A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 240 The cruelty of war

On that day, Chen Guangliang first attended the meeting of the 'SH City Chamber of Commerce'. He was a permanent director of this chamber of commerce, and his status was even higher than Du Yuesheng.

The meeting was held urgently to discuss the donation of military pay, anti-Japanese war supplies, etc., and to send them to the front line to express condolences to the anti-Japanese troops.

Wang Xiaolai, Chairman of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, Yu Qiaqing, President of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, and others took turns speaking, aiming to collect and raise funds as quickly as possible and send them to the front line as soon as possible.

Chen Guangliang didn't think much about it and took the initiative to say, "I have a truck fleet with 15 trucks. Also, my shipping and trading company's warehouses have 3000 sets of cotton clothing, dry food, medical supplies, etc., which can be loaded tonight. Please ask the Chamber of Commerce to organize personnel to deliver them to the front line as soon as possible tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qiaqing said without thinking about anything else: "Great! These are the supplies most needed on the battlefield. We will organize them immediately and strive to arrive safely tomorrow. In addition, we will collect a batch of military pay and send it to the front line together."

No one asked Chen Guangliang why he prepared the supplies so quickly, and they were the most needed supplies. After all, there was no time to think too much at this time.

The more than 20 people who attended the meeting quickly raised about oceans in military pay, ready to be delivered to the front line the next day.

It's not that they are "too stingy", but that businessmen of this era are either heavily in debt (such as Liu Hongsheng, Yu Qiaqing, etc.), or have donated a lot of money to charity every year (building roads and bridges in their hometowns, and various charitable causes), or their assets are mainly fixed assets, or they cannot come up with so much cash in a short period of time.

In short, this is the limit of the funds that can be raised, and a lot of funds will definitely be needed in the future - for example, to resettle the poor.

In today's fundraising, Du Yuesheng raised another 6 yuan, which shows that he is still a good person. After all, Du Yuesheng still has various fundraising channels in the future.

Chen Guangliang decided to give the truck to the Chamber of Commerce first so that more supplies could be transported to the front line; and the supplies he donated this time were worth a little over 100,000 oceans.

As for the trucks behind, as long as there is a need, they can be donated directly to the 30th Route Army. This batch of trucks is worth oceans.

On that day, after the air bombing, more than a thousand Japanese soldiers, under the cover of powerful artillery fire and armored vehicles, launched a fierce attack on the intersections of Baoshan Road and Qiujiang Road, attempting to occupy Shanghai North Railway Station.

North Station is Shanghai's land transportation hub, and its gains and losses are related to the safety of the entire Zhabei area.

At 2 p.m., the Japanese army took advantage of the fire at the North Station to launch a fierce attack on the North Station. A company of our defending military police fought fiercely with the Japanese army for an hour and then withdrew from the North Station.

At 5 p.m., the main force of the 156th Brigade joined the battle and launched a counterattack, retaking North Station and Tiantong'an Station. They pursued the victory and at one point captured the Japanese Shanghai Marine Corps Headquarters, forcing the Japanese army to retreat to the area east of North Sichuan Road and south of Target Road.

The Japanese army's first offensive ended in failure.

After the Japanese attack was thwarted, the British and American consuls came forward to mediate in the afternoon (the SH city government said it was the Japanese consul's request, while the League of Nations report said it was the SH mayor's request). The Chinese and Japanese armies reached an agreement to stop fighting at 29:20 on the night of the th.

The 19th Route Army knew that this was a delaying tactic to wait for reinforcements, but because they also needed to adjust their deployment, they agreed to a ceasefire.

At the same time, the 60th Route Army also strengthened its deployment, urgently ordering the 61th Division stationed east of Zhenjiang to move to Nanxiang and Zhenru, and transferred the 78st Division to Shanghai. The th Division stationed in Shanghai was fully deployed to the front line to strengthen defense and be on high alert.

At night, Chen Guangliang stayed alone in the study in his villa on Xiafei Road, thinking about what else he could do!
He was not particularly afraid of death, and he was always very calm and knew what he should do; otherwise, he could have chosen to leave Shanghai early and go to Hong Kong to avoid time.

After all, the concession during this period was not 100% safe, and Japanese planes even circled over the concession.

In fact, there is not much he can do, after all, he is just a businessman.

And what can be done has been done, including:
First, saving the Commercial Press and the Oriental Library is saving Chinese culture.

Second, warn medium and large factories, educational institutions, etc. in Zhabei to minimize losses as much as possible.

Third, donated fifteen trucks and urgently needed supplies worth over 100,000 yuan.

Next, we can only hope that the 50,000 soldiers of the 19th Route Army and the 5th Army will fight bravely and show the backbone of the Chinese nation.

Winning is difficult, but all it takes is a show of courage, inspiring the hearts of the nation, and embarrassing the Japanese army internationally—that is the real victory.

Thinking of this, Chen Guangliang felt a little relieved. All that remained was for things to continue to develop according to history. At most, he would just participate in some refugee rescue work.

Of course, the most important thing for helping refugees is money and food. Otherwise, just talking about it will be of no use.

Therefore, Chen Guangliang has to keep his own wealth and create more wealth, even earning wealth from foreigners.

His current main wealth situation is:
Changjiang Real Estate: 200 villas on Xiafei Road, four-story villas facing the street in Xincheng Garden, several villas on Yuyuan Road, and Chen's Mansion on Weihai Road. The total value is about million.

Shangri-La Hotel: Valued at three million (appreciated), 55% stake worth approximately 160 million.

长江出租车：220辆汽车值（220万）、存款加现金流约80万、5辆卡车.总价值约320万。

Global Shipping/Trade: Six 5000-ton "nearly new" ships valued at 200 million and cash. Valued at approximately 220 million.

Ping An Bank/Building: Net asset value is around 160 million.

Gold value: about 600 million (including the profit from the depreciation of the British pound, and the current gold-silver exchange rate is over 70).

With these six assets alone, Chen Guangliang's net worth has reached 1660 million.

In the past year, Chen Guangliang has donated more than one million yuan, most of which came from these six major assets.

Chen Guangliang also has some scattered assets, including shares in Jierui Coal Briquettes, Tongchang Car Manufacturing Plant, Jiawang Coal Mine, Guangdong Province's No. 1 Sugar Factory, Times Pictures, as well as assets such as Changjiang Car Dealership and Vitasoy. His net assets are almost two million yuan.

In the past year and a half, his wealth has not grown very fast because the base is large and the scope of his business has expanded very quickly.

It is a very good thing that wealth can grow.

After this war subsides, he should also find a way to diversify his investments, no longer limiting himself to the Shanghai Stock Exchange or China.

"squeak"

The door opened and Yan Renmei walked in carrying a tray.

"Brother Liang, have some Ningbo glutinous rice dumplings filled with your favorite stuffed glutinous rice!"

Chen Guangliang has a very unique taste. He likes basically all southern delicacies, including Sichuan cuisine.

So when cooking Ningbo Tangyuan, he likes to add glutinous rice wine.

I eat spicy food and sweet food, and I don’t have any dietary restrictions, as long as it’s delicious.

"Well, are you still awake?"

"No, my mother-in-law was a little worried about your safety. I chatted with her downstairs and asked the kitchen to make some supper."

"Well, there's nothing to worry about. The concession is still very safe. Maybe I'm being too cautious and making her worried!"

Yan Renmei picked up the bowl, tested the temperature with her lips, and then fed it to Chen Guangliang.

She added, "Be more cautious. You always make people feel at ease. Zhabei was bombed so badly today. I heard that the Commercial Press and the Oriental Library were the main targets. These Japanese are truly despicable."

Chen Guangliang savored the glutinous rice balls and said, "Don't worry about that. I've already informed Zhang Yuanji to move the books from the Commercial Press and the Oriental Library into the Times Cinema. So the only losses they'll have are the buildings and machinery. After all, we can buy them back later."

"Really?" Yan Renmei said happily, "Brother Liang, how did you do it?"

Chen Guangliang enjoyed Yan Renmei's admiration, and he didn't have many secrets from her, so he said, "On January 1, I had already analyzed that Japan would invade Shanghai and bomb Zhabei, and then educational institutions, libraries and other cultural venues, as well as large factories. So I had people warn them and personally persuaded Zhang Yuanji to relocate. However, you have to keep these things confidential, because I also hid them."

"Well, Brother Liang, you are amazing!"

Chen Guangliang immediately felt that this compliment was well worth it!

"Okay, get ready for bed. Only by getting enough rest can we face tomorrow. However, I won't allow you to leave the concession. We have places where we can help."

"Yeah, I know that."

Chen Guangliang nodded, fearing that Yan Renmei was too young and would follow his example and run to the front line.

1 month 30 day.

The Commander-in-Chief issued a "Telegram to the Soldiers Nationwide", in which he said that after the Battle of Shanghai broke out, "since the soldiers of the 19th Route Army have risen up for loyal and brave self-defense, all the revolutionary soldiers of our army should fight for the dignity of the country, seek survival for the nation, fulfill their responsibilities for the revolution, and be determined to die in glory rather than live in disgrace, in order to deal with the brutal Japan that destroys peace and despises faith and loyalty." He asked the soldiers across the country to "work hard, unite against the enemy... and be ready to fight to save the country from danger", and said that he "was willing to swear to live and die with all the soldiers and fulfill my duty."

After this telegram was released, it had a huge impact and greatly boosted people's morale.

On the same day, the Nanjing government issued the "Declaration of Moving the Capital to Luoyang", stating that it would never surrender, and from that day on, the National Government departments were moved to Luoyang, but the Military Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained in Nanjing. At the same time, it ordered the front-line troops to be jointly commanded by Minister of Military and Political Affairs He Yingqin and Chief of Staff Zhu Peide.

at the same time.

Organizations such as the SH City Chamber of Commerce and the Banking Association immediately sent supplies and military pay, and various groups supported the 19th Route Army. Mr. Song (female) and Mr. He (female) also immediately visited the soldiers on the front line to express their condolences.

The days of war that followed made Chen Guangliang reflect on himself - he had thought of the war as too 'media-oriented', so cruel that he abandoned the sense of 'this is history' and felt the cruelty with his own body.

A large number of human tragedies occurred, which were heartbreaking to watch and forced people to experience the national disaster firsthand.

Then, the concession was not 100% safe. Yuyuan Road and Xiangshan Road were bombed repeatedly. The British ambassador Johnson's flagship, the "Simbolling", was almost destroyed by bombs dropped by Japanese planes. Japanese planes circled around the Cathay Hotel on Nanjing Road for half an hour.

The bombing of Yuyuan Road was something that Chen Guangliang had not expected, and the Vitasoy factory was located on the western section of Yuyuan Road, and was unfortunately hit this time.

Chen Guangliang went to the Vitasoy factory as soon as possible and felt a little regretful when he saw the dilapidated factory.

General Manager Chen Shiyuan said: "Some equipment should be usable after cleaning. We have arranged for people to sort it out and try to avoid losses as much as possible."

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "No one died, right?"

Chen Shiyuan said: "No, after you asked us to close the factory, there were only a few people here; after the Japanese planes were overhead, they escaped and suffered some minor injuries."

After dropping the bomb on Yuyuan Road for the first time, Chen Guangliang ordered Chen Shiyuan to stop work urgently, but it was too late to dismantle the equipment.

Chen Guangliang sighed: "It can be regarded as a blessing in disguise."

After all, they were his own workers, so he still hoped that nothing would happen to them; as for the factory, he could rebuild it if he had the money.

Chen Shiyuan reported from the side: "On the contrary, the factory in Hunan is fine. Of course, we have already moved the equipment there."

"Never mind all that."

Chen Guangliang asked, "What is the damage to the entire Yuyuan Road?"

Chen Shiyuan lives on Yuyuan Road, so he knows it better.

"Over the past few days, about ten bombs have been dropped on Yuyuan Road, damaging about thirty or forty buildings, mainly in the western section."

"Well, it seems it's not a key area, so it's just a symbolic provocation."

“That’s all I can think of.”

Afterwards, Chen Guangliang made some arrangements and left immediately.

He was not afraid, but came to his villa in the middle of Yuyuan Road, only to see that it had been used as a temporary medical center.

"Brother, why are you here?"

Chen Guangcong was helping and came over when he saw Chen Guangliang.

"Well, let's see, what's the situation here?"

"Many medical staff are providing basic medical assistance to the refugees. I will go to the Yangtze River Vehicle Base later. There are more than 300 refugees resettled there, and we are doing our best to ensure their well-being."

Chen Guangcong had matured a bit, and this time he was arranged by Chen Guangliang to join the 'SH City Anti-Japanese National Salvation Association', and participated in organizing the 'temporary medical center' and 'refugee resettlement camp' on Yuyuan Road.

When Yuyuan Road was bombed, he was also worried about his younger brother, but he could not interfere with Chen Guangcong's withdrawal, as it would make him a laughing stock.

Chen Guangliang asked tentatively, "Do you want to go back?"

"Brother, it's safe here. The Japanese planes were just conducting exploratory bombings. The US and Britain should have put pressure on us now. The situation should be better later."

Chen Guangcong did not directly reject his brother's kindness, but expressed his own thoughts.

"Be smart and come home early tonight. Mom is worried about you too!"

"Ok"

Subsequently.

Accompanied by Chen Guangcong, Chen Guangliang inspected the medical center.

Surprisingly, his cousin was also volunteering here, but he didn't make it public.

On the contrary, many wounded soldiers expressed their gratitude when they heard that Chen Guangliang was coming to inspect, and some student medical staff even showed admiration on their faces.

Because the 'SH City Chamber of Commerce' has to make the donation list public, Chen Guangliang is always at the top of the list when donating.

For example, he donated more than 26 yuan to the Jianghuai Flood, second only to Du Yuesheng (whose personal donations were similar, as Du was good at fundraising and donated a total of 52 yuan);

Recently, Chen Guangliang donated 15 trucks and 15 trucks of supplies, which made news in Shanghai. Chen Guangliang also gave his utmost support to the temporary medical center and refugee resettlement center on Yuyuan Road.

As for the report to the Commercial Press and Oriental Book Company, celebrities including the Commander-in-Chief and Cai Yuanpei all believed that all the books had been bombed, so they condemned Japan for destroying culture in the newspapers.

At present, the public’s impression is that the collections of Commercial Press and Oriental Books are finished!

This was a helpless move. If the Japanese dared to bomb Yuyuan Road, they might not be afraid to bomb Nanjing West Road either, so it was best not to expose themselves. In fact, a small number of books were destroyed in the two libraries. Of course, these were "non-essential materials" that had not been moved in time, which was considered a deception.

Before leaving, Chen Guangliang added security forces for Chen Guangcong, after all, he only had this one brother.

Fortunately, Chen Guangcong has been hiding, and few people in the Shanghai Stock Exchange even know about it - Chen Guangliang has a younger brother, and this is why he has always wanted to protect this younger brother.

Chen Guangliang felt that the "January 1932th Anti-Japanese War" that took place in demonstrated the country's national prestige and broke the myth of Japan's "invincibility."

You know, after the September 918th Incident, the Northeast Army didn't even have the courage to fight.

Now the 12th Army can fight with Japan's navy, army and air force for more than a month, repeatedly defeating Japan's general offensive, breaking the nonsense of "four-hour strategic Zhabei" and "-hour occupation of Shanghai", forcing Japan to change its commander four times, and causing the enemy to suffer tens of thousands of casualties.

Therefore, later generations changed the "Eight-Year War of Resistance" to the "Fourteen-Year War of Resistance" because this battle played an immeasurable role in the unity of the Chinese nation.

The heroic resistance of the Chinese soldiers, in stark contrast to the rout and flight following the September 18th Incident, dispelled the widespread despair of national annihilation. The 14-year War of Resistance against Japan began to attract international attention and support, shifting international perceptions of China's resistance and significantly contributing to the formation of an international anti-Japanese united front.

In early March, the Chinese army was ambushed by Japan and forced to retreat to the second line of defense.

On March 3, the Japanese commander issued a ceasefire statement based on the instructions of his Chief of Staff.

On the same day, the League of Nations resolved to order a ceasefire between China and Japan.

The war ended, but Japan still occupied a large area of ​​Shanghai.

On the same day, the SH Chamber of Commerce, the Shanghai General Federation of Business Circles, the Shanghai Special Economic Zone Citizens Federation, and the SH Paper Industry Association telegraphed the National Government, He Yingqin, and others, demanding that they "quickly send military reinforcements to recapture Songhu and save the country from danger."

But it is obvious that the Nationalist government only wants to resolve the dispute through negotiations, and the commander-in-chief is busy with the civil war!
In negotiation, concessions must be made!

Losing territory or rights would not happen, but great concessions would be made - for example, troops would not be allowed to be stationed in the area from Shanghai to Anting, Kunshan and Suzhou (later taken over by the Capital Security Team), while Japan could station "a number" of troops.

The mediation of Britain and the United States here is also based on their own interests. They have always opposed the Nanjing government's stationing of troops in Shanghai.

(End of this chapter)