Zhengnan said, "What you said makes sense, but the most practical problem is this: if the office sends us a task, what can we do?"

"What should we do?" Li Zhengxi said angrily, "The foreign devils are bullying us too much. I'm sorry I can't obey your orders!"

"Then you have offended your official friends, haven't you?" Wang Zhengnan turned around and said, "Brother, I think that although we can show our support, we can't just refuse the tasks assigned by the government office. When dealing with foreigners, we should also insist on fighting but not breaking them."

"Brother, I think you've eaten too much Western food, haven't you?" Li Zhengxi's eyes widened. "The foreign devils are killing people in the street, and you're still fighting them?"

"Hey, if the foreigners in Shanghai are shooting and killing people, what's the point of you fussing and glaring at the foreigners in Fengtian?"

“They are all foreign devils!”

"This is biased. There are good and bad foreigners, and we cannot generalize. When dealing with foreigners, we must be tactful and use their strength to counter their own strength."

"Foreigners are all of one mind!"

"Here we go again. If the foreigners are of one mind, will Europe start a war?" Wang Zhengnan was too lazy to argue and just said to Jiang Lianheng, "Brother, the Jiang family can only be where they are today because of the official support. Marshal Zhang is counting on Xiao Dongyang. If he wants to send a task, we have to respond!"

Everyone expressed their opinions, and there was a lot of noise for a while.

In fact, everyone agrees to express support, but the reasons behind it are different.

Some, such as Hu Xiaoyan, Xue Yingqing and Zhang Zhengdong, remain neutral. They believe that after the Shanghai case was made public, supporting the workers will become the general trend. The Jiang family made their statement in order to avoid being caught by others and to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation. They do not take the initiative to report the rumors. If the office has any instructions, they will delay it as much as possible.

There are practical ones, such as Wang Zhengnan, who believe that the foreigners are powerful and should not be openly hostile; and that the Jiang family should not disobey orders even though they have the support of the government. The Jiang family should say one thing in front of others and another behind their backs, try to please both sides, weigh the pros and cons, and adapt to changing circumstances.

Some, like Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi, are indignant. They believe that this case violates justice, the will of heaven and the people. As the leader of the Jiang family, they should express their support. If the office has any dirty work to do, they should refuse to do it.

When you are in the world, it is inevitable that you will suffer some minor flaws. Only when you maintain your integrity, you are a real man!

There are many reasons for everyone's attitude, and they all sound reasonable, but Jiang Lianheng always feels unsatisfied.

After a moment's hesitation, he took out his cigarette box, which was the "Lao Dao" brand he usually smoked. After thinking for a while, he suddenly put it down and asked, "Xifeng, do you have any cigarettes?"

Li Zhengxi responded and quickly handed over the half-pack of cigarettes in his arms.

Jiang Lianheng looked down and saw that it was the "everyone smokes" Hardman, so he put it down and said, "Think about getting me some Guandong leaf tobacco later!"

After he finished speaking, he suddenly looked up at Hai Xinnian and said, "Xinnian, everyone has expressed their opinions, you should also speak up!"

Hai Xinnian was startled, and quickly shook his head and said, "Godfather, I don't have any ideas."

"You're seventeen years old after all, don't you have any ideas?"

"No."

"Don't pretend with me. You are a member of the Jiang family. I didn't ask you to follow me here to listen to gossip. If you have any ideas, just say it!"

Hai Xinnian was a little hesitant and looked around, but he still kept his father's advice in mind.

Everyone advised him, "Just say what you are told to say, don't think too much, it won't be your fault anyway."

"Then... I also think we should show our support!" It was the first time that Hai Xinnian spoke in front of the Jiang family, and he looked a little uneasy.

"What's the reason?"

"I am Chinese...do I need any more reasons?"

"Well said!" Jiang Lianheng slapped the table, "This matter is not that complicated at all. What's the general trend, what's the pros and cons, what's the justice of heaven and human nature? The foreign devils killed the Chinese. Even if we can't beat them, we can just scold them a few times. Is it worth it to weigh it in our hearts?"

Hu Xiaoyan said: "Weigh the pros and cons, you can't act on impulse."

"Yes!" Wang Zhengnan also said, "Brother, if the public security bureau sends us to investigate, can you just ignore it?"

"Then check it out, but you can't blame me if you can't find anything, right?"

"If we can't find out, we will lose face in front of the government. If we don't take this job, others will rush to accept it." "How can I still have face?" Jiang Lianheng stretched out his little finger and said, "The Municipal Government sent a clerk the size of a sesame seed to steal three hundred thousand from my pocket. How can I still have face?"

"But, that can't be..."

Wang Zhengnan turned to look at Hu Xiaoyan, as if he wanted his sister-in-law to speak and persuade his brother.

However, Jiang Lianheng said first: "Don't worry, I'm not so reckless as to go against the government! I just can't understand why the business on the counter at home has always insisted on accepting Fengpiao some time ago. Is this enough to cooperate with the government's proposition of stabilizing the financial order? What's the result? Apart from verbal praise, what benefits did I get? Not only did I get no benefits, I even lost 300,000 yuan. It's not so undignified to be a dog, right?"

"Don't say that out of anger!" Hu Xiaoyan warned in a low voice.

"Yes, I said it in anger, but isn't it true?"

"Without Marshal Zhang's support, you might not even be able to earn three hundred thousand!"

"That's true, but I'm not just a freeloader, am I?"

"Okay, okay, stop talking."

Hu Xiaoyan knew very well that these were disrespectful words, so she quickly tried to cover them up.

But she also knew very well that the Jiang family's dissatisfaction was not an isolated case.

After the end of the Second Zhi-Feng War, Marshal Zhang had no intention of resting and recuperating, and continued to expand his troops, which now have reached 350,000 men, almost emptied the three northeastern provinces, especially the provincial treasury silver dollars in Fengtian.

At first glance, Fengtian is full of factories and looks prosperous, but upon closer inspection, more than half of them are Japanese industries, half of which are so-called "Sino-foreign joint ventures", and the remaining eight or nine out of ten are military factories that have nothing to do with ordinary people.

You know, the Zhili clique occupied half of the country, but its core force was only about 300,000.

Although Feng Zhang now nominally occupies most of the northern country, how long have they had those places?

At most, it has only been half a year, and the foundation is too shallow. Using the strength of three provinces to support 350,000 soldiers and horses has long been overwhelmed.

The merchants and citizens of Fengtian were naturally dissatisfied. Not to mention that Jiang Lianheng had received favors from Lao Zhang, even many provincial government officials who were promoted by Lao Zhang had become disheartened and disappointed recently.

Marshal Zhang had also been aware of this, but the arrow was on the string and had to be shot. His only hope now was to use the excuse of going south to occupy the prosperous and wealthy land of Jiangzuo to solve the urgent financial problems of the Fengtian clique.

Otherwise, the three northeastern provinces would have lost the support of the people before they had the chance to challenge for world dominance.

"Let's talk about something serious!" Hu Xiaoyan ordered, "The news from Shanghai will be in the newspaper tomorrow. Everyone should pay more attention to the public opinion in the city, especially entertainment venues such as Heshengfang, Huifangli, Songfengzhuyun and Chunqiu Grand Theater. You should pay more attention to them."

Jiang Lianheng raised his eyes to look at Xue Yingqing, and then agreed: "Shopkeeper Xue, there is nothing we can do. If there is a commotion in the provincial capital, your place must be closed for three days. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable for you to open an entertainment place while people are mourning the dead there."

"Then let's just take a break. We've been paying compensation for more than a month anyway, so these three days won't make a difference." Xue Yingqing was a bit desperate.

Jiang Lianheng ignored him and turned around and said, "Guo Yan, go get me two carriages. I won't ride in those foreign cars for the time being."

"Are you still trying to find out about the news in the factory?" Zhao Guoyan asked.

"I have to find out what I need to know, so that I can be mentally prepared. Nanfeng..." Jiang Lianheng continued, "Especially you, you hang out with foreigners a lot. Don't associate with them recently. Be careful of the impact."

"Brother, don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Wang Zhengnan responded quickly.

"Okay, let's do this!" Jiang Lianheng looked around, "Everyone should keep a low profile. We will definitely boycott foreign goods in a few days. Take off all the foreign stuff on your body to avoid running into those sick people who will use this to scold you. It's about time to go away!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Xiaoyan suddenly came over and whispered a few words.

Jiang Lianheng said "Oh" and said quickly: "Today is Xifeng's birthday, let's have dinner at home..."

…………

The situation turned out just as expected.

The next day, the Shanghai case was reported in the newspapers; a day later, it swept the whole country; within three days, it shocked China and the world!

For a time, Shanghai became the focus of world attention, and provinces, regions, and guilds from all walks of life successively expressed their support, raised funds, and responded to the Shanghai movement.

As more details of the shooting tragedy were revealed, it was revealed that almost all of the Far East's business and academic circles were involved.

The South was in turmoil and the people were outraged; the North had always been conservative, and although the support movement was not as intense as that in Guangzhou and Hankou, protests and demonstrations broke out one after another.

What is even more shameful is that while the whole country was outraged, the British police in the Shanghai Concession were still slaughtering and arresting people at will - the foreigners did not take the anger of the Chinese seriously at all, and this move caused the protest wave to spread rapidly.

The Fengtian Office had anticipated this and deployed soldiers to factories and schools in advance, set up checkpoints in the border areas, and strictly prohibited gatherings to cause trouble.

Under this situation, the Jiang family’s intelligence is no longer important, because what is going to happen will definitely happen.

On June 3, the British American Tobacco Company in Fengtian took the lead in calling for a break in support of Shanghai and refusing to work.

The next day, Fengtian Hemp Co., Ltd. followed suit, and several affiliated factories of Nantetsu Co., Ltd. also responded.

Merchants in the north and south markets frequently went on strike, and some enlightened business gentry spontaneously donated money to aid the workers in Shanghai.

Soon after, students dropped out of several schools run by Xiao Dongyang in Fengtian to declare their stance.

Two days later, the Security Command of the Three Northeastern Provinces issued an order for martial law throughout the city, and strict inspections were carried out in all checkpoints. Anyone who saw three people gathering together would be arrested first and then tried.

However, under such heavy pressure, many small protests still broke out frequently.

This is not because the provincial government’s investigation was not good enough, but because there was a “traitor” within the provincial government itself.

Yes, even within Feng Zhang there were differences of opinion on this case, with some advocating a tough stance and others expressing deep sympathy.

In this way, there is always the chance that protests will break out.

Jiang Lianheng anticipated that the Shanghai case would cause an uproar, but he did not expect things to be so serious.

Haven’t the foreigners killed Chinese workers before?

Most likely he had killed someone.

Or had the foreigners never suppressed protests before?

Probably been suppressed.

It is true that the Shanghai case was the most tragic, but the wave of resistance this time was probably not just because of the Shanghai case. Rather, it was because of the successive civil wars over the past 14 years of the Republic of China, the people's livelihood was in dire straits, and the people's dissatisfaction with the Beiyang capital had reached a critical point.

It turns out that the fall of the Qing Dynasty was just old wine in a new bottle. It was time to make a swift advance and change the world...

(End of this chapter)