A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Time came to 1935.

In the new year, the Municipal Council held a dinner to entertain major taxpayers in the International Settlement, and Chen Guangliang was also invited to attend.

Just as Chen Guangliang and Liu Hongsheng were chatting with glasses of wine, Ichiro Fujita, the general manager of Nissin Shipping, walked towards them with a glass of champagne. The hem of his moon-white kimono was embroidered with dark red waves, revealing a hint of weirdness.

Fujita Ichiro said in Chinese with a sticky Kyoto accent, "If China Merchants is willing to cooperate with Nissin Shipping to develop a joint waterway operation on the Hankou route, Nissin Shipping can withdraw its price cuts on the Nanyang route and is willing to work with China Merchants to develop the Nanyang route."

The implication was that as long as Nissin Shipping was allowed to penetrate into Hankou's water and land transport, Nissin Shipping would lead China Merchants Steam Navigation Company to develop the South China Sea route.

Liu Hongsheng said with a displeased expression: "Mr. Fujita, the Nanyang route also belongs to us Chinese (Shanghai, Xiamen, Guangzhou to Nanyang), why do we need the cooperation of Nissin Company?"

In the early years, even the "water diversion rights" in China belonged to foreigners, while Chinese people accounted for 80% of those who had the qualifications to divert water.

In fact, compared to other countries, the country's "water diversion rights" are naturally owned by the country's own people. Only because China was weak, many rights have always been in the hands of foreigners (customs, shipping, railways, etc.). It was only after the Nationalist government unified the country that these rights were gradually taken back.

This is also the reason why, although the Beiyang government ruled China at that time, it cannot be considered a government. The first reason is of course that it did not unify the country, and the second reason is that it did not take back the autonomy that a country should have.

"Hmph," Fujita Ichiro snorted coldly, then said, "Don't refuse a toast. As long as Nissin Shipping suppresses China Merchants, you will definitely go bankrupt again."

Liu Hongsheng, with Chen Guangliang's support, said firmly, "Then we'll wait and see. I don't believe that Nissin Shipping can continue to reduce prices by 30% on the Nanyang route."

Ichiro Fujita said proudly: "Don't worry, we will make your China Merchants Bank go bankrupt!"

He has the confidence. Based on the level of support in Japan, he hopes that Nissin Shipping can suppress China Merchants Group and put it in trouble. At the same time, the Japanese government will give Nissin Shipping a large subsidy.

As for the situation of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, the Japanese may not be very clear about the details. In fact, the current China Merchants Steam Navigation Company has almost extremely low debt and stable profits.

Especially last year (1934), the profit of China Merchants Steam Navigation Company exceeded 380 million oceans and continued to grow.

So at this time, there was no need to worry about the Japanese and foreigners engaging in a price war on the South China Sea route.

Chen Guangliang said at this time: "Fujita, don't you know the old Chinese saying - if you injure the enemy by 800, you will injure your own by 1,000? I don't think a shipping company that mainly operates in other countries has the strength to suppress other countries' state-owned shipping companies."

Ichiro Fujita faced Chen Guangliang and said with a slightly respectful look: "Mr. Chen, you got it wrong. It's obvious that if you injure the enemy by a thousand, you will lose eight hundred of your own."

It was this Chinese tycoon who made China's sugar and shipping industries rise in one fell swoop.

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "Fujita, you haven't fully learned the profoundness of China. But you will soon understand the meaning of this sentence!"

Ichiro Fujita left unhappily.

In fact, Nissin Shipping is a shipping company with owners in China and North Korea. Now it has turned the tables and is threatening China Merchants Group. It seems that it has become really arrogant.

Of course, if it was the China Merchants Group in the previous life, it might really be suppressed.

But in this life, China Merchants Steam Navigation Company has gotten out of its predicament and is now competing with Nissin, Swire and Jardine Matheson. Not only is it not at a disadvantage, but it has the upper hand.

After Fujita Ichiro left, Chen Guangliang said, "The two ships are already on their way to Shanghai. The China Merchants Steam Navigation Company can also give the foreigners a try on the Nanyang route. I believe you also know the nature of foreigners!"

Liu Hongsheng nodded and said, "Foreigners bully the weak and fear the strong. We only need to lower the price on the South China Sea route to the same level. At the same time, let our compatriots take China's own ships. In this way, our business will increase dramatically."

In itself, the passengers and cargo employers on the routes between Nanyang and China are basically Chinese.

As long as the price and service level are similar, everyone will definitely support domestic products.

"Yes, do it boldly. Sometimes, making money is secondary. Morale is more important!"

Liu Hongsheng nodded.

Like Chen Guangliang, he was forced to take over as general manager of China Merchants Group. But since he took over, he naturally hopes to lead China Merchants Group to continue moving forward.

Although the plan to march into Southeast Asia was formulated during Chen Guangliang's reign, it was not actually implemented until he was in office.

Two days later, China Merchants announced that it would add two more flights to the South China Sea route, using new 5000-ton ships.

The situation suddenly changed. The total tonnage of China Merchants' Nanyang route reached four ships of 1.6 tons. Not only was the total tonnage on the route comparable to that of the great powers' fleets, but the number of regular trains also increased to four.

More importantly, China Merchants Group’s prices were also very competitive, instantly making the China to Nanyang route stronger.

"Chinese people on Chinese ships"

"Chinese use Chinese wheels"

For a time, the morale of the Chinese people was greatly boosted.

"That's great! China is starting to have a place in ocean shipping."

"Yes, the Nanyang to China route has always been dominated by Chinese people, and this route has long been maintained by foreigners. Now that the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company has launched new ships, it has begun to develop ocean shipping, which is a source of pride for the Chinese people."

"Now that the Nanyang route has been completed, will China Merchants' next move be to open routes to Europe and North America? That would be amazing!"

"You have to eat one bite at a time. It's still difficult for Chinese cargo ships to sail to Europe and North America."

"makes sense"

Chinese media outlets also reported on this event. China Merchants Group has been increasingly aggressive in its competition with major rivals in recent years. If you want a price war, then go ahead. We'll fight you anyway.

According to the analysis of Oriental Daily, China's shipping industry is currently developing very rapidly:
In the Sichuan-Jiang River shipping sector, the Minsheng Steamship Company rose to prominence, forcing Jardine Matheson and Swire to withdraw from the Sichuan-Jiang River shipping sector, while Nissin Shipping turned from profit to loss.
In the Yangtze River shipping section, the battle is mainly between China Merchants Group and Jardine Matheson, Swire, and Nissin. China Merchants Group, with its local advantages and financial situation, has the largest market share of the four shipping companies, and it exceeds 30% (only the total business of the four companies is used as a reference).

On the coastal areas, there is also competition from China Merchants Group, Global Times, and Sanbei, which are as powerful as the foreigners.

Now, in the ocean, China Merchants Group has only been developed for less than four months, but it already has a capacity of 1.6 tons.

No. 5, The Bund.

This is the headquarters building of Nissin Shipping, a three-story building built in partnership with Jewish capital. "President Fujita, China Merchants has added two new 5000-ton ships to its routes from Shanghai and Xiamen to Southeast Asia, and announced a 30% price cut. General Manager Liu Hongsheng even declared that China Merchants would cut prices by one month for every month Nissin cuts prices."

What this means is that the price reduction will definitely last longer than Nissin.

Ichiro Fujita slammed the table and said, "Where are they going to get a 5000-ton new ship? Even if they were to build one, they wouldn't be able to do it that fast!"

In itself, Nissin Shipping Company was also taking advantage of China Merchants Group's lack of existing ships and was preparing to catch it off guard.

The assistant replied, "I'm afraid the ship has already been built, but it's just been put into use gradually."

Ichiro Fujita took a deep breath. As far as he knew, China Merchants Steam Navigation Company had just launched two British-made ocean-going ships of over 3000 tons four months ago. If they launched two new 5000-ton ships now, this force would not be on the verge of bankruptcy as he understood it.

"Go and find out for me what's going on with the China Merchants Group. Why has it gone from being on the brink of bankruptcy to becoming so powerful now?"

"Hi, President."

After his assistant left, Ichiro Fujita began to have a headache. Since the September 918th Incident, Nissin Shipping Company has been boycotted everywhere. During its lowest period, its business in the Yangtze River inland transportation only retained the Hankou to Shanghai route. After 1933, the situation began to improve slightly, and inland transportation began to develop again.

However, the Sichuan River route was soon taken over by Minsheng Shipping Company, and Nissin Shipping is currently operating at a loss on the Sichuan River route. Furthermore, since 1933, China Merchants seemed to have transformed itself, frequently adding routes on inland rivers and along the coast, seemingly experiencing rapid development.

"Could this Chen Guangliang really transform China Merchants Group into a shipping giant?"

"Could it be true what he said - injuring the enemy by 800 and losing one thousand of his own lives?"

The price at which China Merchants Group leased two ships from Chen Guangliang was reasonable. Not only could he make a profit, but China Merchants Group could also immediately have two ships join the South China Sea route, thus completely expanding its business.

A win-win situation!
In fact, Chen Guangliang also exposed his shipping strength. After all, truth will come out soon. He owned ships of more than 40,000 tons, which quickly swept across Shanghai and became a legend for a while.

On the other hand, Sun Chunsheng and his creditors also reached a "bankruptcy agreement", and the real estate empire that Sun Chunsheng had built over ten years was divided up by all the major creditors.

It can be said that Sun Chunsheng's original assets of five or six million have all become the property of others.

Of course, even someone like Sun Chunsheng who went bankrupt still had some living expenses and was not destitute. Moreover, Sun Chunsheng was a real estate expert after all, and he could still make a comeback with the real estate business.

"Mr. Chen, since you're cashing out at a high price, do you think the Shanghai real estate market will plummet?"

Sun Chunsheng reluctantly signed the bankruptcy agreement with Ping An Bank.

"Maybe! After all, in my opinion, there is no business in the world that only goes up and never goes down. Second-tier real estate has been rising for nearly ten years, increasing tenfold. It is normal to have risks."

Although victory and defeat are common in the military, a major failure in the business world means it will be difficult to return to your original heights.

Sun Chunsheng was destined to never become a big real estate developer or become rich again in this life.

"Mr. Chen, what I admire most about you is that no matter how many houses you build, you won't keep many of them." Sun Chunsheng said the last sentence after realizing it belatedly.

Chen Guangliang, sharing his experience for once, said, "It's simple. Real estate requires a constant flow of goods. Think of it like a factory. Whatever goods I produce, I should sell. Cash flow is crucial. Well, I look forward to Mr. Sun's comeback!"

"Thank you very much"

This time, Ping An Bank gave Sun Chunsheng a hand. The principal and interest of the loan were all paid off with fifty villas, and the payment was settled in one go.

On January 1, affected by financial turmoil in Shanghai, a bank run occurred in Chongqing, the leading commercial port on the upper Yangtze River, killing six and injuring 11. That same day, the Tianjin Yueyuan Spinning Mill, the largest in North China, declared insolvency and liquidated, leaving over 6 workers unemployed. Later, the Seventh Branch of the Shenxin Spinning Mill in Shanghai, run by Rong Zongjing, patriarch of the Wuxi Rong family, faced difficulties in cash flow due to high cotton prices, low yarn prices, and dumping of foreign goods. The mill owed HSBC a 15 million yuan deposit and was about to be auctioned off by the British bank.

The collapse of several major banks in Shanghai triggered a chain reaction, which alarmed Du Yuesheng and the heads of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial groups. This was the original reason why they anxiously sought help from Kong Caishen to save the crisis.

At this moment, our old friend, the Commander-in-Chief, was also worried. He wrote anxiously in his diary: "Financial difficulties and the declining social economy are of great concern."

On that day, Kong Xiangxi partially agreed to the request made by Du Yuesheng and others, and agreed to allow the three major banks of China Y, China G and Communications to undertake the goods mortgage loans for industrial and commercial enterprises, but said that "real estate mortgages are still under study."

The commander-in-chief telegraphed Kong Xiangxi specifically about this matter, instructing him: "To restore financial circulation, the first thing to do is to prevent the stagnation of real estate."

It can be seen that he also knows the crux of the problem.

However, the monetary tightening caused by the outflow of silver was not something that China could prevent alone, and the chain of "real estate-finance-industry" that was caused by the crazy speculation in the Shanghai real estate market could not be easily broken by a single word from the top leader.

In the office of Ping An Bank, Chen Guangliang was also looking through the information of Ping An Bank.

Currently, Ping An Bank owns headquarters buildings in Shanghai and Hong Kong, plus 400 properties on Xiafei Road, with a total value of million.

But in fact, these four million assets are all the bank's "own funds" rather than depositors' deposits.

With depositors holding 2600 million yuan in deposits and only 660 million yuan in loans, the current loan-to-deposit ratio is only around 25%, a healthy 1000%. Adding the nearly 500 million yuan in deposits held by Chen Guangliang's family and the roughly 1100 million yuan deposited by business friends and his father-in-law, only about million yuan in deposits are at risk of a bank run.

In this way, Ping An Bank can be said to be as solid as a rock and can also take the initiative to invest.

However, Chen Guangliang believes that there is no need to rush to buy at the bottom. This year's difficulties have just begun, and the assets in the future will be even lower.

Chen Guangliang flipped through the Shenbao and found that it was Rong Zongjing who had been "complaining" and trying to put pressure on HSBC through the media, hoping that HSBC would not auction the "Shenxin No. 7 Factory".

Of course, HSBC will not pay attention to this public opinion. Foreigners have never cared much about the voices of Chinese people, and they will still auction what needs to be auctioned.

Chen Guangliang was somewhat interested in the textile industry, but the Shenxin No. 7 Factory was not in the concession, so it was not his target at all.

If it was a textile factory in the concession, he would have taken the opportunity to buy it at the bottom and would have made money starting next year; even after 1937, he could have started production in the concession and then sold the products to the anti-Japanese war zone. The Japanese could not blockade the entire Shanghai market, at least not before the second half of 1941.

Recently, the relationship between Chen Guangliang and Jiang Meiying's father Jiang Zhenhua has eased.

He also took the initiative to suggest to his father-in-law that the factory be relocated to the concession and the machinery and equipment be updated, with Ping An Bank providing a loan for the funds.

Upon hearing Chen Guangliang's suggestion, Jiang Zhenhua immediately changed sides and accepted him as his son-in-law. (End of this chapter)